Today we will research land records from the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records (https://glorecords.blm.gov/). These land records can help verify an ancestral location and lead to various other land records. For instance, homesteading was a process and homesteaders had to prove they lived on the land and made improvements or they would lose the land.

These records cover Federal Land states or land that was issued by the states. You will notice some states are missing, they are the State Land states. Land was divided using the Rectangular Survey System. Smaller and smaller numbered rectangles/squares.

Meridian is a north-south line on the map. Idaho’s meridian is the Boise Meridian. Then 24-mile rectangles called Tracts were created. These are divided into 16 six-mile-square Townships. Townships into 36 one-mile-square Sections. Sections are divided further...but I’m rambling. So time to search, but if you want to know more it’s one of my favorite subjects.

Hint

• Land Patents and Surveys can provide information about neighbors and the kind of land your ancestors may have owned. They also place your ancestors in context with their surroundings.

Questions

1. Search the Land Patents database for Charles Wood in Kootenai County, Idaho. In what Section, Township and Range is his property located?

2. On what date was the Land Patent issued To Charles Wood?

3. Click the number in the Accession Column, scroll to the Land Description section (with the map), and check the three boxes. Zoom in on the darkest orange sections. This was Charles’ land. What city is now in that location?

4. Click Patent Image tab (brown), (it takes a minute to load). How many acres were included in the parcel he purchased?

5. Who was the United States President authorizing this patent (see bottom of patent)?