Fayette County, Alabama
~ Federal Land Patent Owners ~
(Index)
Land patents document the transfer of land ownership from the federal
government to individuals. The "patentee"
was the first owner of a property after the initial government survey
was made. The "issue
date" reflects the month, day, and year that the President
signed
the land document. More often than not, the patentee lived on the
property for several years prior to the issue date. The land then
became private property and could be sold with a deed.
Thousands of individuals acquired federal land patents within the
current boundaries of Fayette
County. Additional information —
including the Legal Land Description (location) — can be found at The Official Federal Land
Records Site, created and maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management. Click on "Search Land Patents," select the state and
enter the individual's name (choose the "Standard" tab for advanced
searching). You also may view an image online and even order a
copy of the
actual land patent, which occasionally includes the patentee's full
middle name.
Once you have established the location of a particular land grant, you
can determine who else lived in the neighborhood. This may be
helpful in proving relationships since extended family members and
in-laws often lived nearby. Click on the "Standard" tab and type
in only the
section, township, and range
numbers with corresponding directions (N, S, E, W).
This search will identify everyone who acquired original patents in
that
section. Expand your search to adjoining sections to compile a
thorough list of
neighbors. You also can create your own land-grant map by
plotting the various locations on a sheet of graph paper (see example here). Compare your findings
with current township maps, which may be accessed on the Fayette County
Maps page.
~
Also see Patentee Index in Fayette County ALGenWeb Archives ~
(includes legal land descriptions)
Return to Fayette County Deed & Land Records
Return to Fayette
Co., AL
This page last updated 23 Oct
2008.
