U.S. Bureau of Land Management

General Land Office Records for Grimshaws Who Received Federal Land

From the earliest years of its history, the United States has had programs for making land available to its citizens at no cost or a very low price. For example, many veterans of the Revolutionary War received free land as reward or payment for their service to their country.

Many of the records of the conveyance of Federal government land to private citizens under a number of programs (such as the Homestead Act) have been maintained by the General Land Office (GLO) of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The GLO has recently posted these records on a website along with a search function for the records. A search of the GLO website for the Grimshaws who received Federal land found 41 recipients of Federal land in 17 states.

Contents

Tabulation of Grimshaws Who Received Federal Land

Additional Information on the General Land Office Website

More Detail on the Records for Grimshaws Who Got Federal Land

Frequently Asked Questions on the GLO Webpage

Tabulation of Grimshaws Who Received Federal Land
The GLO website for conducting searches is at www.glorecords.blm.gov. The results of the search for Grimshaws are shown in Table 1, which has 63 entries (a separate search for “Grinshaw” found no entries). A total of 41 Grimshaws (some of them received more than one grant) received land in 17 states:

Arkansas	Mississippi	Ohio
California	Missouri	Oregon
Idaho	Montana	South Dakota
Illinois	Nebraska	Utah
Louisiana	New Mexico	Wisconsin
Minnesota	North Dakota

Most of the grants were in sections (160 acres) or half or quarter sections (80 or 40 acres). Additional information on these grants is provided further down on this webpage. Many of the Grimshaws who received land are described on other webpages on this website. Links to these webpages will be provided in the future.

Table 1. List of Grimshaws who received land from the U.S. Government, as indicated by a search of the GLO website. Note that George and Jonathan Grimshaw received multiple grants in Mississippi and Missouri.

No	Last	First	ST	County	Acres		Issue Date	Land Office
1	Grimshaw	George	AR	Drew	1920		7/28/1838	Helena
2	Grimshaw	Benjamin	CA	Merced	159.62		7/1/1861	**
3	Grimshaw	Jonathan W	CA	Solano	160		2/1/1868	**
4	Grimshaw	George H	ID	Washington	80		3/30/1908	Idaho
5	Grimshaw	John N	IL	Pike	40		11/3/1840	Quincy
6	Grimshaw	John W	IL	Pike	80		8/6/1838	Quincy
7	Grimshaw	Gideon F	LA	Caldwell	79.83		7/1/1859	Monroe
8	Grimshaw	Walter E	LA	La Salle	120.21		10/20/1902	New Orleans
9	Grimshaw	Benjamin	MN	Steele	40		6/1/1859	Winona
10	Grimshaw	George W	MN	Wadena	40		6/1/1859	Winona
11	Grimshaw	Henry	MN	Polk	80		5/4/1885	St. Cloud
12	Grimshaw	John N	MN	St. Louis	40		2/25/1896	Crookston
13	Grimshaw	Samuel	MN	Hinds	80		4/15/1875	Duluth
14	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	42.28		9/25/1835	Mt. Salus
15	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	80.03		9/25/1835	Mt. Salus
16	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	40.01		9/25/1835	Mt. Salus
17	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	84.56		9/25/1835	Mt. Salus
18	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	84.59		10/20/1835	Mt. Salus
19	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	84.56		10/20/1835	Mt. Salus
20	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	80.03		2/20/1837	Mt. Salus
21	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	84.56		2/10/1840	Mt. Salus
22	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	80.03		2/10/1840	Mt. Salus
23	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	84.59		2/10/1840	Mt. Salus
24	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	81.62		7/20/1826	Jackson
25	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	79.87		11/1/1836	Jackson
26	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	84.56		4/1/1831	Mt. Salus
27	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	80.06		4/1/1831	Mt. Salus
28	Grimshaw	George	MI	Hinds	80.03		1/10/1832	Mt. Salus
29	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	Bates	40.695		7/5/1866	Booneville
30	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	Bates, Vernon	40.4		7/5/1866	Booneville
31	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	Bates	40		7/5/1866	Booneville
32	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	Bates	40		7/5/1866	Booneville
33	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	Bates	40		10/10/1866	Booneville
34	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	Bates	40		10/10/1866	Booneville
35	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	Bates	40		10/10/1866	Booneville
36	Grimshaw	Jesse W	MT	Carbon	320		4/5/1920	Billings
37	Grimshaw	Edward S	NE	Arthur	477.76		6/27/1913	North Platte
38	Grimshaw	Fitzhugh L	NM	Lincoln	640		5/21/1938	Las Cruces
39	Grimshaw	James Henry	ND	Williams	160		6/26/1911	Williston
40	Grimshaw	Michael H	ND	Divide	160		6/25/1913	Williston
41	Grimshaw	Ragnhild	ND	Divide	316.02		8/1/1918	Williston
42	Grimshaw	William C	ND	Divide	160		6/5/1911	Williston
43	Grimshaw	Richard	OH	Scioto	38.68		2/1/1851	Chillicothe
44	Grimshaw	John W	OR	Lane	160		4/12/1921	Roseburg
45	Grimshaw	Leonard H	OR	Lane	156.8		1/30/1923	Roseburg
46	Grimshaw	Lloyd M	OR	Linn	160		4/17/1907	Roseburg
47	Grimshaw	Edward S	SD	McCook	160		4/2/1901	Mont.State Off.
48	Grimshaw	George T	SD	Lyman	160		10/12/1908	Chamberlain
49	Grimshaw	Kate E	SD	Pennington	160		9/19/1889	Mont.State Off.
50	Grimshaw	Mae	SD	Clark	160		1/18/1896	Mont.State Off.
51	Grimshaw	Winton	SD	Corson	160		1/18/1919	Lemmon
52	Grimshaw	Arnold	UT	Iron	320		10/13/1924	Salt Lake City
53	Grimshaw	Clarence	UT	Beaver	160		1/13/1922	Salt Lake City
54	Grimshaw	Estella Jones	UT	Iron	320.8		5/12/1931	Salt Lake City
55	Grimshaw	George W	UT	Iron	240		7/6/1927	Salt Lake City
56	Grimshaw	L W	UT	Iron	158.56		5/9/1929	Salt Lake City
57	Grimshaw	Randolph	UT	Iron	280		7/21/1922	Salt Lake City
58	Grimshaw	Ray	UT	Iron	160		12/26/1913	Salt Lake City
59	Grimshaw	William H	UT	Iron	160		9/14/1911	Salt Lake City
60	Grimshaw	Andrew B	WI	Juneau	40		10/15/1908	Wausau
61	Grimshaw	Eli	WI	Monroe	80		11/25/1879	La Crosse
62	Grimshaw	Henry	WI	Waukesha	40		9/10/1844	Milwaukee
63	Grimshaw	Robert	WI	Clark	80		9/5/1866	La Crosse

**Assigned for Automation

Additional Information on the General Land Office Website

The GLO website provides the following information in the introduction.

The Official Federal Land Patent Records Site

Welcome to the new Bureau of Land Management (http://www.blm.gov), General Land Office (GLO) Records Automation web site. We provide live access to Federal land conveyance records for the Public Land States. We also provide image access to more than two million Federal land title records for Eastern Public Land States, issued between 1820 and 1908. Images of Serial patents (land titles issued between 1908 and the mid-1960’s) are currently being added to this web site. Due to organization of documents in the GLO collection, this site does not currently contain every Federal title record issued for the Public Land States.

Search Federal Land Patents Databases

This site offers researchers a source of information on the initial transfer of land titles from the Federal government to individuals. In addition to verifying title transfer, this information will allow the researcher to associate an individual (Patentee, Assignee, Warrantee, Widow, or Heir) with a specific location (Legal Land Description) and time (Issue Date).

Obtain Certified Copies of Land Patents

With our on-line shopping cart, users may request certified copies of land patents electronically or through the mail. To search for land patents, click on Search Land Patents on the menu near the top of the page. A series of pages will guide you through viewing and ordering land patents.

More Detail on the Records for Grimshaws Who Got Federal Land

Table 2 contains additional information, including General Land Office document references, on the 63 entries presented in Table 1.

Table 2. Tabulation of 63 entries showing reserves, authority for granting the land, and document reference numbers at the GLO.

No	Last	First	ST	U.S. Reserv.	Mineral Reserv.	Authority	Document No.	Accession/ Serial No	BLM Serial No
1	Grimshaw	George	AR	—	No	(1)	3218	AR1680_.126	AR NO S/N
2	Grimshaw	Benjamin	CA	No	No	(2)	76214	CACAAA 108272	CACAAA 108272
3	Grimshaw	Jonathan W	CA	No	No	(2)	104358	CACAAA 034396	CACAAA 034396
4	Grimshaw	George H	ID	Yes	No	(1)	3973	IDIDAA 016062	IDIDAA 016063
5	Grimshaw	John N	IL	—	No	(1)	6446	IL3980_.311	IL NO S/N
6	Grimshaw	John W	IL	—	No	(1)	832	IL3980_.411	IL NO S/N
7	Grimshaw	Gideon F	LA	—	No	(1)	18813	LA1180_.267	LA NO S/N
8	Grimshaw	Walter E	LA	—	No	(3)	10442	LA1510_.149	LA NO S/N
9	Grimshaw	Benjamin	MN	__	No	(1)	3473	MN1200_.203	MN NO S/N
10	Grimshaw	George W	MN	—	No	(1)	3598	MN1200_.283	MN NO S/N
11	Grimshaw	Henry	MN	—	No	(3)	5481	MN2010_.045	MN NO S/N
12	Grimshaw	John N	MN	—	No	(3)	8633	MN0570_.149	MN NO S/N
13	Grimshaw	Samuel	MN	—	No	(3)	267	MN0850_.250	MN NO S/N
14	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	10439	MS0270_.250	MS NO S/N
15	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	10440	MS0270_.251	MS NO S/N
16	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	10469	MS0300_.204	MS NO S/N
17	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	11470	MS0300_.205	MS NO S/N
18	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	14018	MS0350_.079	MS NO S/N
19	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	14019	MS0350_.080	MS NO S/N
20	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	14020	MS0370_.021	MS NO S/N
21	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	15571	MS0390_.186	MS NO S/N
22	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	15572	MS0390_.187	MS NO S/N
23	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	16984	MS1880_.069	MS NO S/N
24	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	1971	MS-110_.487	MS NO S/N
25	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	2294	MS0121_.397	MS NO S/N
26	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	4284	MS0171_.049	MS NO S/N
27	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	4285	MS0170_.050	MS NO S/N
28	Grimshaw	George	MI	—	No	(1)	5013	MS0180_.335	MS NO S/N
29	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	—	No	(1)	39043	MO3240_.211	MO SO S/N
30	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	—	No	(1)	39044	MO3240_.212	MO SO S/N
31	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	—	No	(1)	39045	MO3240_.213	MO SO S/N
32	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	—	No	(1)	39050	MO3240_.218	MO SO S/N
33	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	—	No	(1)	39161	MO3240_.295	MO SO S/N
34	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	—	No	(1)	39162	MO3240_.296	MO SO S/N
35	Grimshaw	Jonathan	MO	—	No	(1)	39163	MO3240_.297	MO SO S/N
36	Grimshaw	Jesse W	MT	Yes	No	(3)	12347	743257	MTBIL 0012347
37	Grimshaw	Edward S	NE	Yes	No	(3)	2564	280490	NENP 0002564
38	Grimshaw	Fitzhugh L	NM	Yes	Yes	(4)	—	NMLC 00048262	NMLC 00048263
39	Grimshaw	James Henry	ND	Yes	Yes	(1)	9272	211466	NDWLN 0009272
40	Grimshaw	Michael H	ND	Yes	Yes	(3)	9493	343940	NDWLN 0009493
41	Grimshaw	Ragnhild	ND	Yes	Yes	(3)	20744	642755	NDWLN 0020744
42	Grimshaw	William C	ND	Yes	Yes	(3)	9492	203578	NDWLN 0007492
43	Grimshaw	Richard	OH	—	No	(1)	17217	OPH1420_.111	OH NO S/N
44	Grimshaw	John W	OR	Yes	No	(3)	10965	806118	ORR 0010965
45	Grimshaw	Leonard H	OR	Yes	No	(3)	—	894301	ORR 0011972
46	Grimshaw	Lloyd M	OR	Yes	No	(3)	5954	ORRAA 041626	ORRAA 041626
47	Grimshaw	Edward S	SD	No	No	(3)	12125	SDMTAA 104548	SDMTAA 104548
48	Grimshaw	George T	SD	No	No	(3)	771	21342	SDMTAA 046866
49	Grimshaw	Kate E	SD	No	No	(1)	1662	SDMTAA 005296	SDMTAA 005296
50	Grimshaw	Mae	SD	No	No	(2)	1748	SDMTAA 115195	SDMTAA 115195
51	Grimshaw	Winton	SD	Yes	No	(1)	25830	660370	SDLEM 0025830
52	Grimshaw	Arnold	UT	Yes	No	(3)	—	946195	UTSL 0018485
53	Grimshaw	Clarence	UT	Yes	No	(3)	—	842758	UTSL 0017586
54	Grimshaw	Estella Jones	UT	Yes	No	(3)	—	1046390	UTSL 0026406
55	Grimshaw	George W	UT	Yes	No	(3)	—	1004872	UTSL 0031538
56	Grimshaw	L W	UT	Yes	No	(3)	—	UTSL 0036489	UTSL 0036489
57	Grimshaw	Randolph	UT	Yes	No	(3)	—	873367	UTSL 0015989
58	Grimshaw	Ray	UT	Yes	No	(3)	3818	374252	UTSL 0003818
59	Grimshaw	William H	UT	Yes	No	(3)	2073	224793	UTSL 0002073
60	Grimshaw	Andrew B	WI	—	No	(3)	6541	22364	WI NO S/N
61	Grimshaw	Eli	WI	—	No	(3)	3983	WI1080_.476	WI NO S/N
62	Grimshaw	Henry	WI	—	No	(1)	11783	WI2700_.229	WI NO S/N
63	Grimshaw	Robert	WI	—	No	(1)	16888	WI0940_.118	WI NO S/N

(1) April 24, 1820: Sale – Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566)

(2) March 17, 1842: Scrip or Nature of Scrip (5 Stat. 60-7)

(3) May 20, 1862: Homestead Entry Original (12 Stat. 392)

(4) December 29, 1916: Homestead Entry – Stock Raising (39 Stat. 862)

Frequently Asked Questions

The following detail is provided on the GLO website — in the “Frequently Asked Questions” webpage. (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/FAQ.asp#26)

What’s a land patent?

Land patents document the transfer of land ownership from the federal government to individuals. Our land patent records include the information recorded when ownership was transferred.

What are public lands?

The term public land means any lands and interest which title is still vested in the Federal Government. The Secretary of the Interior through the BLM administers those lands within the several states.

Where are the Public Land States?

Those states created out of the public domain are the lands now embraced in the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

What are vacant public lands?

These are public domain lands that have never left Federal ownership and have not been reserved, withdrawn, dedicated or set aside for a certain purpose. These lands are mostly in the 11 Western states (LINK FOR STATE OFFICE PAGE) although there are scattered parcels throughout each of the eastern public lands States. The Eastern States field offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Jackson, Mississippi have information about lands that may be available for sale.

Why are there no public lands in the thirteen colonies and other states in the east?

In the very early years of the United States, the Congress of the Confederation declared it would sell or grant the unclaimed lands in “the West” (given up by the States to the United States) for the common benefit of the United States. The States gave up their claims to what is now Alabama, Michigan, part of Minnesota, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The United States could then sell this unclaimed land to raise money for the Treasury. In turn, the United States gave up its claims to any land within the boundaries of the Colonies.

How was the land sold or disposed of?

The land was disposed of by the authority of many acts of Congress – sale, homesteads, military warrants for military service, timber culture, mining, etc. One of the primary purposes of these public land laws was to encourage people from the East to move West. In the early 1800’s people could buy public land for $1.25 an acre. For a time, they could buy up to 640 acres under this law. The sale of public land under the “Cash Act” is no longer in effect. Several Military Warrant Acts granted public land to soldiers instead of pay. These acts have been repealed. The Homestead Act of 1862, allowed people to settle up to 160 acres of public land if they lived on it for five years and grew crops or made improvements. This land did not cost anything per acre, but the settler did pay a filing fee. This act is no longer in effect.

What other land records does BLM maintain?

This office maintains the original survey plats and field notes for eight of the Eastern public land states (AL, AR, FL, LA, MI, MN, MS, WI). The duplicate original survey plats and field notes are also housed in this office for sixteen of the Western public land states (AZ, AK, CA, CO, ND, SD, ID, MT, NE, NV, NM, OK, OR, UT, WA, WY). NOTE: Oklahoma survey plats and field notes are Originals. For information please see the specific BLM State Office website and link to their Cadastral Survey web page. The National Archives and Records Administration maintains the original survey plats and field notes for IL, IN, IA, KS, MO and OH. If you are searching for a Western land patent issued prior to July 1, 1908, please contact the specific BLM State office for information.

How can I get Land Entry file information for patents?

Land Entry files were created when a person claimed land under an act of Congress. They first had to fill out an application, and sometimes provide other information(marriage or immigration documents), at the local General Land Office. Other documents were also created under that application, like receipts for any payments, or affidavits of occupation, immigration, marriage, and homestead application. Eastern States did not keep these files. They are now the responsibility of the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. The land entry file information can be obtained from the National Archives. Click here for more information.

Why is there sometimes a long time period between purchase date and signature date?

Due to the tremendous amount of land sold in the 1800’s, the General Land Office experienced quite a backlog in the middle part of the 19th century. It was not unusual for several years to pass between the time an individual purchased land from the local land office and the time a patent for that tract was finally signed by the GLO in Washington, D.C.

What is pre-emption?

Some patents have the word “Pre-emption”in the upper left-hand corner. “Pre-emption” was a tactful way of saying “squatter”. In other words, the settler was physically on the property before the GLO officially sold or even surveyed the tract, and he was thus given a pre-emptive right to acquire the land from the United States.

What is the Mississippi/Alabama and Florida/Alabama “Crossover”?

The St. Stephens Meridian and Huntsville Meridian surveys cross into both Mississippi and Alabama, creating situations where the land offices in St. Stephens and Huntsville, Alabama and in Columbus, Mississippi sold lands in both states. We suggest that anyone researching that area take a look at the databases for both states. The original state line between Alabama and Florida did not close against the Tallahassee Meridian survey (which covered all of Florida), but rather against the earlier St. Stephens Meridian survey in south Alabama. The state line was later resurveyed, creating a situation where some Tallahassee Meridian lands fell across the border into Alabama. We suggest that anyone researching that area take a look at the databases for both states.

What about revolutionary war military bounty warrants?

The only state we have Revolutionary War-era military bounty warrants for is Ohio (mostly in the Virginia Military District), and even those records for the most part have only a survey number and warrant number on them. A few were issued for rectangularly surveyed sections of land, but most were for metes and bounds surveys in the Virginia Military District.

Why do some Indiana land records say the land is in Ohio?

The Cincinnati land office issued several thousand patents for lands in southeastern Indiana within what was called “the Gore” – a roughly triangular-shaped area bounded by the Ohio-Indiana border, the Greenville Treaty line and the Ohio River. These Indiana records have been scanned and indexed as Ohio records.

What about the Connecticut Western Reserve Lands?

All of northeastern Ohio was part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, which was set aside to satisfy military bounty warrants for Revolutionary War veterans from that state. The General Land Office didn’t have anything to do with land records for that area of Ohio. The following addresses may be of help to you for information on the Connecticut Western Reserve:

Connecticut State Library

 

231 Capitol Street

Hartford, CT 06115

Western Reserve Historical Society

 

10825 East Boulevard, University Circle

Cleveland, OH 44106

(216) 721-5722

What are Credit Patents?

Credit patents are similar to Cash; lands could be purchased under the Land Law of 1800 from the General Land Office. This credit system allowed purchasers to pay in installments over a four-year period. A delinquent payment or non-payment of the full balance resulted in forfeiture to the U.S. Because of the economic hardship Congress quickly abandoned the credit system and through the Act of April 24, 1820 required full payment for land to be made at the time of purchase. These cash patents were bound in volumes specific to a particular state – credit patents were not, and those credit volumes will be scanned and indexed into our system at a later date.

Why do some Ohio warrants have no legal land descriptions?

In the late 1790’s and early 1800’s, several dozen volumes of Ohio military bounty warrants were issued to Virginia veterans of the Revolutionary War. The lands were in the Virginia Military District in central Ohio (between the Scioto River and Little Miami River), which was set aside to fulfill the land requirements of these warrants. The land descriptions on these warrants consisted of little more than a metes and bounds survey, which was usually tied to other metes and bounds surveys in that area for previously issued warrants. Just about the only data our project team was able to capture from these warrants was the soldier’s name, warrant number, survey date, signature date and acreage. Due to the lack of precise information on where the land was located, it was not possible to tie these records to a specific land description or to a county within the Virginia Military District. We recommend you contact the Ohio Historical Society State Archives once you have a specific warrant number. They may be able to help you obtain a more precise location of the land.

What is a Certified Copy?

A certified copy is a copy of the document we maintain at Eastern States for the Secretary of the Interior. The original document prepared by the Scribe looks exactly like the copy of the patent given to the landowner, except it is signed by the Scribe for the signing official. Please note that discrepancies can occur between the original patent and the Secretary’s copy.

How do I order a certified copy of a patent?

Certified copies may also be ordered online from this web site. The online ordering feature operates in a secured socket layer, where your personal information, including credit card data, is encoded for your protection. As orders are received in our office, the electronic files are removed from our web server. Credit card information is stored in a locked safe. Your personal information is considered a “Confidential Record”. Any information provided to us will be protected. Accounting and credit card information is protected by the Privacy Act and will not be disclosed. Other information listed on the order form will be handled in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act to ensure the greatest protection of personal privacy. This information will not be made publicly available for viewing or distribution. Please allow a week to 10 days to receive your document depending upon the number of requests received in our office. This web site provides a printable Certified Document Order Form for individuals who do not wish to use the online ordering capabilities of this web site. To use this form, add the land patents that you wish to order to your shopping cart, and then select the mail-in option on the Check Out page. Fill in the necessary information, include your payment or credit card information and mail the form to us. You will receive a certified copy of the document we maintain at Eastern States for the Secretary of the Interior. The original document prepared by the Scribe looks exactly like the copy of the patent given to the landowner, except it is signed by the Scribe for the signing official. The certified copy of the patent you receive will not be full sized. It will be printed on a letter-sized sheet of paper (8.5 X 11 inches). Also specify your paper preference (plain bond or parchment paper).

When I order my patent, what will I receive?

You will receive a certified copy of the document we maintain at Eastern States for the Secretary of the Interior. The certified copy of the patent you receive will not be full sized. It will be printed on a letter-sized sheet of paper (8.5 X 11 inches) of your preference (plain bond or parchment paper).

Where can I obtain records for the Western States?

The Eastern States Office maintains the Serial Patents for Western Public Land States, issued between July 1, 1908 and the early 1960s. These records are indexed and retrievable by patentee name and/or legal land description, with the exception of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. If you would like a copy of a Western State Serial Patent, please submit your email request to records@es.blm.gov. If you are searching for a Western land patent issued prior to July 1, 1908 please contact the specific BLM State Office for information.

Webpage History

Webpage posted May 2003