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Search the Land Records from All States, , View Property Reports Now! , Missouri Land Grants
Land in Missouri was granted by the three nations of —France, Spain, and the United States. The original papers, as well as microfilmed copies, of the Spanish and French land grants are retained by the Missouri State Archives. Recording by the United States government of clear land titles granted by the Spanish and French governments actually began in St. Louis on 16 September 1805. An index to the land grants (Books A-D) has been published by the St. Louis Genealogical Society, and published in the St. Louis Genealogical Quarterly 8 (September 1975). The original minutes are housed in the Missouri State Archives.
The original records of the United States Land Sales have been microfilmed on seventeen rolls and are located in Record Group 5 at the Missouri State Archives. A complete name index is on each roll. They are available for purchase.
If the researcher knows the land description of the property of interest, copies of the original land patents granted by the United States government can be obtained from United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States Land Office.
The Missouri State Archives also holds other land records of interest to the genealogical researcher
- An alphabetical index to War of 1812 military lands of north Missouri
- The Savannah Land Grants from 1845 through 1857 (indexed)
- The Platte Purchase records (with an index available at the archives)
- The Land Office Reports, microfilmed copies of American State Papers, vols 1 through 8
- The United States General Land Office Reports, 1828-59
Other records of interest, which are indexed, include the township school lands, seminary lands, saline lands and swamp lands all of which were patented by the state.
Each county has a recorder of deeds. Here the researcher can expect to find the direct and indirect index to deeds, a transcript of deeds, warranty deeds, administrator's deeds, quit claim deeds, sheriff's deed records, index to mortgages, mortgages, school fund mortgage records, chattel mortgages, deeds of trust, patent records, plat books, the index to marriage records, marriage records, applications for marriage licenses, records of certificates of marriage, records of marriage of persons of color (from 1865 to the 20th century in separate registers), and military discharge papers. Note that in Missouri all marriage records are held by the recorder of deeds
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Excerpts From the Book "Family History Made Easy"
Prior to the Civil War, more than eighty-five percent of all Americans owned or leased land. Therefore, almost every researcher, whether a seasoned professional or weekend hobbyist, has required land records to document the existence, association, or movement of an individual or ancestral family. While many researchers may feel a sense of historical excitement when finding an ancestor in a land deed, many also fail to understand the importance of such a document and how land can be used to make vital links between generations; they are not aware that it can bridge distant origins and help solve even the most difficult problems. E. Wade Hone,
In Land and Property Research in the United States
U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 or Vol. 3
The right to own land has always been one of the great incentives for living in the United States. Yet researchers often overlook the importance of land records as a source of family history information. Written evidence of people’s entitlement goes back in time further than virtually any other type of record family historians might use.
Land records meet the needs of researchers in different ways and contain a variety of genealogical and historical data. They are a major source of information for many family histories and provide primary source material for local history as well. They are closely related to probate and other official court records and should be investigated in connection with them. Land and property are leading issues in the settlement of estates, and the majority of civil cases in the courts deal with real and personal property. Although land records rarely yield vital statistics, in many instances they provide the only proof of family relationships. Often they include the names of heirs of an estate (including daughters’ married names and a widow’s subsequent married name) and refer to related probates and other court cases by number and court name. In some places where other records are scarce, the land records take on extra importance. Occasionally these documents disclose former residences and more often provide the new address of the grantors or heirs at the time of the sale of the property.
Land records provide two types of important evidence for the family historian. First, they often document family relationships. Second, they place individuals in a specific time and place, allowing the researcher to sort people and families into neighborhoods and closely related groups. One of land records’ most important qualities is that they are sometimes the only records that allow us to distinguish one person of a common name from another.
The National Archives has bounty-land warrant files, donation land entry files, homestead application files, and private land claim files relating to the entry of individual settlers on land in the public land states. There are no land records for the original thirteen states or for Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Hawaii. Records for these states are maintained by state officials, usually in the state capital. Searching for the record of a particular land grant from the federal government requires contacting both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Archives (NARA).
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