Understanding Land Records

“I PLOTTED A DEED!!!!! First time EVER!“

“I appreciate Angela’s attention to detail, and having the classes live with the ability to watch recordings later. She pulled together a fantastic group of instructors and wonderful material. The line up of instructors was amazing. They were all top notch. It was a fabulous class and the syllabus is amazing. I am SO thankful for all the materials as well. I LOVE that I can go through and watch the videos again even though I did not miss one session.”

“This course was very well organized and presented, and increased my confidence. It provided a lot of information directly, and also a mountain of additional resources for later investigation. I appreciated every instructors’ interest in addressing questions, discussing specific situations, and willingness to say “I don’t know but I’ll find out”. All seemed truly invested in teaching, and that matters. It’s a lot of ground to cover (pun intended!) and it was a wonderful journey!“

“I enjoyed the sessions and thought all the instructors were fantastic. Very organized and clear. The syllabus materials were wonderful!!“

“I greatly appreciate the hands on activities. As a person who learns better by doing, this has been extremely helpful in helping me to grasp the information.“

“Wonderful mix of learning and practicing what we learned. Thank you for all the prep involved in putting together the exercises.“

“Hands down, the platting sessions were revelatory, both by hand and with software. After trying for a couple of years sporadically on my own, it makes sense now.”

Understanding Land Records

About the Course

  • Maximum: 30 students
  • Virtual classrooms using Zoom
  • Lectures will be recorded and available to view for one month after the end of the course
  • All courses come with a digital syllabus
  • Students will receive a digital certificate upon course completion

Course Faculty

Description

Land was generally our ancestors’ most valuable asset. Locating and using land records can provide valuable information for genealogists. This course will cover both state land and federal land distribution as well as an in-depth study of deeds. Topics include land divisions, deed indexes, maps, homesteads, bounty land, online records, surveys, patents, and grants. Hands-on exercises will provide practice locating, using, and interpreting deeds and other types of land records.

Prerequisites, textbooks, and other student information

Course prerequisites:

Students should be familiar with various types of genealogical records and methods.

Course requirements:

None.

Required books:

None.

Recommended books:

Land and Property Research by E. Wade Hone

2026 Course Schedule (All times listed are Eastern Time)

Monday, July 27
10:30 – 11:00 Welcome Orientation (McGhie)
11:00 – 12:15 Overview of Land Divisions in the United States (McGhie)
12:15 – 12:45 Break
12:45 – 2:00 Using Maps in Land Research (Kashuba)
2:00 – 3:00 Lunch
3:00 – 4:15 Locating and Using Deeds (Koford)
4:15 – 4:45 Break
4:45 – 6:00 The Call for Free Land: Homestead Records (McGhie)
Tuesday, July 28
10:30 – 11:00 Homework Review (Kashuba)
11:00 – 12:15 The Legal Language of Deeds (Powell)
12:15 – 12:45 Break
12:45 – 2:00 Hands-on Workshop: Working with Land Records (McGhie)
2:00 – 3:00 Lunch
3:00 – 4:15 Federal Land Entry Papers (McGhie)
4:15 – 4:45 Break
4:45 – 6:00 Colonial and Early State Land Records (Smith)
Wednesday, July 29
10:30 – 11:00 Homework Review (McGhie)
11:00 – 12:15 Locating State Land Records (Powell)
12:15 – 12:45 Break
12:45 – 2:00 Using Federal Tract Books (McGhie)
2:00 – 3:00 Lunch
3:00 – 4:15 Introduction to Metes and Bounds Land Platting (Smith)
4:15 – 4:45 Break
4:45 – 6:00 Hands-on Land Platting Workshop (Smith and Powell)
Thursday, July 30
10:30 – 11:00 Homework Review (Smith and Powell)
11:00 – 12:15 Ohio’s Unique Land Divisions (Smith)
12:15 – 12:45 Break
12:45 – 2:00 Unique Land Systems of the South (Graham)
2:00 – 3:00 Lunch
3:00 – 4:15 Reward for Service: Bounty Land Records (McGhie)
4:15 – 4:45 Break
4:45 – 6:00 Private Land Claims and Native American Land (Kashuba)
Friday, July 31
10:30 – 11:45 Tracts & Tracks: Connecting Family Generations Through Land Records (Powell)
11:45 –12:00 Break
12:00 – 1:15 Lineage of Land: Tracing Property Without Recorded Deeds (Green)
1:15 – 1:30 Break
1:30 – 2:45 Course Summation (McGhie)