Bounty Land Records
- geneal1
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
The early U.S. government used bounty land as an incentive and a reward for military service. Because applicants had to prove their qualifications, the process of obtaining bounty land left a paper trail, which is valuable to genealogists today.
Land was granted to soldiers in almost every colonial New England battle. Soldiers enlisted for even a short time received land. Not only did this reward the soldiers, but it also fulfilled a requirement to have stockades and militia at frontier settlements. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York had settlements designated as military towns. Military men would receive land there but were not allowed to leave without prior permission, or they’d lose their land grants.
The Continental Congress carried this idea into the Revolutionary War. Soldiers were promised land in exchange for service, but the promise could only be fulfilled if America won the war. Both the federal government and the states granted bounty land. In 1776, the land that is now Ohio was surveyed for federal bounty land and became the principal place where federal bounty land was granted. Other states that granted bounty land included Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Massachusetts gave land in Maine. North Carolina gave land in Tennessee. Virginia gave land in Ohio and Kentucky.
Some colonies, such as Delaware, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, didn't have enough land to provide bounty land. Some of the states that granted bounty land were issuing it in the same areas, so they had to cede that land to the federal government, which would then issue the bounty land to soldiers. Each state had its own rules and systems.
The offer of bounty land incentivized soldiers to serve and provided pay for service. It was scaled by rank, with greater tracts of land being offered to higher-ranking officers. As in olden days, it encouraged soldiers to migrate westward to the frontier, where they could provide defense. However, many veterans or their widows sold their bounty land warrants. This meant the buyer, rather than the veteran, was the one moving to the frontier to occupy the bounty land.
Applying for Bounty Land
To apply for bounty land, a veteran submitted affidavits from his commanding officers or fellow soldiers, along with his discharge papers. The application listed the soldier’s name and age, residence at the time of application, and service details.
In the case of a soldier who died in service, his heirs could apply for bounty land. Along with the proof of the soldier’s service and death, they had to prove they were his legal heirs. When the bounty land was approved, a warrant would be issued. The warrant included the number of acres and the Bounty Land Act under which the soldier qualified for the bounty land. The veteran or his family would either claim that land or sell the warrant. When the veteran (or his heirs or his buyer) went to claim the land, it was surveyed, and then a patent was issued. The surveys sometimes listed neighbors. The patent meant ownership of the land.
The Secretary of War processed bounty land warrants before the Treasury Department assumed control over public domain land. The General Land Office (GLO) was established in 1812, introducing a standardized administrative method. Land was distributed in quarter sections of townships; This was the beginning of the state land survey system.
Federal land warrants could only be used to claim land in the military district in Ohio until 1830. An act that year allowed unused warrants to be exchanged for land in another location. Acts in 1850, 1852, and 1855 granted land to veterans of the War of 1812, the Indian Wars, and the Mexican-American War.
Searching for Bounty Land
Places to search for bounty land are Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org., and NARA. Fold3 has a bounty land collection, but it is only indexed to the letter L.
Remember, if you cannot locate your ancestor's bounty land record, it may be because not all the records have been digitized. Keep searching!
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