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Archiver > CA-PCGS > 2002-08 > 1029126892


From: "Barbara Leak" <>
Subject: Re: [CA-PCGS] BLM records
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 21:34:52 -0700
References: <97.2bc0e7c0.2a83374f@aol.com>


Meg,

It sounds like what you received from BLM were copies of the patents. That
is typical. They do have other records, such as the tract books, but you
don't need to fiddle with them if you have the patents. Obtaining the
patents is a first step to obtaining the application files.

The application files, actually called land entry case files, are at the
National Archives in Washington, DC. To obtain them, you need to go to the
NARA website at www.archives,gov and request copies of "NATF Form 84: Order
for Copies of Land Entry Files." They now have a webpage where you can
fill-in-the-blanks and click the "send" button to request copies of order
forms for census, immigration, land and military files.

All of the information required to complete Form 84 is on the patent. And,
you should attach a copy of the patent to the order form.

The land entry files cost $17.75 and may contain anywhere from a couple of
pages to 20+ pages, depending on what kind of land grant it was. For
instance, I wouldn't hestitate to order a homestead file -- they are always
interesting. On the other hand, a cash entry file may contain no more than
the legal description, a receipt for the purchase money paid, and the
purchaser's signature.

Chapter 9 of _Land & Property Research_, by E. Wade Hone, describes the
different kinds of grants and has lots of illustrations of sample documents
typically found in the files. This book can be found in most genealogy
libraries, including the Genealogy Section of the Auburn Library.

I hope this helps.

Barbara



----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2002 7:54 PM
Subject: [CA-PCGS] BLM records

I recently ordered BLM records of several land patents from the 1860s in
Wisconsin.
(Only took three weeks) What I received for each grant was a copy of the
grant with the legal description of the property. I expected more, such as
a
copy of the actual application for the grant. Is this typical for records
from BLM? Would the application possibly be located at the local agency
that
originally processed the application?

Meg Nelson

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