Faculty:
- Coordinator and Instructor: Gerald “Jerry” Smith, CG
- Other Instructors: Jim Beidler; Sydney Cruce; Kimberly T. Powell, AG; Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL; Rick Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
Tuition:
- Regular Price: $585.00
- NGS Member Price: $550.00
Description:
This course is a deep dive into Pennsylvania state-level records: the records of the Penn Proprietors and, after the Revolution, the Commonwealth Land Office. These records document the conveyance of land from the governing authority to the first private landowner. This first conveyance precedes later transactions recorded at the county level. The first transactions reflect the earliest settlers on the land. The Proprietors and Land Office offered numerous programs over time.
Student Prerequisites:
- Completion of GRIP’s “Get Your Hands Dirty! A Workshop in Land and Property Records” or an equivalent course or equivalent research experience. Students should be comfortable with land record research at the local/county level. No experience is necessary for research on Proprietor/state-level land records.
- Students must bring a laptop to the course suitable for online research and practicum work. They must also have computer skills to surf the web, download maps and documents, and organize their work on their computers.
- Practicums and homework require using Ancestry (subscription) and FamilySearch (free login credentials) websites.
Recommended Readings:
- Recommended (not required): Students have a copy of Donna Bingham Munger’s Pennsylvania Land Records: A History and Guide for Research. Unfortunately, this is no longer available from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, so sources are secondary markets on amazon.com, abebooks.com, or similar used book e-commerce sites. It is acceptable if students wish to defer purchase until after the course. Portions are available as a preview on GoogleBooks.
All times are listed in Eastern Time.
Live Sessions may be subject to schedule adjustments by your course coordinator.
|
Day |
Session |
Time |
Session Title |
Description |
Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 14 July |
Intro |
8:30 – 9 AM | Welcome and Introduction |
Get to know your classmates |
Smith |
|
1 |
9 – 10:15 AM | Pennsylvania History & Land Policies | A review of Pennsylvania history and the intertwining land policies and programs. Pre-Penn land settlement (Dutch, Swedes, New York Patents). Early records transferred to Delaware. Border disputes: Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia. Border changes (those states and New York). Land Program phases [organization follows Munger]: William Penn Proprietorship (1682-1732); Penn heirs (1732-1776); Commonwealth era (1776-present). Highlight major land programs in each phase. | Smith | |
|
2 |
10:45 – 12 PM | The Application/Warrant/Survey/Patent Process | This basic four-step process was common to many of the land programs. The resulting records are important in genealogical research: application, warrant (to survey), survey, and Patent. Discussion includes the forward/backward pointers in these key records. Warrant Registers and Indexes to patents and tract names are entry points to the records. | Cruice | |
|
3 |
1:30 – 2:45 PM | Finding the Application/Warrant/Survey/Patent | This session continues the previous discussing both online digital collections and access in the original records. It explains the use of (and limitations of) online collections at Ancestry, and FamilySearch. The Land Office microfilm series at the Pennsylvania Archives for these records is discussed. | Powell | |
|
4 |
3:15 – 4:30 PM | Lab and Practicum Time | Students conclude the first day with guided exploration and practicum time to become familiar with the Land Research pages at the Pennsylvania Archives website and use the indexes and online records to access the key four documents: Application, Warrant, Survey, and Patent. | Beidler | |
|
Extra |
4:30 – 5 PM | Quick Topic for the Day. | TBD | Smith | |
| Tuesday 15 July |
5 |
9 – 10:15 AM | References in the Local Records | County-level records can contain pointers to the Proprietor or Commonwealth Land Office records. These can appear in the deeds and tax records (absentee owners, warranted and patented land, or an acreage change after the survey). Inventories of county records provide information about county records pertaining to the application/warrant/survey/patent process and Commissioner/Treasurer Sales for non-payment of taxes. Discussion includes the 1940s county inventories, the 1984 inventory, and their availability on PowerLibrary. | Beidler |
|
6 |
10:45 – 12 PM | Legal History of Original Titles in Pennsylvania | Discussion of the history of land conveyance in Pennsylvania from a legal standpoint. Understanding the laws and history is essential when the researcher encounters, for example. A “vacated” warrant or other legal terms in the land records. | Russell | |
|
7 |
1:30 – 2:45 PM | Pennsylvania Military Lands | Pennsylvania Donation lands were bounty lands available to qualified Revolutionary War veterans. Resources include Pennsylvania Archives, Donation Land Register, Donation Land Patents, and Claimant’s Papers. Depreciation Lands are sometimes erroneously categorized as veteran bounty lands. Depreciation Land was sold to fund Depreciation Certificates, certificates given to veterans to compensate for depreciated Continental currency. | Sayre | |
|
8 |
3:15 – 4:30 PM | East Side, West Side, New Purchase, Baynton & Wharton, and Licenses | Entry into these programs is via a further set of Warrant Registers, which uses a different nomenclature for applications. Licenses were a vehicle to legitimize settlement beyond the official frontier in the face of boundary conflict and Cresap’s War. Discussion includes Blunston licenses and linking the Blunston license to other state-level land records. | Cruice | |
|
Extra |
4:30 – 5 PM | Quick Topic for the Day. | TBD | Cruice | |
| Wednesday 16 July |
9 |
9 – 10:15 AM | Western PA: Last Purchase (1784) Records & Virginia Boundary Dispute | After the American Revolution, western Pennsylvania was opened for settlement, and land speculators began a land grab. The legislature’s efforts to thwart speculators’ abuses provided additional records: Prevention Certificates, Preemption Applications, and Title Papers. The boundary dispute with Virginia impacts southwestern Pennsylvania research and has its own research tactics. | Powell |
|
10 |
10:45 – 12 PM | Leveraging Published and Online Resources | This session discusses using the Pennsylvania Archives and other published indexes, guides, and finding aids. It also explores online resources and finding aids that have not yet been covered. | Powell | |
|
11 |
1:30 – 2:45 PM | Follow the Money: Underlying Financial Records | This session discusses the use of underlying financial records in genealogical research. The Proprietors offered mortgages. Records include recorded mortgages, original mortgages, ejectment orders, etc. Financial records track mortgage payments. Early Patentees were obligated to pay Quit Rent. Lists of individuals with Quit Rent obligations can be some of the most complete enumerations of men living in a given area. Financial records provide information about the rents paid. Ledgers provide the accounts of individuals and can differentiate same-name individuals. | Smith | |
|
12 |
3:15 – 4:30 PM | Philadelphia Land Research | Discussion includes Penn’s recognition of pre-Penn NY Grants, the online pre-1733 Philadelphia Index, Philadelphia City Lot records, Philadelphia Rent Rolls, Steele’s Rent Roll, Quit Rent, Hughes’ List, the 1759 inventory, and Old Rights in Philadelphia. | Cruice | |
|
Extra |
4:30 – 5 PM | Quick Topic for the Day. | TBD | Cruice | |
| Thursday 17 July |
13 |
9 – 10:15 AM | Pennsylvania Maps & Map Resources | This session discusses relevant map resources and online GIS sites. Topics include connected tract maps, land ownership maps, and online resources. | Sayre |
|
14 |
10:45 – 12 PM | Maryland and Connecticut Boundary Disputes | This session discusses boundary disputes with Maryland and Connecticut and the impact on research in Pennsylvania land records for the disputed areas. While these areas are presently within Pennsylvania, research may take you into the records of Maryland, Connecticut, or the Susquehanna Land Company. | Beidler | |
|
15 |
1:30 – 2:45 PM | Speculators & Land Companies | Discussion of repositories, holdings, and genealogical value. Notable in Pennsylvania’s land history are companies such as the Holland Land Company, Pennsylvania Land Company, Pennsylvania Property Company, Pennsylvania Population Company, Asylum Land Company, and individuals such as Samuel Wallis, John Nicholson, William Bingham, and others. | Powell | |
|
16 |
3:15 – 4:30 PM | Using Legal Records for Pennsylvania Land Research | Legal records, particularly precedents, can reveal information about an ancestor’s land. This session discusses a published online resource for legal land research. | Russell | |
|
Extra |
4:30 – 5 PM | Quick Topic for the Day. | TBD | Smith | |
| Friday 18 July |
17 |
9 – 10:15 AM | Board of Property & Dispute Resolution | Understanding the Board of Property, Commissioners of Property, Secretary for Proprietary Affairs, Surveyor General, and Master of the Rolls and their records helps in locating Minutes and other records that offer information about land conflict. With Pennsylvania’s metes and bounds approach to warrants and surveys, conflict in claims arose. This session discusses the records that result from claims resolution. | Smith |
|
18 |
10:45 – 12 PM | Esoterica | A collection of short topics not yet covered that has a place in genealogical research. | Smith |