Dear Cousin Heathcliff,
There are a lot of different styles of family trees.
Which one works best?
Thanks, Roots Maker
Dear Roots Maker,
There are a lot of different types of family trees and
some can get quite complicated. A tree that easily shows relationships is best. Do you want the family tree to be
just your direct line or do you want to include aunts, uncles, cousins, etc? Experiment with the different family trees and
see which works for you. You could also create your own new design for a family tree. Make your family
tree really special by personalizing your tree with your own handwriting!
Dear Cousin Heathcliff,
I have found lots of information on my great,great,great grandparents on a website. This person who has the information seems
to have documented most of it. Should I rely on this?
Mega Gen
Dear Mega Gen,
It is always best to check out all information one gets from
a different person. If the information is documented, independently go to that book, website or other source and make sure
the information is correct. It may take some time to do this but it is better than to have the wrong information.
The Heritage Gazette
June 2009 Vol. 1 No. 4
Land Records
Since the early days of America the prospect of owning one's own land enticed people to bare all the
hardships and settle in the new land. Based on certain rules in the 1600's, early settlers were granted land by
the English governement. To own land was to prosper! There are different kinds of land records and it is helpful
to genealogists to know the different kinds.
Land Patents - A land patent was for land that had never been owned.
After 1624, a patent was issued by the English government in the name of King James to an individual. To claim
land through the headright system or treasury system one was suppose to have a patent.
Land Warrants - A warrant
was needed before one could have their land
surveyed. It shows how many acres were to be surveyed and describes
the land.
Bounty Land Warrants - From the Revolutionary War to about 1858, military veterans received free land in exchange for
their military service. Veterans had to apply for the bounty land warrants. These warrants indicate how much land was
given and where the land is located. Since these warrants could be sold or delegated to someone else, it is possible that
the original owner of the warrant might not of lived on the land given to them.
Land Grants - This was
land given to an individual (usually through the headright system). Within the first three years, the owner of the
land had to erect a structure and begin raising crops on an acre of land for every fifty acres owned.
Headrights and Treasury Rights
As a way to boost settlement in the American colonies, the London Company's Great Charter
of 1618 instated the headright system. After the London Company dissolved in 1624, the English government kept using
this system to grant land to anyone who came to the colonies with intentions of staying or dying there. Under this system, an
individual was given 50 acres of land upon coming to the new land. The individual could be anyone and of any age. Large
families that came to the colonies would receive fifty acres of land for each parent and child. An individual could
also receive a lot of land by paying
anyone's passage to the colonies and claiming their headrights. Ship captains
would sometimes claim the headrights of their passengers and sailors on their ships. Some individuals, who went back and forth
from the colonies to England and back again, would claim headrights over and over again. Headrights could also be sold and bought
by other people. These headrights can tell genealogists when a person was in the colonies but not necessarily the date
of arrival. Some did not use their headrights for years. Corruption was rampant as clerks did not check for
duplications and they would create and sell names.
In 1699 a new system was
used which replaced the headrights system. The treasury rights system was similar to the headrights system but one had
to buy the land from the English government. One could buy fifty acres of land for five shillings. In three years
settlers were required to develop one acre per fifty, erect a structure and pay the government a quitrent of one shilling per
fifty acres every year.
