Transcript ANCESTOR TRACKS – USING LAND TRACTS TO TRACK YOUR ANCESTORS Sharon MacInnes, Ph.D. Angus MacInnes Use Your Space Bar or Right Arrow Key to Advance.

ANCESTOR TRACKS – USING
LAND TRACTS TO TRACK YOUR
ANCESTORS
Sharon MacInnes, Ph.D.
Angus MacInnes
Use Your Space Bar or Right Arrow Key to Advance Each Slide
If You Click on a Hyperlink, Use Alt-Tab to Return to this Presentation
Click on “Escape” to Stop Presentation
Links Only Work in Full Slide Show Mode
Our Mission
We are committed to:
 Uncovering land records which will precisely locate the earliest landowners of
►
►
►
►
as many land tracts of Pennsylvania as we can, very often pinpointing
settlers before the first census of 1790 as well as subsequent censuses
Publishing and indexing Township Warrantee Maps containing details of the
first landowners of PA and publishing them as county atlases; these maps
have not previously been easily accessible to researchers
Publishing finding-aid resources for researchers of early landowners, such as
the Warrant Registers in the Pennsylvania Archives which cover all 67
counties, as well as the earliest transfers of land from the Penns to private
individuals (“Original Purchasers” and “Old Rights”); the Patent Registers;
and the Tract Name Indexes for tracts which were patented with names.
Adding free images of maps in the Library of Congress to our website
which show landowners (to coordinate with censuses--1860s, 1870s, etc.)
Linking other sites which have resources for early PA land records to our
site, thus creating a one-stop center where genealogists can click on their PA
county of interest and be taken to those resources, no matter where those
resources might be.
Why Are Landowner Maps
Important?
►
►
►
►
►
►
Warrantee Maps often are the only way to locate exactly
where your ancestors were living prior to and after the
Census of 1790
Friends and relatives moved in groups, so maps help you
trace these movements westward
Neighborhoods often reveal family relationships
Questionable families can be verified through nearby
related families, sponsors and witnesses
Migration trails of related families indicate where to look
next to find yours
Tract locations lead to specific areas to search for original
documents, court records, tax lists, published locality
histories
Where do you go next after you find your ancestor in a census? Use
tax lists, church records, and county histories, but land records are
essential. Residents listed in the census can be placed together
since census takers usually went door-to-door. So check to see if
we have published the Township Warrantee Maps for that county.
For example, William Marsh
owned no land, but the 1790
census places him near several
relatives in Washington Co., PA,
including his mother-in-law Ann
(WELLS) LEVINS (census not
returned by township).
Although the Washington County Census was not returned by
township, the Jefferson Township Warrantee Map in our Early
Landowners of PA: Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps of Washington
County pinpoints closely related residents grouped together in the
1790 Census, including…
Ann Levins’ tract “Rag Town” is shown in Jefferson Twp.,
Washington Co., PA, surrounded by her daughter and son-in-law,
brothers, sons, and nephews. State draftsmen used original
surveys to create Township Warrantee Maps starting in 1907.
The Washington County Warrant Register, pg. 237 (on our CD
Colonial and State Warrant Registers in the Pennsylvania Archives
CD) documents Ann LEVINS’ Warrant to Accept her tract and
shows the page and volume where her Warrant and Survey are
recorded
Ann Levins’ Survey, 1787
(Information on the Township Warrantee Map in our Washington
County Atlas, as well as our Washington County Warrant Register
on CD, led to the original document in the PA Archives, Harrisburg)
What Is Our Process for Our Atlases?
Purchase: We purchase
Township Warrantee Maps,
usually from the
Pennsylvania Archives in
Harrisburg, like this 48”
X43” map of Cumru
Township, Berks Co. If
maps don’t exist for a
township, we search for
and include alternate
sources.
We Transcribe the Data
► We
transcribe all of the information shown
for every tract (the following is part of
Cumru Township, Berks County)
We Add Atlas Coordinates
► After
all data has
been transcribed,
we reduce the size
of the maps and
superimpose them
onto an atlas layout
page
These Maps Introduce Each
Township Chapter
► Now
we proofread each
piece of data for each
tract and add a last
column to the chart for
the coordinates
► Then we add footnotes if
we find data regarding
the specific landowner or
tract
Index
► Finally,
we add an
everyname index to
make all of this
treasure store of
information is
accessible to
researchers
(partial index from our
Greene Co. book)
So How Can a Researcher Use Our
Products?
►
►
►
►
►
After tracing your ancestor back as far as you can go in Pennsylvania
court houses, check the books we have published for those counties,
or click on the map at www.ancestortracks.com to see if another land
record source exists;
and check our Warrant Registers CD to see if your ancestor was an
original owner (warrantee) who purchased from the colony or the
state; also check our Patent Register Indexes CD to see if he or she
was a patentee (someone who purchased from the warrantee and
actually received clear title);
and check our Warrant Registers CD and Patent Registers CD to see if
your ancestor came from a different county, esp. the parent county;
if you only know the name of the tract he or she owned, check our
Tract Name Index CD to see who warranted & patented the land.
Perhaps there’s a connection;
use surrounding names of landowners for further research, placing
your ancestor into the context of his community. You will find clues in
neighboring tracts to relatives and close affinities.
Our Products
►
►
►
►
►
Warrant Registers and Patent Register Indexes and Tract Name
Indexes from PA Archives (on CD) which show the first transfer
of land from the Penns (or later, the Commonwealth) to private
owners. Please note: These registers should not be confused
with the deed registers located in the counties which show all
subsequent land transfers.
County Atlases called Early Landowners of PA: Atlas of Township
Warrantee Maps of *** County
CDs containing the large maps obtained from the PA Archives
and other sources, but not the transcribed information. These
can be cut and pasted into your family history.
Free images showing landowners on our website from later
maps (1860s, 1870s, etc.) (scroll down page)
Links to other sites which have resources for early PA land
records to our site (scroll down to PA map)
Ordering Information
► Using
the information in our Warrant and Patent
Indexes (on CDs), or the Tract Name Index (on
CD), or on the Township Warrantee Maps (in our
books), you can request copies of original
warrants, surveys and patents from Harrisburg as
follows:
 $25/name for non-PA residents (search includes 10
single-sided xerox copies)
 $15 for PA residents
PA State Archives
350 North Street
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0090
How Can You Help Other Researchers Access
These Essential Tools for Uncovering Early PA
Landowners?
►
►
►
►
►
►
Click on the following if you have a genealogical society or
family history newsletter
Click on the following if you are a speaker or lecturer
Click on the following if you are a professional genealogist
Click on the following if you are a genealogical librarian or
historical society
Click on the following if you have a website
If our website at www.ancestortracks.com does not
address an issue or you think of something else, click on
the following for all suggestions or questions
And the #1 Reason Why land matters…
“I remember vividly one trip to what we had identified as a many great
grandfather’s acreage. I was standing, looking at the land, much how it must
have looked nearly 250 years ago with its ever-expanding stands of trees,
valleys and hills, and each little valley having a ‘run’ or ‘lick’ to identify it and
the people who lived there. I could smell my ancestry in the handful of dirt I
picked up, a clean earthen smell that told of the melding of a people and the
land. It told a story of people that moved on, and were better for having
known the land, leaving behind a land that was better for having known the
people. It told the story of a hard and hostile land, of Indian raids and
captured or dying children, spouses, cousins, and families, but also the story of
gentle land, of rebirth, joining and continuing the cycle.
“Here in this little valley that still held so many of my ancestors, I was touched by
the smallness of it all, the smallness of West Virginia, the smallness of myself,
yet a smallness, that when put together with all the other smallnesses creates
the vast tapestry we call genealogy. Standing there with the dust flowing from
my outstretched palm, and the warm wind at my face, it suddenly dawned on
me why my wife and I do genealogy. It’s not to prove that we’re related to
some magnificent historical figure or group, and it’s not to have a legacy to
pass on to our children or grandchildren, but simply a drive to complete the
puzzle, a genealogical jigsaw puzzle with its myriad of shapes and colors. We
keep looking for the pieces and trying to fit them together, turning, twisting
and examining each piece, until we fit it in with the rest, or set it aside to be
looked at later. And we do all this for no other reason than deep inside we
know the puzzle needs to be worked.” Dennis Ridenour, NGS