Land Records - 5 Tips to Track Down What You Need
Land records can include real property records. But they generally connote documents that specifically describe the land itself and it's transactions - regardless of what structures are erected on it.
The term "land records" is commonly found in historical or genealogical archives. The term often referred to homesteads, dating back all the way to frontier land.
Land Records - 5 Facts You Must Know
Early Vital Records Were Mishmash
If you visit the National Archives website, you will notice links to land records located in the same database as
Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce records. The reason for this is that all of them were part of census records, at least from the 1800s till the early 1900s. Early records
also have varying degrees of completeness.
Don't Look for Land in New Vital Records
If you look at contemporary US Vital Records databases, you'll find that land records are no longer included. Where have they gone? Well, for an online search, here's
where you should check first:
- County Recorder, Clerk, or Registrar - Department of Real Estate and Tax Assessment - State or County Databases for Property Tax Records
States and Counties Don't Keep Uniform Records
If I were looking for land records in Arlington, Virginia, for instance, I'd check the Department of Real Estate Assessments.
But if I wanted land records from Fairfax County, I'd have two options.
I could start at the Tax Administration Department, which has a Real Estate Division. I could also use the icare database and perform a property tax records search.
But, say, I was looking for property in the District of Columbia, my best bet would be the online Taxpayer Service Center maintained by the state government. From there, I'd have two options again:
Use the Real Property Assessment Database
Use the Real Property Sales Database
Moral of the story: Don't waste your time with a national or state database, unless it's your only option (highly unlikely though). Go straight down to the county or even the town. Speaking of towns...
Town Records Are Great Places for Historical Land Searches
This is especially true around New England where the primary local record keeper is the Town Clerk to this day. But if you want really old land records, you won't
find them with a Town Clerk but with a Proprietor. The records of a Proprietor would date from before the town was founded.
Aside from land records, town records can give you what vital records give you now PLUS records of pretty much everything else! Check this sampling (there ARE more!): Minutes of Town Meetings, Appointment Records, Freemen Oaths (from when a man becomes eligible to vote), School Records, Cemetery Records, Stray Animal Records (called "estrays"), Warnings Outs of Town, etc!
If this amazing variety of records can't be found at the town level, check the New Hampshire Historical Society, which keeps original records as well.
If the County Courthouse Restricts You Sign Up for Genealogy
Despite federal e-government efforts, there are states that have barred the general public from accessing their courthouse records. This means you can view them
only if you're a lawyer or an officer of the court - well, unless you've signed up to be a local genealogy society member!
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