BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT CD-ROM
 General Land Office Records Project

    Accession Number:
An alpha-numeric code unique to each document that directly relates a document image to the
original hardcopy document. Identifies the state, volume number, and page of the original GLO
document. This item is also referred to as the Document Reference ID as discussed in Section
6.11. An example of this might be LA301__.023, which identifies a Lousisana document found in
Volume 301, Page 23.

    Aliquot Parts:
Using the rectangular system of survey, land in each state was divided into Townships containing 6
square miles. Each Township was subdivided into 36 Sections, each containing 640 acres. Each
Section was further subdivided into halves and quarters, repeatedly, until the piece of land was
accurately described. Without the use of Fractional Sections, Blocks, or Lots (in the case of
uneven parcels of land), Aliquot Parts were used to represent the exact subdivision of the section
of land. Halves of a Section (or subdivision thereof) are represented as N, S, E, and W (such as
"the northern half of section 5"). Quarters of a Section (or subdivision thereof) are represented as
NW, SW, NE, and SE (such as "the north-west quarter of section 5"). Sometimes, several
Aliquot Parts are required to accurately describe a piece of land. For example, "E SW" denotes
the eastern half of the south-west quarter containing 80 acres, and "SWNENE" denotes the
south-west quarter of the north-east quarter of the north-east quarter containing 10 acres. It is
important to remember that the Aliquot Parts shown on the system (e.g., "SWNENE") usually
translates into words found on the land document.

In general, a section contains 640 acres,
            a half section contains 320 acres,
            a quarter section contains 160 acres,
            a half of a quarter contains 80 acres,
            a quarter of a quarter contains 40 acres, etc.

    Base Line:
The true east-west line extending from an initial point in both directions.

    Block Number:
A one-, two-, or three-digit number used to describe a block (or piece) of land within a township.
For example, "Block 6 in Township 5 North, Range 12 West".

    Canceled Document: 
Land documents that were issued and later canceled were marked "Canceled" across the face of
the certificate with either a stamp or a handwritten annotation. Canceled documents were usually
replaced by another document. The Comments or remarks field for a canceled document will
sometimes make reference to the document(s) that were used to replace it.

    Date Signed: 
The month, day, and year that the land document was signed.

    Document Image: 
An electronic "picture" of the original land document that has been preserved on optical disk and
that can be shared by several people at the same time.

    Document Number: 
The primary identification number given to the original GLO document. A certificate number,
warrant number, serial number, or patent number may be used as the Document Number.

    Fractional Section: 
If a section of land is not a complete section (e.g., less than 640 acres due to a body of water),
then the section is denoted as a Fractional Section.

    Land Description: 
The narrative found on a document that describes a parcel(s) of land. Using the rectangular
system of survey, an example of a land description is "the southern half of the northern-east
quarter of Section 6 of Township 5 North, Range 12 West of the Lousisana Meridian, containing
80 acres".

    Land Description: 
Number Some land documents contain descriptions of more than one piece of land. In this case,
the land descriptions are numbered in sequence as they appear on the document. This number is
used to establish sequence and to distinguish each land description on a patent.

    Land Office: 
Name of a location (usually a city or town) where the General Land Office established a district
Land Office to handle various land transactions. Patents that were issued were bound into
volumes by Land Office names. Usually, several Land Offices existed for each state.

    Lot: 
Fractional or odd-shaped tracts of land not generally describable by conventional aliquot parts.
Lots are sometimes expressed as "Lot 12" or "Lot 12a". If a lot is included in a description of
land, it will be denoted in the aliquot parts as a one- or two- digit number and may include a lower
case alphabet. For example "Lot 12a of the north-west quarter" is denoted as "12aNW".

    Metes and Bounds Description: 
Some GLO documents contain descriptions of land in terms other than those used by the
Cadastral Surveying Method. Land bordering a river may contain a description or reference
expressed in terms other than Aliquot Parts, Township, and Range. For example, "ten paces north
from the large oak tree". This data item indicates whether or not a Metes and Bounds land
description is used to describe the parcel of land for which the document was issued. 

    Miscellaneous Document Number:
A secondary identification number found on the original GLO document. An application number,
Choctaw certificate number, or survey number may be used as a Miscellaneous Document
Number. Not all documents have a Miscellaneous Document Number (e.g., Cash Entry patnts).

    Multiple Patentee Names: 
If the document was issued to more than one patentee (i.e., several persons), then this data items
will display a Y. The Comments or remarks field will sometimes make reference to the other
Patentee Names that are associated with the document.

    Patentee First Name: 
The first name of the person (i.e., Patentee) that received the document as it appears on the
certificate.

    Patentee Last Name: 
The last name of the person (i.e., the Patentee) that received the document as it appears on the
certificate.

    Patentee Middle Name: 
The middle name or initial of the person (i.e., Patentee) that received the document as it appears
on the certificate.

    Range: 
A row or tier of townships lying east or west of the principal meridian and numbered successively
to the east and to the west from the principal meridian.

    Range Number: 
A Range Number is used to identify the township. The Range Number indicates the East or West
relation to the principal meridian. In the example "Township 5 North, Range 12 West", the
number 12 represents the Range Number that is used to identify the township that is 12 tiers to
the left of the principal meridian.

    Range Direction: 
The range Direction indicates which side of the principal meridian the township is on. In the
example, "Township 5 North, Range 12 West", West indicates the direction of the township from
the (vertical) meridian. Range Directions can be either East or West.

    Remarks: 
This data item may contain general remarks about the document, additional patentee or warrantee
names, or a reference to a replacement document.

    Section: 
A tract of land, 1 mile square, within a township containing 640 acres. Approximately 1/36 of a
township.

    Section Number: 
Most townships contain 36 sections. However, some townships contain more. Each section within
a township is identified by this Section Number.

    Subsurface Rights Reserved: 
Land granted to a patentee was subject to certain vested and accrued rights for mining,
agriculture, manufacturing, or other purposes. This data item indicates whether or not the land
described in the patent involved the reservation of subsurface rights for any of these purposes.

    Title Transfer Authority: 
Refers to the congressional act or treaty that supports the transfer of land from the United States
government to private owners. A set of 6-digit authority codes are used to identify the various
types of land documents. These codes are derived from the chapters in the Federal Code of
Regulations established for the various authorities. An example is Authority Code 251101 which
denotes the Homestead Act of 1862 (as amended).

    Total Acres: 
The total number of acres described on a land document. For those documents that have more
than one parcel of land described, Total Acres is zero for all land descriptions except for the last
one. In this case, the last land description will contain the total acreage for all pieces of land on the
document. This number is expressed to the nearest thousandths of an acre.

    Township: 
A tract of land contained within the boundaries of the north-south range lines containing
approximately 36 square miles or 23,040 acres.

    Township Number:
A Township is a major subdivision of the public lands under the rectangular system of surveys.
Most townships are 4-sided measuring approximately 6 miles on each side and containing
approximately 23,040 acres. A township is identified by its relation to a base line and a principal
meridian. For example, "Township 5 North, Range 12 West" identifies a particular township that
is 5 tiers up from the base line. In this example, the number 5 represents the Township Number.

    Township Direction: 
The Township Direction indicates which side (north or south) of the baseline the township is on. In
the example "Township 5 North, Range 12 West", North indicates the Township Direction from
the (horizontal) baseline. Township Directions can be either North or South.

    Warrantee Last Name: 
The last name of the person (i.e., the Warrantee) that received the Military Warrant as it appears
on the certificate. This data item only applies to Military Warrants.

    Warrantee First Name: 
The first name of the person (i.e., the Warrantee) that received the Military Warrant as it appears
on the certificate. This data item only applies to Military Warrants.