Obtaining Homestead Records
National Archives
To obtain copies of a patent file you need to submit your request on a copy
of Form 84.
To get the form, send an e-mail message to: inquire@nara.gov. In the body
of the message, ask for Form 84 "Order for Copies of Land Entry Files,"
state how many copies you want (get at least 2, in case you make a mistake)
and give your name and mailing address so they will the forms.
Or write:
Old Military and Civil Records (NWCTB-Land)
Textual Archives Services Division
National Archives and Records Administration
Washington, DC 20408-0001
After you fill out Form 84 and send it back to the National Archives, they
will send you the packet for $17.75 (in 2003). Don't send the money until
they notify you that they have located the packet. It will go faster if you
use a credit card, but it will still take 60 to 90 days.
State Archives
Most of the homesteaded states have the land tract records at their state
archives. These are the records made when the land was first homesteaded
or purchased from the federal government. In order to find a land tract record
you must first know the name of the state, county, township or township and
range number, and the section number. The Bureau of Land Records can furnish
this land description for you. For North and South Dakota these records are
listed online at NDGENWEB and SDGENWEB. I have not been able to find them
for other states, but I'm sure they do exist.
County level
County Recorders or Register of Deeds keep the records of all land transactions
within their county.