How to Get a Federal Land Patent in Oklahoma
Federal land patents are documents that transfer land from the ownership of the government to the ownership of an individual. In Oklahoma, these land patents were split between two territories: Indian and Oklahoma. Most of the early records come from the land runs that took place from 1889 to about 1907. During this time, settlers could purchase unassigned land and in return receive a land patent. Obtaining a certified copy of a land patent is useful in establishing your land rights and genealogy. Land patents were passed down through families and were permanent.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Go to the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records website. At the home page, click "Search land patents" to find land patents for specific individuals.
-
2
Choose how you would like to search for the patent. The basic search requires that you input the state, in this case Oklahoma, and the name of the patentee or warrantee. The standard search gives you a number of options including searching by the date issued, the county it is in, or the patentee's or warrantee's name. The accession/serial search option allows you to search by the accession number, the serial patent number, the BLM serial number, the military warrant number, the miscellaneous volume number, the Indian Allotment Patent Number or the credit volume number. Input whichever information you have and click "Search."
-
-
3
Select the patent you are searching for from the results list. The more information you were able to enter into the search options, the more accurate your results will be. Click to open the record.
-
4
Click the "certified copy" or "document image tab" from the options that pop up on the page. The "patent description" and "legal land description" tabs will give you important information about the patent but they will not help you obtain a physical copy of the patent. The document image option will allow you to see the patent online but it will not be a certified copy that is usable in land debates, transfers or as genealogical proof. The certified copy tab allows you to purchase a copy of the actual document, whose authenticity has been verified.
-
5
Choose to add the document to your cart and follow the step-by-step checkout procedure. If you do not want to use the online function, you can also obtain the document by submitting the order form by mail. At the checkout page, choose the "mail-in" option and you will be redirected to instructions on how to fill out your form and to which office to send your request. Most records are kept at the Eastern land office but some may be at the Oklahoma field office.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Countryside land image by Rose from Fotolia.com
