Land records such as property tax lists, deeds and deed indexes go back further in time that any other type of genealogical research record.  Deeds can help you discover your heritage. Deeds can often provide evidence of family history relationships, names of neighbors, how long an ancestor was living in an area, given name of the female spouse, approximate dates of death and many other useful clues.  The Homestead Act of 1862 enabled approximately 800,000 citizens or intended citizen to become landowners.  Many states had their own land lotteries starting in the 1700′s to bring people to new territory and help establish communities. Why Land Records? Tracing males is easier than females.  This is due in large part to many extra available records for males, such as railroad, military, voters, tax, and deed records.  It is estimated that 90% of the adult white male population owned land. Land records such as property tax lists, deeds, and real estate transactions…

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