Ever wonder how to locate historical county land. It’s not precise but for research purposes, it’s a start. For the purposes of this example, I’m researching land once owned by Mark Mitchell High, 1805 – 1870.
Step 1: Go to Bureau of Land Management >search Patents. Enter the following information
- State = Mississippi
- County = Oktibbeha
- Last Name = High
- First Name = add if the last name is common one in the county (Note: I did NOT add Mark)
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Below, is High’s earliest 1856 patent data.
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Step 2: Go to Earthpoint >choose “Search By Description” (along the left hand side, under USA Utilities) >enter the following information.
- State = Mississippi
- Meridian = Choctaw
- Township = 018N
- Range = 012E
- Section = 2
- Aliquot is not an option (e.g., SW¼ NW¼)
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Step 3: Click “View” and note the 640 acres and the results: Centroid 33.4531237, -89.0102520
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Step 4: Go back to High’s patent results, at BLM, and click on Accession information (e.g., MS1540__399).
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Notes the number of acres he purchased under “Survey Information”: 39.33 (of the 640 total acres).
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Step 5: Sign into your Google Drive account (drive.google.com)>click My Drive>click More (at the bottom)>click Google My Maps.
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In the Search box below , enter the Centroid results: 33.4531237, -89.0102520
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And, below, voilá! Or, as Thomas MacEntee says, “viola”! 😉
Step 6: Click the map marker and click + (plus) to add marker to map.
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