View source for Land Entry Case Files

=== Use the case file data  ===

Once you obtain a photocopy of an ancestor's land entry, be sure to 

'''Evaluate and record the data.''' [[Evaluate the Evidence|Evaluate]] each piece of information given. Assess its accuracy and likelihood. Compare and contrast the new data with previous information about the ancestor. Try to explain contradictory data. 

Add any new genealogical information and [[Transfer the Information|source footnotes]] to your personal records of the family. For example, [[Adding a Custom Event to a PAF Family Group Record|add a custom event]] for a land transaction to the ancestor's family group record. Also, [[Share the Information|share the new genealogical data]] and source footnotes in public records like FamilySearch Tree. 

'''Follow-up sources.''' Then use the new information from the case file to help find further records. For example: 

:*'''Tract books.''' Every case file has a corresponding [[Tract books|tract book]] entry. If you have not already found the tract book entry, do so now. Look for relatives and neighbors in nearby tract book entries. 
:*'''Other related files.''' Case files are usually only part of the iceberg. Patents, warrants, surveys, and newspaper notifications are among the kinds of records that '''''may&nbsp;''''' be found outside of case files. Look for extra land records at the federal, state, or county levels. 
:*'''Disposal of the property.''' Find out how your ancestor disposed of the property as a way of finding clues about possible relatives. For example, your ancestor may have sold or given land to his or her heirs before death, or the heirs may have sold the land after the individual died. For daughters, the names of their husbands are often provided. For sons, the given names of their wives may be included. Heirs may have sold their interest in the land to another heir even though the record may not indicate this. 
:*'''Nearby property transactions.''' Look for your ancestor acquiring, or disposing of nearby property. Also, look to see if the ancestor disposed of property at a previous residence before moving to this property. 
:*'''Neighboring people.''' Use tracts books, other land records, and censuses to find neighbors. Neighbors sometimes turn out to be relatives. 
:*'''Other non-land sources.''' Use the residence and names to locate other records in the area such as church and census records. 
:*'''Similar surnames.''' Search for records of people in the area who shared a similar surname. These may have been the couple’s parents, uncles, or other relatives. Your ancestor may have been an heir who sold inherited land that had belonged to parents or grandparents. 
:*'''Earlier or later time periods.''' Search the land records for years before and after an ancestor's land transaction. Families are sometimes part of a chain migration. In such cases one family moves into an area and some years later their old neighbors or relatives join them, or leave for another new home. Studying older and newer land records may help show this.