PA State Archives

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Land Records

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After the outbreak of the Revolutionary War the proprietary Land Office ceased to function. The Divesting Act of 1779 transferred ownership of most of the remaining 22 million acres of proprietary lands to the Commonwealth. In 1781 the Revolutionary Era State Assembly created a new State Land Office consisting of a Secretary, a Receiver General, and a Surveyor General who were assigned the records and responsibilities of their proprietary predecessors of the same titles. A Board of Property, similar to Commissioners of Property under the Penn government, was also created in 1782 to hear and determine cases of disputes arising from the transaction of Land Office business. The Board initially consisted of either the president or vice-president of the Supreme Executive Council, an additional member of the Council, and the appointed officers of the Land Office.

In 1809, the offices of Receiver General and Master of Rolls were abolished and the responsibilities of collecting purchase money and enrolling state laws were assigned to the Secretary of the Land Office and the Secretary of the Commonwealth respectively. In that year, the patent books and land-title papers of the Master of Rolls were transferred to the Secretary of the Land Office. In 1843, the functions of the Secretary of the Land Office were inherited by the Surveyor General. The Constitution of 1873 transferred the duties of the Surveyor General and the Land Office to the Secretary of Internal Affairs. The Land Office Bureau, or as it was later designated, the Bureau of Land Records, remained in the Department of Internal Affairs until 1968, when it was assigned to the Department of Community Affairs. In 1981, the Bureau of Land Records and its functions were transferred to the Historical and Museum Commission where it became the Division of Land Records in 1986. In 1989 the Division of Land Records was merged into the Division of Archives and Manuscripts within the Bureau of Archives and History and no longer existed as an independent entity. In the year 2000, the patenting functions of the Land Office were placed into the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The Division of Archives and Manuscripts in the Bureau of Archives and History of the Historical and Museum Commission remains the depository of original titles and conveyances and the custodian of deeds and instruments relating to real estate owned by the Commonwealth.

The Land Office was also custodian of the records of the Pennsylvania Board of Canal Commissioners which was authorized in 1826 to construct and operate a state canal system. In 1857 and 1858 the waterways and adjunct railroads of the Pennsylvania Canal were sold by the Commonwealth. When the Board of Canal Commissioners was abolished in 1859 its records were transferred first to the Department of Auditor General, and then in 1885 to the Department of Internal Affairs. With the transfer of the Land Office to the Historical and Museum Commission in 1981, these records came to reside with the other Land Office records in the Division of Archives and Manuscripts.

For each series title, the Land Office microfilm (LO) roll number is given where applicable as well as the page number (PLR) on which the records are described in Donna Munger's Pennsylvania Land Records, A History and Guide for Research. In order to avoid confusion among patrons using this published finding aid, to the extent practical series titles have been made to conform to titles appearing in Donna Munger's guide. This WEB finding aid contains numerous additions, revisions and corrections to Donna Munger's guide and in cases of conflicting information this WEB finding aid should be regarded as the more accurate. The series titles for the records of the Land Office are here arranged by functional groupings that reflect the evolving procedures used for granting land in Pennsylvania during the last three centuries. Occasionally, more than one record series will be found bound within a single volume and these are therefore listed as separate series. Records relating to special programs such as islands, Connecticut and Virginia Claims, Donation and Depreciation lands, Nicholson lands and the graduated land program are grouped into their respective categories together with a historical explanation of the special circumstances involved. Correspondence, minute books, ledgers, journals, and daybooks that represent routine daily or monthly operations of commissions, boards, or offices continue to be grouped together under the offices by which they were created and are accompanied by a history of the respective commission, board, or office.

Patrons researching early land grants and who know the name of either the original warrantee or patentee may proceed directly to the warrant and patent indexes to find the volume, book, and page numbers on which the warrant, survey, and patent are recorded. In cases where such names are not known, but the location of the tract is known, patrons may wish to first examine any existing warrantee township maps, connected drafts, or county worksheet folios in the Land Office Map Collection. There is also an index available if the name of the tract is known but not the name of the warrantee or patentee. For more complicated searches, patrons should consult Donna Munger's Pennsylvania Land Records. A History and Guide for Research.

I.Records of Pre-Penn Settlement

II.Deeds of Lease and Release

III.Warrant Applications