PA State Archives Hours, Directions, & Fees Research Topics Online Catalog Land Records

 

 

 


Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania State Archives


RG-17
Records of the Land Office
WARRANT REGISTERS, 1733-1957. {series #17.88}

*Images of Each Index Page for Each County*


Below are links to the scanned Warrant Register pages for each county. These Warrant Registers serve as the basic index to the original land warrants, surveys and patents for about 70% of the land in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the dates 1733-ca.1957. (For the pre-1733 period, consult the Old Rights Registers {series #17.78 and 17.79} and the Proprietary Rights Index {series #17.116}. For late-twentieth-century warrants and patents, contact the Pennsylvania State Archives at: (717) 783-3281)

The scanned Warrant Registers for 1733-1957 {series #17.88} are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the person who got the warrant (warrantee). More specifically, entries are grouped by the first letter of a person's surname, and thereunder arranged in rough chronological order by warrant date. Although the Warrant Registers also provide the name of the person who received the patent (patentee), they do not include an index by this name. You must use the Patent Indexes {series #17.147, 17.154 and 17.155} to look up properties by patentee name if that is all you know.

The geographical area covered by any particular warrant register includes the boundaries of the county as it existed at the time of the warrant. Parent counties contain entries for properties that eventually ended up in other counties, breaking off from the parent at a later date. For example, a 1765 warrant for land now in Lebanon County would be entered in the Lancaster County warrant register. When a new county was formed, the earlier records were not transferred from the parent county. So be aware of county boundary changes as you consult the Warrant Registers. You may want to refer to our list of county formation dates.

Steps for Using the Scanned Warrant Register pages:

  1. First, you will need to determine the name of the warrantee, the approximate date of the warrant, and the approximate location of the land from other sources.
  2. Based on this information, select the county below in which the land most likely was
    located.
  3. Click on the county name below and a list of pages in the warrant register for that county
    should appear.
  4. Follow the directions at the top of the county warrant register page.
  5. Please note: The page images are in Adobe pdf format and require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to be viewed and printed. The software is available for download free of charge from Adobe's website.
  6. To order copies of the patents indexed herein, provide the appropriate citations to the Archives at: Pennsylvania State Archives, 1681 North Sixth Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102-1106, (717) 783-3281
  7. A current land records order form and price list may be accessed on our website
  8. Trouble? Use this email link to contact an archivist.


Adams County
Allegheny County Northwest
Allegheny County Southeast
Armstrong County
Baynton & Wharton Index
(history of Baynton-Wharton operation)
Beaver County

Bedford County
Berks County
Blair County
Bradford County
Bucks County
Butler County
Cambria County
Cameron County
Carbon County
Centre County
Chester County
Clarion County
Clearfield County
Clinton County
Columbia County
Crawford County
Cumberland County
Dauphin County
Delaware County
Elk County
Erie County
Fayette County
Forest County
Franklin County
Fulton County
Greene County
Huntingdon County
Indiana County
Jefferson County
Juniata County
Lackawanna County
Lancaster County
Lawrence County
Lebanon County
Lehigh County
Luzerne County
Lycoming County
McKean County
Mercer County
Mifflin County
Monroe County
Montgomery County
Montour County
Northampton County
Northumberland County
Northumberland Lottery
(history of Northumberland Lottery)
Perry County
Philadelphia County
Pike County
Potter County
Schuylkill County
Snyder County
Somerset County
Sullivan County
Susquehanna County
Tioga County
Union County
Venango County
Warren County
Washington County
Wayne County
Westmoreland County
Wyoming County
York County

Other Related Indexes:
In addition to the county warrant registers, several other volumes index warrants and claims for the same time period. When searching for a particular individual or property, consult both the county warrant register and the pertinent index listed below if one covers the area and time period in which you are interested. The series descriptions to which this list is linked will provide more information on each index.

Certified Townships: Luzerne County [Connecticut Settlers], [c.1782-1810]. {series #17.205} .
- for Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming Counties

Last Purchase Warrant Register, 1785-1821, 1785-1821. {series #17.105}
- for Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bradford, Butler, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Tioga, Venango and Warren Counties

Depreciation Land Register, [c.1785-1792]. {series #17.185}
- Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence Counties

Donation Land Register, [c.1786-1810]. {series #17.174}
- Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango and Warren Counties

Warrant Register Anomalies:
The county warrant registers have several anomalies with which the researcher should be familiar.

The entries for Allegheny County are divided into two sections: one section for warrants issued north and west of the Ohio River and another section for warrants issued south and east of the Ohio River. The warrants for each area are numbered separately.

The Northumberland Lottery warrant register indexes warrants that were issued for the eastern section of the Last Purchase (1784), primarily the region that is now Tioga County and the surrounding area. Following the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784 by which Pennsylvania acquired the northwestern third of the state, the entire extent of the new acquisition was assigned to Northumberland County until it was later divided into regions covered by Allegheny and Lycoming Counties. The Commonwealth initially attempted to sell land in the 1784 purchase by lottery.

The Baynton and Wharton Warrant Register indexes warrants issued 1762-1767 to John Baynton and Samuel Wharton-who operated a Philadelphia-based mercantile firm-and to others who obtained warrants under their auspices for land primarily in Bedford, Blair, Franklin, Huntingdon and Mifflin Counties. Baynton and Wharton secured these warrants to protect their trade routes with the interior of the Commonwealth.

 



PA State Archives Hours, Directions, & Fees Research Topics Online Catalog Land Records