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Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania State Archives
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:
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Adams
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Other Related Indexes: Certified
Townships: Luzerne County [Connecticut Settlers], [c.1782-1810]. {series
#17.205} . Last Purchase Warrant Register,
1785-1821, 1785-1821. {series #17.105} Depreciation Land Register, [c.1785-1792].
{series #17.185} Donation Land Register, [c.1786-1810].
{series #17.174} Warrant Register Anomalies: 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.
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| PA State Archives | Hours, Directions, & Fees | Research Topics | Online Catalog | Land Records |