Across the Prairie: Land Records in the Public Land States Speaker: Jamie Lee McManus Mayhew

Wednesday, March 19, 2014 - Yorba Linda Community Center

Land records form the largest group of records for our ancestors and often leave the only clues to marriages, deaths, and relationships.  By the mid 1800’s it is estimated that up to 90% of white males in the United States owned land. When records were destroyed, land records were the first to be recreated leading to land records where no other records exist.

Where do you find land records?  What is the difference between State Land States and Federal Land States?  Did our ancestor receive Bounty Land? Was he or she a homesteader? How can you find out where the land your ancestor owned is today?

Jamie Lee McManus Mayhew is a genealogy researcher and speaker and has been a genealogist for over twenty years.  She currently serves as president of the California State Genealogical Alliance, education chair and webmaster for the Genealogical Society of North Orange County California, board member of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, member of the FamilySearch Research Wiki community council and moderator for the California state research pages on the FamilySearch Research Wiki. Jamie was recently part of the research team for the PBS show Genealogy Roadshow. Further information can be found on her website, http://www.californiacousins.com.

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