Search for content in message boards

mexican war land grant application

mexican war land grant application

Posted: 8 Jul 2013 8:46PM GMT
Classification: Query
my ancestor received land grant (166 acres) as result of his son's service in mexican war. how do i find the application for the land warrant? i assume there must be one.

Re: mexican war land grant application

Posted: 14 Nov 2013 8:28PM GMT
Classification: Query
If the son served in the Mexican War, first check to see if there was a pension granted. If so, then the bounty land warrant application should be filed in with the pension file. If there was no pension, there will be a separate bounty land warrant application file. All of this would be at NARA, and these documents are not online or on microfilm as of now. I make color digital images, copying from the original paper at NARA.

Are you sure it was for 166 acres? That is a very unusual amount. It is probably 160 acres. You can search for the name at the BLM website at: www.glorecords.blm.gov and click "land patents". Any land transaction listed there would have a small file of documents at NARA. You can look at the detail screen where it says, "authority" and if it says "scrip-warrant act of 1812" (or of 1847, 1850, or 1855), then that would be federal bounty land as a result of military service. You can click on the "document image" to see the patent certificate, which would include the regiment that the soldier was in. With that information, you can get the service record, pension file, and any bounty land application file and/or surrendered warrant file, all from NARA.

Re: mexican war land grant application

Posted: 30 May 2015 8:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you, this was VERY helpful! Using the link I found the warrant issued for my great, great, great grandfather's service in the Mexican War. The warrant also provided desired information about his service. The land is still in the family.

Re: mexican war land grant application

Posted: 26 Jun 2015 3:09AM GMT
Classification: Query
What you found at the BLM website was an image of the PATENT, not the warrant. The warrant was a fancy document that was sent to the soldier, showing that he was entitled to a certain number of acres of land. Soldiers who applied for a bounty land warrant could either exchange the warrant for a land patent (land ownership), or they could sell the warrant for cash, and the other party would then patent land with it. The sale would be recorded on the back of the warrant certificate. The actual warrant certificates, along with the bounty land file that would include the soldier's application for bounty land, would be at NARA DC. If you are interested in the bounty land application file and/or the surrendered warrant, you can contact me: peg (at) reevesweb (dot com)
per page

Find a board about a specific topic