U.S. Elba Land Office - Registers of military bounty land warrants, 1847-1886.

ArchivalResource

Alabama. Secretary of State. Lands Division. U.S. Elba Land Office - Registers of military bounty land warrants, 1847-1886.

U.S. Elba Land Office - Registers of military bounty land warrants, 1847-1886.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122330760

Land not bought at public auction was "subject for private entry" and could be bought at anytime at the local land office. The land could be paid for in a variety of ways, including with military bounty land warrants. These warrants were issued by the U.S. Commissioner of Pensions for services rendered in several wars before 1855. The warrants were issued in denominations of 40, 60, 80, 120 or 160 acres and were assignable from one person to another. The warrants were worth $1.25 per acre. If the land selected sold for more than that price,the purchaser was required to make up the difference in money or with additional warrants. The purchaser was also required to pay fees to the district land officers who processed the application. Several U.S. Congressional acts governed the issuance of military land warrants. Land in Ala. was influenced by the following acts of 1847, 1850, 1852, 1855: 1847 Feb. 11 "An act to raise for a limited time an additional military force and for other purposes"; 1850 Sept. 28 "An act granting bounty lands to certain officers and soldiers"; 1852 June 2 "An act to make land warrants assignable and for other purposes"; and 1855 Mar. 3 "An act in addition to certain acts granting bounty land to certain officers and soldiers who have been engaged in military service of the U.S." These registers were used by district land office Receivers and Registers to record information pertaining to the use of military bounty land warrants to purchase land. Each entry generally includes the number of the certificate issued by the local Register and Receiver, the number of the warrant, the date of the warrant certificate, the number of acres provided in the warrant, the name of the warrant holder, the tract location, the date the land was claimed, who claimed the land (possibly a warrant assignee) and remarks. Remarks may include the number of excess acres, a receipt number or whether the warrant was assigned to another individual. These records cover the 1847, 1850, 1852 and 1855 acts and include entries made in Sparta before the office was moved to Elba in 1854. These records demonstrate the use of military bound land warrants to purchase land in Ala. and provide information on land settlement in the state.

1 cubic ft. (2 volumes and one folder).

Alabama Department of Archives and History