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Land Warrant Applications

What is a land warrant application?

An application was a request to purchase a certain amount of land in a particular locality from the State government. The successful applicant received a land warrant from the State Land Office, and both the applications and warrants are filed in Record Group 17, Records of the Land Office, at the Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg.

Read a more detailed history of the application process.

Which warrant application records relate to which time periods?

Pre-1687

  • Warrant applications were probably made orally and not recorded

1687-1741

  • Some applications were recorded in the Minutes of the Commissioners of Property {series #17.405}
  • First, check Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Volume 19; Third Series, Volume 1, pp. 25-110 (surname index in back of each volume)
  • L.O. digitized rolls 25.1, 25.4, 25.8, 25.20, 25.21
  • See Donna Munger's book Pennsylvania Land Records, pp. 27-30, 92-94

1732-2000

Application Books, 1732-1767 {series #17.24 to #17.29}

  • L.O. digitized rolls 31.1-31.2
  • Entries arranged chronologically by date of warrant
  • Be aware of "Old Style" dates when March was the first month

Applications for Warrants, 1734-1952 {series #17.7}

  • L.O. digitized rolls 7.5-7.20, 7.28-7.101
  • Generally arranged chronologically by date of warrant except for 1762-1776
  • For 1762-76, applications are filed first by year, then by first letter of surname of applicant, then by month and day (if more than one applicant's name appears on the document, it will by filed by the name of the first applicant mentioned)
  • Includes loose East Side Applications, 1765-1769, and West Side Applications, 1766-1769
  • For index to East Side Applications, see Kenneth D. McCrea's Pennsylvania Land Applications, Volume 1: East Side Applications, 1765-1769 (Strasburg, PA: Pennsylvania Chapter, Palatines to America, 2002)
  • For index to West Side Applications, see the index in the Search Room Self Service Area 

Application Lists, 1742-1774 {series #17.8}

  • Entries arranged chronologically by date of warrant

New Purchase Applications, 1769-1773 {series #17.12}

  • L.O. digitized microfilm 7.1-7.4
  • Arranged sequentially by application number
  • For land within the Purchase of 1768 (gray area on "Genealogical Map of the Counties") see Kenneth D. McCrea's Pennsylvania Land Applications, Volume 2: New Purchase Applications, 1769-1773 (Philadelphia: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 2003) for good index to these applications

Pre-Emption Applications, 1785 {series #17.14}

  • L.O. digitized microfilm 7.5
  • Arranged chronologically by date of application
  • Only for northwestern corner of Pennsylvania (Last Purchase - yellow area on the PHMC's "Genealogical Map of the Counties")

Proof of Settlement Certificates, 1792-1865 {series #17.214}

  • L.O. digitized microfilm 14.1-5
  • Arranged first by county, then chronologically
  • Only for western Pennsylvania
  • Key phrase on warrant or survey: "by settlement and improvement"

Warrant and Patent Application Case Files, 1919-2000 {series #17.18}

  • Arranged numerically by case number
  • See container listing online and binder in the current land office files

Further Information

For further information on land warrant applications, consult: Donna B. Munger, Pennsylvania Land Records: A History and Guide for Research (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1991)

For more about Land Office Records in general please see: Record Group 17 (Records of the Land Office)

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