Land and Property Research:  Land records are primarily used to learn where individuals lived and when they lived there. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. You may also learn where a person lived previously, their occupation, military service, if a naturalized citizen, and other clues for further research.  Also, since the availability of land attracted many immigrants to America and encouraged westward expansion, land ownership was generally recorded in an area as soon as settlers began to arrive.  There is a high likelihood that your ancestor can be found in land records as these important records sometimes exist when few other records are available.

 

 In this class we will discuss the variety of records that are included in this record group and a seven step process to help find information in these records.  We will also discuss how to obtain information from the Bureau of Land Management and the importance of using maps and Geo coding to locate your ancestor's property with Google Maps and Google Earth.

 

Lexi Merrill was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but married a Hoosier and lives in Indianapolis.  She has been a real estate broker for the last 20 years and has had a lot of experience in researching land and property records, for family history and for past and current clients. She and her husband, Frank, are presently the Directors of the Fishers Indiana Family History Center.