gr00666.xml U. S. General Land Office: An Inventory of Its Original Entry Tract Books and Index at the Minnesota Historical Society Minnesota Historical Society

St. Paul, MN.

Government Records

Finding aid encoded by Cheri Thies, October 2012. Finding aid written in English. OVERVIEW Minnesota Historical Society United States. General Land Office. Original Entry Tract Books and Index. 1848-circa 1930. Materials in English. Tract books kept by the Minnesota local offices of the General Land Office to provide a consolidated record of the initial transfer of title to federal land from the United States to private parties or to the state of Minnesota. 56.25 cubic feet (38 boxes); 46 microfilm reels; 1008 microfiche. See Detailed Description for shelf locations. SCOPE AND CONTENTS

For each parcel of land they give its legal description, acreage, price, name of purchaser or transferree, sale date and certificate number or other disposition data, name of final patentee, date of final patent, and citation to the patent record in the General Land Office records.

Some text is faint or obscure, due to poor condition of the original paper and/or ink. The original records may be made available if data proves to be illegible on the microfilm (see Access Restrictions below).

The index, organized by range and township, cites the volume(s) and page(s) in the original entry tract books.

Supplemented by two unfilmed volumes for lands in north central and far western Minnesota containing some entries and/or patent information that is not recorded in the main set of tract books.

ARRANGEMENT

The records are arranged in the following sections.

Index (Microfiche SAF 7-I) Original Entry Tract Books (Microfilm SAM 46) Original Entry Tract Books and Indexes (Unfilmed) Closed Originals Closed Master Microfiche CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: Land titles -- Registration and transfer -- Minnesota. Public land sales -- Minnesota. Public lands -- Minnesota. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Access Restrictions:

Microfilmed originals (55.5 cubic feet) and master microfiche (1008 microfiche) are held by the Minnesota Historical Society and closed to general use.

In the case of records being illegible on the microfilm, the original records may be consulted. They are located off site in Remote Storage, however, and advance arrangements are required in order to view the files.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. United States. General Land Office. Original Entry Tract Books and Index. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

Microfilm. Saint Paul, MN : Minnesota Historical Society, 1984. 46 microfilm reels : 35 mm.

Microfiche. Burbank, CA and Saint Paul, MN : P.F.A., Inc. and Minnesota Historical Society, 1984. 1008 microfiche : 16 mm.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 985-1; 985-2

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 001704783

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Index to Original Entry Tract Books, undated (Microfiche SAF 7-I)

Organized by range and township; it cites the volume(s) and page(s) on which entries for land in a particular township appear. This index is also included on the first reel of the microfilmed Original Entry Tract Books and in a print version in the repository’s microfilm reading room.

The index was also filmed at the beginning of reel 1 in the following set of microfilm and is available in a print version in the Minnesota Historical Society's microfilm reading room.

SAF 7-I A R1-63, R1-32W, 4th Prime Meridian. SAF 7-I B R3W-R42W, 5th Prime Meridian. SAF 7-I C R43W-R51W, 5th Prime Meridian. Original Tract Entry Books, 1848-circa 1930 (Microfilm SAM 46)

Tract books kept by the Minnesota local offices of the General Land Office to provide a consolidated record of the initial transfer of title to federal land from the United States to private parties or to the state of Minnesota. For each parcel of land they give its legal description, acreage, price, name of purchaser or transferree, sale date and certificate number or other disposition data, name of final patentee, date of final patent, and citation to the patent record in the General Land Office records.

SAM 46 1 Index; Volumes 1-3. SAM 46 2 Volumes 4-6. SAM 46 3 Volumes 7-9. SAM 46 4 Volumes 10-12. SAM 46 5 Volumes 13-15. SAM 46 6 Volumes 16-18. SAM 46 7 Volumes 19-21. SAM 46 8 Volumes 22-24. SAM 46 9 Volumes 25-27. SAM 46 10 Volumes 28-30. SAM 46 11 Volumes 31-33. SAM 46 12 Volumes 34-36. SAM 46 13 Volumes 37-39. SAM 46 14 Volumes 40-42. SAM 46 15 Volumes 43-45. SAM 46 16 Volumes 46-48. SAM 46 17 Volumes 49-51. SAM 46 18 Volumes 52-54. SAM 46 19 Volumes 55-57. SAM 46 20 Volumes 58-60. SAM 46 21 Volumes 61-64. SAM 46 22 Volumes 65-67. SAM 46 23 Volumes 68-70. SAM 46 24 Volumes 71-73. SAM 46 25 Volumes 74-76. SAM 46 26 Volumes 77-79. SAM 46 27 Volumes 80-82. SAM 46 28 Volumes 83-86. SAM 46 29 Volumes 87-89. SAM 46 30 Volumes 90-92. SAM 46 31 Volumes 93-95. SAM 46 32 Volumes 96-99. SAM 46 33 Volumes 100-103. SAM 46 34 Volumes 104-107. SAM 46 35 Volumes 108-110. SAM 46 36 Volumes 111-114. SAM 46 37 Volumes 115-117. SAM 46 38 Volumes 118-121. SAM 46 39 Volumes 122-125. SAM 46 40 Volumes 126-128. SAM 46 41 Volumes 129-131. SAM 46 42 Volumes 132-134. SAM 46 43 Volumes 135-137. SAM 46 44 Volumes 138-140. SAM 46 45 Volumes 141-143. SAM 46 46 Volumes 144-146. Original Tract Entry Books and Indexes, undated (Unfilmed)

These volumes include some entries and/or patent information not recorded in the main set.

114.J.3.7B-2 Volume [147] Index. 1 folder. Volume [147].

Ranges 25-31, townships 147-157 (Becker, Itasca, and Koochiching counties.

Volume [148] Index. 1 folder. Volume [148].

Range 48, townships 140-143, and range 49, townships 125, 136-144 (west central Minnesota, along the North and South Dakota borders).

Closed Originals

Access restricted. Closed to general use, researchers are directed to use the microfilm.

308.G.1.1F Index; Volumes 1-4. 308.G.1.2F Volumes 5-8. 308.G.1.3B Volumes 9-12. 308.G.1.4F Volumes 13-16 308.G.1.5B Volumes 17-20. 308.G.1.6F Volumes 21-24. 308.G.1.7B Volumes 25-28. 308.G.1.8F Volumes 29-32. 308.G.2.1B Volumes 33-36. 308.G.2.2F Volumes 37-40. 308.G.2.3B Volumes 41-44. 308.G.2.4F Volumes 45-48. 308.G.2.5B Volumes 49-52. 308.G.2.6F Volumes 53-56. 308.G.2.7B Volumes 57-60. 308.G.2.8F Volumes 61-64. 308.G.3.1B Volumes 65-68. 308.G.3.2F Volumes 69-72. 308.G.3.3B Volumes 73-76. 308.G.3.4F Volumes 77-80. 308.G.3.5B Volumes 81-84. 308.G.3.6F Volumes 85-88. 308.G.3.7B Volumes 89-92. 308.G.3.8F Volumes 93-96. 308.G.4.1B Volumes 97-100. 308.G.4.2F Volumes 101-104. 308.G.4.3B Volumes 105-108. 308.G.4.4F Volumes 109-112. 308.G.4.5B Volumes 113-116. 308.G.4.6F Volumes 117-120. 308.G.4.7B Volumes 121-124. 308.G.4.8F Volumes 125-128. 308.G.5.1B Volumes 129-132. 308.G.5.2F Volumes 133-136. 308.G.5.3B Volumes 137-140. 308.G.5.4F Volumes 141-144. 308.G.5.5B Volumes 145-146. Closed Master Microfiche

Access restricted. Closed to general use, researchers are directed to use the microfilm.

Created from the microfilm to distribute to Department of Natural Resources [DNR] field offices. Positive copies were given to the DNR; the Minnesota Historical Society retained the negative copies.

SAFN 7 1848-circa 1930. 1008 microfiche.

A listing of each microfiche’s contents is housed in the State Archives accession file for these records.