Revolutionary War Bounty Land Claims

Research Guides

Archival Collections

Military Bounty Records are part of the Records of the Executive Branch, Land Office (Record Group 4). Described in Virginia Land Office Inventory, entries 84–103. Not all bounty land records have been indexed or digitized. See collection descriptions for LOI 7, LOI 84, LOI 95, LOI 96, LOI 98, LOI 99.

• Anderson-Latham Collection, 1777–1881, Acc. 23634, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Anderson (1750–1826) was the principal surveyor for Virginia bounty land claims in Kentucky. His son-in-law Latham (1792–1871) was a military claim agent for Ohio lands. This collection has not been digitized or microfilmed. See Finding Aid. Large collections of Anderson and Latham papers are also located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Western Reserve Historical Society and Marietta College Library.
• John K. Martin Records, 1777–1907,  Acc. 12, Business records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Martin (1817–1883) was a pension and claims agent for military veterans. His papers consist largely of claim files containing correspondence with the claimant, documentation of military service, proofs of inheritance, and drafts of correspondence with federal government agencies. It contains 440 individual claims for Revolutionary War Bounty Land. This collection has not been digitized or microfilmed. See Finding Aid. 
• Virginia Governor's Office. Rejected Claims, 1779–1860. Acc. 41986, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Available on microfilm, Revolutionary War Rejected Claims Reels 1–15.
• Virginia Governor's Office. Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants. Acc. 41429, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Available on microfilm, Revolutionary War Bounty Claims Reels 1–29.
• Virginia Land Office. Military Certificates from the Virginia Land Office, 1782–1876. Land Office Inventory Entry No. 89, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.  [Recorded, Books 1–3, certificate nos. 1–9926]. Available on microfilm, Land Office Reels 345–347.
• Virginia Land Office. Military Certificates from the Virginia Land Office, 1782–1876. Land Office Inventory Entry No. 86, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Available on microfilm, Military Certificates Reels 1-38. 
• Virginia Land Office. Military Warrants from the Virginia Land Office, 1782–1889. Land Office Inventory Entry No. 91, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Available on microfilm, Land Office Reels 348–350.
• Virginia Land Office. Ohio Land Office Records Relating to Virginia Military District Lands, 1787–1851. Acc. 30708, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.  Available on microfilm, Miscellaneous Reels 782–793. See Finding Aid. 
• Virginia Military District Land Surveys, 1787–1823. Acc. 50288, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. A collection of 67 surveys of land awarded by Virginia to Revolutionary War veterans, their heirs, or assignees, located in the present state of Ohio. See Finding Aid.

Books

• Bockstruck, Lloyd Dewitt. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants: Awarded by State Governments. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1996.
• Brown, Margie G. Genealogical Abstracts, Revolutionary War Veterans, Scrip Act 1852. Lovettsville, Va.: Willow Bend Books, 1997.
• Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus. Revolutionary War Records, Volume 1: Virginia Army and Navy Forces, with Bounty Land Warrants for Virginia Military District of Ohio. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1967.
• Burgess, Louis Alexander. Virginia Soldiers of 1776. Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Co., 1973.
• Hopkins, William Lindsay. Virginia Revolutionary War Land Grant Claims, 1783–1850 (Rejected). Richmond: 1988.
• Rose, Christine. Military Bounty Land, 1776–1855. San Jose, Ca.: CR Publications, 2011.
• Smith, Clifford Neal. Federal Land Series: A Calendar of Archival Materials on the Land Patents Issued by the United States Government, with Subject, Tract, and Name Indexes. 5 vols. Chicago: American Library Association, 1972–1986.
• Wilson, Samuel Mackay. Catalogue of Revolutionary Soldiers and Sailors of the Commonwealth of Virginia to Whom Land Bounty Warrants Were Granted by Virginia for Military Services in the War for Independence. Baltimore: Southern Book Co., 1953.

Websites