The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is December 2025)
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The Official Federal Land Records Site—commonly called the BLM GLO Records site—is one of the most important land research tools available to genealogists. It documents the transfer of federal public land into private ownership, primarily in states created from public-domain land.
If your ancestor:
- received land from the federal government
- homesteaded
- purchased land under cash entry
- obtained military bounty land
- settled west of the original colonies
This site may contain the original land patent that put that land into your ancestor’s hands.
This is a core destination site for U.S. genealogy.
Download the Quicksheet PDF
To obtain a four-page Quicksheet PDF of the information, download it by clicking on the Download button below:
For all the previously published Quick Reference Guides, click on QuickSheets.
Genealogy QuickSheets – Frequently Asked Questions
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