Revolutionary War Land Warrants

Dear Robert Osborn,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

Because Tennessee was never a federal public land state, Congress could not give away land there to military veterans.  Also, the time period you give is prior to any of the federal laws which authorized land grants for military veterans.  In some cases, individual states granted land grants to veterans from their own states, however what is now Tennessee was then claimed by North Carolina, and therefore Pennsylvania would not have been able to grant land there.

You may wish to contact the county recorder of deeds (or equivalent agency) as well as the Tennessee State Library & Archives and the State Archives of North Carolina for assistance with researching land records from this time and place.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!

Thank you!

Hi Robert,

I wanted to also share more about Tennessee land records and the timeline you mentioned in your message. North Carolina began issuing land grants in the northeastern sections of Tennessee beginning in 1777 with the establishment of Washington County. These records are found in the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh just as Jason, National Archives stated. You can also access these same records online via NC Land Grant Images & Data. The website is a searchable database that you can use for NC and TN land grants. Military Warrants are included on the searchable database. North Carolina did allocate some lands in the Middle District of Tennessee for military service during the American Revolutionary War. I have found over the years of research, that majority of the lands allocated for military service in North Carolina were located in the Northwest Territory, namely the Indiana area. Previous families arriving in the Tennessee area prior to 1777 were not acknowledged by the colony of North Carolina. I have documented many families living in the eastern sections of Tennessee by 1750. Further research and documentation can be found in the establishment of the Watauga Association in 1772. Tennessee's Department of Records Management and Archives would be a great place to further your research. The digital collection contains many early records of the area prior to statehood. I hope this information helps you. I wish you the best of luck and enjoy your journey to the past.

Thank you very much, Carol and Jason. I will pursue these leads.

Sincerely,

Robert