Patent Series Overview

Kentucky Land Patents are divided into nine major groupings. Each Patent Series traces its origin to Acts of the Virginia or Kentucky General Assembly. In all instances the Grantor is either the state of Virginia or the Commonwealth of Kentucky; the Grantee is the person or persons who receives the Governor's Grant finalizing the patenting transaction.

The type of warrant authorizing the survey, the location of the tract, and the date the Governor's Grant was issued establish the basis of each patent series. For example, patents in which the Governor's Grant was issued prior to June 1792 when Kentucky separated from Virginia, are defined as "Virginia Patents in Kentucky" or simply "Virginia Patent Series". Patents in the former Military District, authorized by certificates for meeting age and residency requirements, are filed with the "South of Green River Series".

Patents authorized by Military Warrants issued for service in the French & Indian War and the Revolutionary War, comprise a small percentage of the entire patent collection. Most are authorized by warrants purchased from the Virginia Land Office, the Kentucky Land Office, or County Courts.

The Kentucky Secretary of State's Office and the Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives are currently indexing and scanning all Kentucky Land Patent Series. Additional indices will be available on this website in the near future.

In 1779 the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation that established the land patenting process for appropriating land in Kentucky County. A variety of land warrants and special legislative acts could be used to initiate a patent. Under the terms of the 1789 Compact with Virginia, Kentucky agreed to honor patents issued prior to June 1, 1792, when Kentucky became the 15th state in the Union. The land patenting process continued after statehood. This website allows researchers to access files for both the Virginia and Old Kentucky Patent Series.

Although the master database for each series is under construction, researchers can access the files by patent number or by grantee. (For patent numbers with multiple grantees, names are not cross-referenced.)

Click here to start the search.

In 1818 the Jackson Purchase in western Kentucky was acquired from the Chickasaw Indians. A number of Revolutionary War veterans, or their assigns, had settled in the area without clear title to their land holdings. In 1820 the Kentucky General Assembly approved legislation that instructed the veterans, or their assigns, to proceed with the land patenting process. This website includes information on 242 patents authorized by Military Warrants issued to Virginia veterans. Links to scanned images of the patent files are also included.

Click here to start the search.

On February 14, 1820, the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation that mandated the mapping of the Jackson Purchase into Ranges, Townships, and Sections. William T. Henderson was the superintendent for the mapping project.  On December 21, 1821, the legislature provided for the sale of vacant fractional or complete quarter-sections (160 acres) in the Purchase area. 

This website includes a searchable database that includes the names of persons who bought receipts at public land sales, their assignees, witnesses to assignments, grantees (the persons who took title to the property), cost of the tract, and total acreage.  The database links to colorscanned images for over 8500 patent files.  The database also links to the "Jackson Purchase Locator" which allows researchers to determine the location of the patented tract. By entering coordinates, researchers can also determine who patented sections and townships in the Purchase region.

Click here to start the search.

In 1835 the Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation that allowed counties to sell warrants authorizing surveys for patent applications. The County Court Order Series, consisting of 70239 patents spanning 1835 to 2000, is the largest patent series in the Kentucky Land Office.  It is primarily accessed by surveyors, engineers, land title researchers, and lawyers involved in land litigation. The "quick-search" function allows researchers to enter Grant Book and Page references or Patent Numbers cited in Deeds and Mineral Leases to determine the names of persons involved in the original patent.

The "Advanced Search" function allows researchers to access the database by entering Grant Name, County, Watercourse, Survey Name, Year the Grant was issued, or Year the Survey was made. The "Search Within These Results" function allows researchers to restrict their search (with no limits) to a particular watercourse within a certain county, for example.

Click here to start the search.