Legislation Overview

The Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III of England, formed the basis of land appropriation in Kentucky. In his Proclamation, the King declared veterans of the French & Indian War would be paid with bounty land warrants instead of money. A number of Kentucky land patents in the Virginia and Old Kentucky Series were authorized by French & Indian War Warrants. The principle of governmental land appropriation continued after the Revolutionary War. Virginia, the mother-state of Kentucky, passed several land laws that, in effect, continued the patenting process established by King George III. After June 1, 1792, when Kentucky separated from Virginia, the newly formed Kentucky General Assembly passed legislation that continued the system of land appropriation by legislative Act.

This website includes Acts of the Virginia General Assembly and Acts of the Kentucky General Assembly regarding the various land patent series. Additional legislation will be added to this site periodically. Researchers are encouraged to study the Acts to learn the history and structure of the various patent series regarding the lands of the Commonwealth.

To read complete text of all four of Kentucky's Constitutions, click  here.  (Note: Names of delegates to three of the four Constitutional Conventions are also included.)

Disclaimer:  The text of the Virginia & Kentucky Acts included on this website was keyed for the Internet by the staff of the Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office. Although efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the Acts, researchers should consult the published versions of the Virginia and Kentucky Acts for official use. The official “Acts of the Virginia General Assembly” and the official “Acts of the Kentucky General Assembly” may be researched at the Kentucky History Center Library, the Department for Libraries & Archives, and the Supreme Court Law Library, all in Frankfort, Kentucky.