The County Court Order Patent Series was established by the Kentucky General Assembly on February 18, 1835. Pursuant to that legislation, warrants issued by county courts, rather than the Kentucky Land Office, would authorize land patents. County courts decided which lands within their boundaries were not appropriated and subject to land patenting. County surveyors plotted the metes and bounds and wrote the survey descriptions and the governor issued grants finalizing the patents. With more than 70,239 separate files, the County Clerk Order Series is the largest patent series in the Land Office.
Disclaimer: The text of these Acts was entered manually; researchers should consult the published versions of the Virginia and Kentucky Acts for official use. Those Acts can be researched at the Kentucky History Center Library, the Department for Libraries and Archives, and the Supreme Court Law Library, all in Frankfort. Enrolled Bills and Governor's Journals (1792-1927) are available on microfilm at the Department for Libraries and Archives.