Connecting a Tennessee ancestor to origins in North Carolina during and after the Revolutionary War is often a difficult task.
Dr. A.Bruce. Pruitt’s land records abstracts and consolidated indexes for Tennessee and North Carolina create a new printed database of major significance! He researched and compiled the books; he published the books; and he will sell you copies of the books. Write him at Dr. A.B. Pruit, Box 815, Whitakers NC 27891.
If your ancestor is found in Tennessee early–there are two North Carolina Military Reserves, one in East Tennessee created in 1780 before the Revolutionary War was over and one in Middle Tennessee created in 1783 immediately after the war. In Colonial times and following the Revolutionary War, the availability of extensive bounty lands in Tennessee attracted North Carolina ancestors to claim military service–even if they did not serve; or, even if they served on the wrong side; or, even if they served in the wrong state!
Exact Proof!
Dr. Pruitt has indexed all the parts of the military bounty land claims records for North Carolina, including the investigations of fraud. And now for the first time, you can spot your ancestor; then, using the claim number and the related document numbers, you can track your ancestor from Tennessee back to his home county in North Carolina with exact proof. The claim numbers are the same in the records for both states. If your ancestor died, his heirs inherited his claim numbers.
Even if your ancestor was originally from Maryland or from Virginia or from Pennsylvania, if he claims military service from North Carolina, you can prove him with exact proof! What a great time it is to be searching for those difficult-to-find- Tennessee ancestors.
Works by Dr. A.B. Pruitt included in the new printed database:
Index of People and Places in North Carolina Land Warrants, 1735-1774. [Whitakers NC]: A. B. Pruitt, 2004. Land warrants from the Crown Land Office abstracted in 11 volumes and articles, printed between 1984-1996. The original documents are filed in the N.C. State Archives in Raleigh. Each entry uses the warrant number to identify the documents. Warrants can be used to fill in data when entry books are missing.
North Carolina Land Warrants in Tennessee–Valid and Invalid, 1771-1815. [Whitakers NC]: A.B. Pruitt, 2004. Original warrants in Group 50, Tennessee State Archives.
Index to North Carolina Land Entries, 1778-1795. 3 vols. [Whitakers]: A.B. Pruitt, 2001. Includes entries abstracted and printed by various compilers, 1971-2001.
Place Name Index to North Carolina Land Entries, 1778-1795. [Whitakers NC]: A.B. Pruitt, c. 1987-2001. Index to 66 volumes of county land entries.
Glasgow Land Fraud Papers, 1783-1800. 2 vols. Privately printed by the author 1988-93. Watch for multiple indexes in both volumes. Very important work.
Tennessee Land Entries: John Armstong’s Office. Pt 1: Land Entries. Pt 2: Land Surveys and Indexes. 1780-1800. By the author, 1995.
Tennessee Land Entries: Military Bounty Land, Martin Armstrong’s Office, 1783-97. 7 vols. 1. Location Book (#3138-4839). Includes important introduction. Be sure to read it. 2. Location Book (#5572-7490, 2754-3111). 3. Warrants, First Series (#1-2500), 1783-85. 4. Warrants, First Series (#2501-5312), 1785-97. 5. William Christmas’s Office, Warrants, Second Series (#1-1242), 1799-1841. 6. and 7. Every name Indexes. Sources used in these volumes:
– Transcribed copies of Martin Armstrong’s location books, TN Archives, Rg 50, Series 2-3
– Loose papers, file 080 Washington County, Tennessee
– North Carolina Land Warrants
– Papers of the Nashville Land Office
– Tennessee Revolutionary War Warrant files
– North Carolina Board of Inquire papers, SS753-756
– North Carolina Secretary of State’s Land Grant Papers, NC Archives
– MARS Computer File System, NC Archives
– North Carolina Session Records, North Carolina Assembly Papers (Card index in NC Archives)
– Tennessee Revolutionary War Petitions. Transcripts by Miss Marybelle Delamar, 5 bound vols., NC Archives. Includes name index. Abstracts printed in North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, vols. 1-6.
-Tennessee Military Bounty Grants, 15 reels of microfilm. Can be borrowed from TN State Archives.
Tennessee Land Warrants: Pt. 1, Green and Sullivan counties; Pt. 2, Surveyors’ rights, preemption claims, guard rights, etc. Pt. 3, Index. [Whitakers NC]: A.B. Pruitt, 1999.
Tennessee Land Entries: Washington County, 1778-1796. 3 vols. [Whitakers NC]: A.B. Pruit, 1997. In 2007, Dr. Pruitt published a fourth volume covering1802-05, 1824-75, 1879-1904. [Whitakers]: A.B. Pruitt, 2000. This volume includes indexed record abstracts for both East and West Tennessee.
William Maclin Warrants and West Tennessee Commissioners’ Decisions, 1783-1816.
West Tennessee Surveys, 1783-1788. [Whitakers NC]: A.B. Pruitt, 2000.
Unless your ancestor was exempt, he served in the military for some period of his life regardless of where he lived. Being able to document Revolutionary War military service–and sometimes French and Indian War service–through bounty land records and being able to link your ancestor with a place of origin before Tennessee–priceless. Your favorite Tennessee genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://www.arleneeakle.com
PS NEW Kentucky blog launched yesterday, 19 June 2009. Check it out.