Plat Maps for Original Grantees
I can't pinpoint their locations but I can get you to within a mile of the land grants that are listed in the Archives.First, look up the name of the person in whom your interest lies. If they have more than one record, take note of all of them. You want the columns marked Sec No, T and R (Section, Township, Range).
Then click on the corresponding Township and Range below. (If your numbers are 31, 17 and 2, click on the link for Township 17, Range 2.
When the map opens, click it or use Ctrl+ to enlarge it. On the map, look for Section 31 and you should see the name of the Grantee.
How This Works
The Section is the smaller measurement of land and is 1 square mile (1 mile long, 1 mile deep), containing 640 acres. I've cut them into Quadrants (160 acres each) and further divided the quadrants into 4 blocks each (40 acres each).A Township consists of 36 Sections in a square (6 miles long, 6 miles deep).
The Range indicates the Township's east-west position and the Township number indicates the north-south position.
Some of the maps have colored blocks, those indicate that the Grantee owned that whole 640 acre tract. If I can get property descriptions, I'll color in each Grantee's property. If you know where your family member lived, let me know and I can fill in that information as well.
Because of the river, not all the blocks are square and, because of the state line, the 19th Townships are only a little over 5 miles deep. Because of the County Line the 13th Townships are only 3 miles deep. Two townships have NO Grantees.
The darkest gray lines are sections. . Red lines are county boundaries. . The river's present course is roughly marked on the inset map.