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672:...that the people inhabiting said proposed States do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries thereof, and to all lands lying within said limits owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes; and that until the title thereto shall have been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition of the United States. ..
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552:, the General Land Office issued more than 2 million land grants made patent (land patents), passing the title of specific parcels of public land from the nation to private parties (individuals or private companies). Some of the land so granted had survey or other costs associated with it. Some patentees paid those fees for their land in cash, others
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forever. The patent stands as supreme title to the land because it attests that all evidence of title existent before its issue date had been reviewed by the sovereign authority under which it was sealed and was so sealed as irrefutable. Thus, the land patent itself so becomes at law the title to the
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of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publishing in public records, made by a sovereign entity. While land patents are still issued by governments to indicate property is privately held, they
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Then, the district land office register and receiver sent the paperwork to the
General Land Office in Washington. That office double-checked the accuracy of the claim, its availability and the form of payment. Finally, the General Land Office issued a land patent for the claimed public land and sent
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Firstly, the private claimant went to the land office in the land district in which the public land was located. The claimant filled out entry papers to select the public land, and the land office register (clerk) checked the local registrar records to make sure the claimed land was still available.
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Many early patents of lands originally granted by Native peoples were contested, occasionally in court, as a result of different understandings of "private property" and "ownership" between those people. Indigenous
Americans often held land and its bounties communally, reinforced by oral tradition,
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Private property rights accompanying land patents can also be thereafter negotiated in accord with the terms of private contracts. The rights inherent in patented land are carried from heir to heir, heir to assignee, or assignee to assignee and cannot be changed except by private contract
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of statehood. The
Enabling Act requires that all unappropriated lands, which are not yet privately owned, to be forever disclaimed by the territory and the people of the territory and the title to ceded to the United States for its disposition. For example, the enabling act of the
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a claim, and still others came into ownership via one of the many donation acts that
Congress passed to transfer public lands to private ownership. Whatever the method, the General Land Office followed a two-step procedure in granting a patent.
624:, etc.). In most cases, the law of a particular piece of patented land will be governed by the Congressional Act or treaty under which it was acquired, or by terms spelled out in the patent. For example, US laws govern the land may involve the
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Usage restrictions (such as oil and mineral rights, roadways, ditches, and canals) placed on the land are spelled out in the patent and are distinct from state and local statutory regulations relative to property
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made large grants of territory to individuals and companies. In turn, the companies and colonial governors later made smaller grants of land based on actual surveys of the land. Thus, in colonial
America on the
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while those from
Western Europe who held established and finite views on assets, their transfer, and their adjudication in a system of written laws, Crown rights and officials, courts, and permanent records.
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Detailed information about Texas' retention of its public lands upon statehood and the history of Texas' public lands and land grants available in a Texas
General Land Office pdf publication at
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Many original colonies' land patents came from the corresponding country of control like Great
Britain. Most such patents were permanently granted. Those patents are still in force; the
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After the right and title to land was disclaimed by the people of the territory, it was held in trust by the United States until someone proved a claim to it, typically by
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http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=0001-001&docClass=CV&sid=xrhhmext.4e4#patentDetailsTabIndex=1
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Legal entities other than natural persons (such as trusts and corporations) may not obtain land patents except by express act of the
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The first US land patent was issued on March 4, 1788, to John Martin. That patent reserves to the United States one third of all
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In practice, the irrefutability of counter-claims is relative, but once a patent is granted, permanence of title is established.
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and similar groups in illegitimate attempts to gain unlawful possession of property, or avoid taxes and foreclosure.
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governs certain jurisdictional dicta relating to large amounts of land in
California and adjoining territories.
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Land in the United States of
America was acquired by claim, seizure, annexation, purchase, treaty, or war from
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to the land, such as zoning and building codes, as well as property taxes applying to both land and property.
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The receiver (bursar) took the claimant's payment, because even homesteaders had to pay administrative fees.
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A land patent is known in law as "letters patent" and usually issues to the original grantee and to their
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honors those patents by treaty law, and, as with all such land patents, they cannot be changed.
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to compensate the railroad companies for building a transnational railroad across America.
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U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records,
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http://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/forms/files/history-of-texas-public-lands.pdf
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http://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/forms/files/history-of-texas-public-lands.pdf
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parcel for a certain period of time. Once a proper claim has been filed, the
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A land patent for a 39.44-acre (15.96 ha) land parcel in present-day
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for lands purchased by private individuals from Native American tribes.
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https://drakelawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wright1.pdf
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was placed in charge of managing all public lands. In 1812, the
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land tract. The parcel was sold by the Marietta Land Office in
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or reservations placed on the face of the patent, and the
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to an individual, partnership, trust, or private company.
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478:commemorating a land patent from the Crown to
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348:The land patent is not to be confused with a
313:assigning official ownership of a particular
135:The examples and perspective in this article
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
721:"What you need to know about land patents"
565:it on to the President for his signature.
293:Learn how and when to remove this message
275:Learn how and when to remove this message
173:Learn how and when to remove this message
110:Learn how and when to remove this message
802:Land Patent supplemental information at
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790:Land Patent information available from
507:of a land tract and its "patenting" as
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834:Aboriginal title in the United States
16:Land grant made by a sovereign entity
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34:This article has multiple issues.
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533:and the ratification of the
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735:"Land Patents: A Real Myth"
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137:may not represent a
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80:to meet Knowledge's
661:condition precedent
659:was agreed to as a
593:Monroe County, Ohio
531:American Revolution
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637:US Congress
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307:land patent
94:if you can.
818:Categories
696:References
603:, in 1834.
529:After the
463:, and the
429:See also:
350:land grant
235:newspapers
163:April 2011
100:March 2012
39:improve it
684:(now the
653:territory
505:surveying
496:the Crown
467:peoples.
435:headright
151:talk page
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145:You may
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651:When a
492:America
488:England
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370:In the
339:federal
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249:scholar
77:cleanup
775:Hawaii
582:copper
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537:, the
457:Russia
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580:and
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