If you follow this procedure exactly, your search should proceed smoothly toward what we hope is a rewarding end!
Please Note: Although we concentrate on South Dakota here, this method can be used for any Public Domain State.
Write to the Register of Deeds in the county where your ancestor held property, giving the name and approximate dates for the landholder of interest. Ask them to locate all property transactions for that period and to advise you of their findings, pointing out which transactions involve Land Patents. (If you are at a loss for words, look at the sample letter included here to get some ideas.) The Deed Recorder should reply (sooner or later) with a list of the deed recordings and/or transfers that they have found, along with their requirements for obtaining copies of same.
Purchase copies of any of these records that you think might relate to a homestead claim. You will receive them (sooner or later!) by return mail. These documents will give you the exact Legal Description of the property, and, if it was an original homestead claim, the Land Patent Certificate Number, along with the name of the General Land Office where it was issued.
Send this information to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) -- sometimes called the Suitland (Maryland) Branch -- with a request for a copy of the Land Entry Case File. Be sure to include the following information: State, Land Office, Transaction Type, Document Number(s), Patentee's Name, and Land Description. Use our sample letter as a guide. The address is:
Archives I Textural Reference Branch (NWDT1) National Archives and Records Administration 7th & Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20408
Send a separate request letter for each Land Patent Certificate No. that you have. DO NOT SEND PAYMENT along with your request! Failure to follow these steps carefully will cause an additional delay.
You will receive by return mail (sooner of later!) a standard form indicating one of a number of possible responses:
a) They couldn't locate the case file. This has never happened to us, but we understand that it does happen. You're on you own from here!
b) They found the records, have copied them for you, but you must return the form with your payment within XX days in order to receive them. Otherwise, your copies go in the recycle hopper!
c) They have enclosed copies of the records for you, and request that you send them your payment in return. Do so without delay. After all, this is your government attempting to save time and money. (And you never know when you will need NARA again!)
As of July 14, 1997 a new fee schedule for land entry case files (and all other paper records) is in effect. The new charge will be $10.00 per file.
As you can see, this process is very simple (once you know how to do it!), and is potentially very rewarding. We encourage you to pursue it.