Public Land Survey Basics: Placing Your Ancestor in the Township and Range Grid

Public Land Survey Basics: Placing Your Ancestor in the Township and Range Grid

J. H. Fonkert, CG

7 p.m. CDT, 17 June 2026

Land was the great magnet for settlement of the Midwest and Great Plains. American and European settlers purchased land from the U.S. government, or from states, railroads, or earlier private citizens who received government land. The Public Land Survey System, dating from the Land Ordinance of 1785, created a sort of rural address system that made possible the orderly settlement of public lands west of the Appalachians. This webinar will make sense of meridians and baselines, townships and ranges, and sections, which are key to pinpointing the location of your ancestor’s land on modern maps. As an added bonus, you’ll learn about preemption, bounty land warrants, and homesteads. GeoGenealogy is so much fun!