Some Veterans Settled In Arkansas

From Makers of Arkansas history:

Some of these immigrants had been soldiers in the War of 1812.  The United States had given each soldier in that War a certificate that entitled him to one hundred and sixty acres of the public lands.  Many of these tracts were located in Arkansas.

Bounty Land Warrant recipients in Arkansas.

A War of 1812 hero, James Miller, was the first governor of the Arkansas Territory.

Peter Rednor's Militia Land Claim

Included in Ewen Cameron Montague 1851 file was Peter Rednor's Certificate For Registry--Purchase or Location: Militia Land Claim:

Certificate #3802

Land Grants For Canadian Officers

Cross posted at my In Deeds blog.

Officers of the British forces in Canada during the war of 1812-15  By Canadian Military Institute, compiled their list of officers through grants of land records.  The book does provide a mini-bio for the soldiers listed.

"The accompanying list of officers, who served during the War of 1812-15, are compiled from the records of the grants of land made in Upper Canada to officers, non-commissioned officers and men who had served in "the first flank Companies, the Provincial Artillery, the Incorporated Regiment, the Corps of Artillery Drivers, the Provincial Dragoons, the Marine and General Staff of the Army," and in Lower Canada, to "the officers and men of the Embodied Militia, discharged troops and others."  All those who participated in the Prince Regent's Bounty, as these land grants were called, are indicated by a star* in front of their respective names."

*An example of those with stars in front of their names

#4: Captain Stephen Jarvis died at Toronto in 1840.  Here is a screen shot showing (partial) results for Stephen Jarvis (who may or may not be the individual found in the book above) named in land petitions in a search for Upper Canada Land Petitions (and here's my tutorial about how to find the actual petition(s)):

Looking for the petition found on item #6 in the results (C-2109, Bundle J10, Petition 34).  The petition started on Image/Page 906 and ended on Image/Page 911 of C-2109. 

Jarvis was used as an example in an effort to connect an individual listed in the book with their land petition(s).  If he was one of my ancestors (he isn't), I would look for all 10 petitions listed under Stephen Jarvis (7 shown in screenshot above).

Military Land Grants In Canada

Canadian land grants to regulars and militiamen and the List of lands granted by the crown in the province of Quebec, from 1763 to 31st December 1890 (here in plain text):

...free grants were give to militiamen who had served in the war of 1775... . 232,281 acres were so granted to militiamen.  Those who served in the war of 1812 were also rewarded in the same manner and received 217,840 acres for their services.

All these grants were subject to the ordinary conditions of settlement and to the stipulation that the lands granted would revert to the Crown if the conditions were not fulfilled.  But the colonial administration took no trouble to have these conditions observed and to cancel the grants nearly all of which passed into the hands of influential speculators.  As soon as the militiamen received their letters patent they sold their lands for a trifle, in many instances for a bottle of rum.

Military Bounty Lands In Arkansas

Arkansas Land Documents, including Military Bounty Lands (1812) [cross-posted at my "In Deeds" blog].

View images of Military Bounty Lands here.  They're organized by county; the Township and Range are labeled at the top of each page. 

The Land Warrant Of Fifer William Hines

One reason I started the "War Of 1812 Chronicles" was to focus on my presumed War of 1812 ancestor, William Hines/Hinds.

Following up on ideas found in an NARA article about researching War of 1812 ancestors I searched Ancestry.com and produced the following documents on William Hines (and an index where Document #632 was found).  Was he my William? No.

Hines was identified as...a musician in Captain Phillips' Company in the Corps of Artillery on Document #632  issued by Secretary of  War J.C. Calhoun on March 2, 1818.  My William was a soldier in the Artillery..... .  The authorization for this land grant was the Second Section of an Act of Congress dated May 6, 1812 to issue land warrants.... .  Ancestry.com. U.S. War Bounty Land Warrants, 1789-1858 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA


My William Hinds died 25 June 1813.  He was #6170 in U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments (Image 615 at Ancestry), and different from #6172 William Hinds, fifer, U.S. Art. Corps., with Capt. Philips', who enlisted 20 Dec 1814 at Fort Clark and discharged at Fort Clark August 21, 1815, found in the same list (Image 616).

The land warrant was not issued to the heirs of my William Hinds.

Post War Land - Who Got What

Land issued by rank:

At the close of the war with Great Britain a bill was reported to the House fixing the military peace establishment of the United States and for disbanding a portion of that gallant army which has so successfully carried the country through that war.

....the following donations in land viz to a major general 2,560 acres to a brigadier general 1,920 acres to each colonel and lieutenant colonel 1,280 acres to each major 960 acres to each captain 640 acres to each subaltern 480... .

Audit of Warrants of War of 1812 Participants

From the Congressional Edition:

...it will be necessary to take the name of each soldier separately...until the examination of the whole thirty nine thousand eight hundred and twenty five shall have been completed. This will be the only mode of ascertaining how many were entitled to land under their enlistment how many were honorably discharged how many otherwise and how many died in the service.

Hundreds of desertions took place during the war and notwithstanding a forfeiture of the land was the consequence those would require to be included in the examination to ascertain the fact.

Testimony For Land

 U.S. Congressional serial set:

The petition of Lydia Smith widow of Hosea Smith praying that a land warrant may be issued to her upon parole evidence for services of her husband in the war of 1812

Also the petition of Nicholas Thomas of Killingly in the State of Connecticut praying to be allowed to prove by parole testimony services in the war of 1812

Also the petition of Jotham Burnham and Dennison Grant upon the sam e subject Ordered That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims

Feb 25 1856