Where (and When)

Location - Physical Features

Some features are relatively unchanging – mountains, etc

Waterways change course Streams are dammed for mills Rivers are dammed

For power, flood control Create lakes Flood previous areas

Location - Political Features

States are admitted over time Counties

Created Absorbed Have boundaries changed

Towns/cities Created Have names changed Go away

What’s Needed

Search engine to find old places geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/index.html Display location on different maps

Maps – preserved from past alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/ www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

County boundaries for each census www.familyhistory101.com/map_census.html

Location-Based Genealogy

USGenWeb www.usgenweb.org

Contains state websites Alabama www.algw.org Which contain county websites

All volunteer Every county has different look, content, etc

Can be valuable resource

Land Ownership

Bureau of Land Management Land Patent and Survey www.glorecords.blm.gov

Eastern Public Land States Issued between 1820 and 1908

Current land ownership By county publicrecords.netronline.com

How do I find it ? www.familyhistory101.com/map_county.html Then go to Downloadable County D.O.T. Maps Select state, then county Find Township, Range, Section

Or www.earthpoint.us/Townships.aspx Go to Convert Township, Range, and Section to Latitude

and Longitude Get latitude and longitude View on Google Earth

Township, Range and Section

Townships and Ranges

Sections

Subsections

Example - Auburn University

St Stephens Meridian T19N, R26E SW ¼ of Section 30 Go to www.earthpoint.us/Townships.aspx Enter data View using Google Earth

earth.google.com/download-earth.html