The United States has been producing government records since the founding of the nation. As with any government, the United States has many different agencies within the government that produce records and information. The United States Government Records can be a significant genealogical resource to researchers. These records encompass a vast amount of different government records, covering the various government agencies in the territories. Many genealogists overlooked government records but they should be an important part of the research process. If you are researching Native American genealogy, there may be records documenting the expansion to the West and how the U.S. Government dealt with the Native Americans and their land.
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Kinds of government records
There are many different kinds of United States Government records available for research. Some of the more important record sets that genealogists should be accessing are:
- The Bureau of Land Management
- American State Papers
- United States Congressional Serial Set
- The Territorial Papers of the United States
Our ancestors interacted with their governments on the local level, state level, and the federal level. Many of our ancestors received land grants, paid taxes, supplied goods for wars, and may even have had a court case that involved government courts.
Bureau of Land management records (BLM)
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. President Harry S. Truman created the BLM in 1946 by combining the General Land Office and the Grazing Service. The BLM manages the federal government’s land. Most of the public land the BLM oversees is located in 12 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Original land held by BLM was described as land nobody wanted. The BLM has the following records sets:
- Land Patents: Federal land patents of land titles from the federal government to individuals
- Survey Plats and Field Notes: The survey plats of federal lands of the United States measuring land including boundaries and subdivisions.
- Land Status Records: Documents the ongoing state of a township’s federal and private land regarding title, lease, rights, and usage.
- Tract Books: A basic index for public land title research. Listings of all transactions involving surveyed public lands by state or territory.
American state papers
The American State Papers contain legislative and executive documents of Congress during the time of 1789 to 1838. This collection includes information that covers the historical gap from 1789 to the printing of the first volume of the U.S. Serial Set in 1817. The American State Papers books are arranged into the following subjects:
- Foreign Relations
- Indian Affairs
- Finances
- Commerce and Navigation
- Military Affairs
- Naval Affairs
- Post Office Department
- Public Lands
- Claims
- Miscellaneous
United State Congressional serial set
This set of records began publication in 1817 with the 15th United States Congress. Documents before 1817 will be found in the American State Papers. These records contain the United States House and Senate documents and reports. The records cover a variety of topics and include reports from various governmental and non-governmental agencies or organizations. The documents and reports series have three numbers:
- an individual or document publication number
- a volume number of each series for each session of Congress
- the serial number
Territorial papers of the United States
This collection includes documents from the U.S. Department of State, Treasury Department, War Department, Interior Department, and U.S. Post Office. The Department of State held the responsibility for supervising affairs in the Territories of the United States between 1789 to 1873, including handling correspondence between the U.S. President and all of the territorial offices, printing of territorial laws, and providing seals for use by the territorial officials. These are significant documents from the Department of State concerning the administration of territories, documents pertaining to the establishment and management of the postal system, and petitions to Congress from individuals and legislatures. Types of records that can be found in these records are:
- correspondence
- reports
- copies of journals of proceedings of legislative assemblies
- organization of territorial governments
- land claims
- mining claims
- railroad records
- immigration into the territories
- conflicts between Native Americans and invading settlers
These records also document incidents such as the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado, the Mormon War in Utah, and conflicts between antislavery and pro-slavery factions in pre-Civil War Kansas.
Search U.S. governmental records on MyHeritage
Explore more about U.S. government records
- Pension records on MyHeritage
- MyHeritage – Collection catalog – Tax
- U.S. Public Records Index on MyHeritage
- The Genealogy in Government Documents at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Government Gazettes as a Genealogical Resource at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- New York City and State Governmental Vital Records at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- A Spotlight on Reclaim the Records on the MyHeritage blog