Oregon Historical County Records Guide
Yamhill County Records Inventory
Federal Land Grant Records
1851-1992
Series records ownership of county lands obtained from the federal government. Series includes records of land grants administered under a variety of federal programs such as donation land claims and homesteads. Donation land claims are the most common type of federal land grant in Oregon that is documented in this inventory project. Donation land claims resulted from an act of the 1850 Congress under which citizens of the United States, or those who filed a declaration of intention prior to December 1, 1850 and had resided upon or cultivated the land for four consecutive years, were granted a specified amount of acreage in the Oregon Territory. Donation land claims were unique in that acreage granted to married couples was divided evenly. Half of the acreage was placed in the husband's name while the other half was placed in the wife's name. Records include plats, indexes, and survey notes. Information includes township, range, and section numbers, names of donation land claim holders and claim numbers, claim dates, acreage, and descriptions of surveys.
Under the Homestead Act of 1862, settlers were given 160 acres of land in the public domain if they built a home on the land, resided there for five years, and cultivated the land. A complete homestead entry file includes such documents as the homestead application, homestead proof, and final certificate authorizing the claimant to obtain a land patent.
Records at the Oregon State Archives:
Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings [Homestead Receipt Register],
1899-1908 (.10 cu.ft.).
Records at the Yamhill County Courthouse, Clerk's Office:
D.L.C. School Church Deeds [acts as alphabetical index to
Donation Land Claim deeds], n.d. (1 volume);
[Township Plats-includes Donation Land Claim information],
vol. 1-9, 1852-1975 (1 reel of microfilm); 1852-1893 (36 aperture
cards);
[Townships-U.S. Survey Plats-includes Donation Land Claim
information-with index], ca.1852-ca.1893 (.50 inch of aperture
cards).
Records at the Yamhill County Stern Building, Clerk's Office Basement Archives Room:
Receiving Book [includes Register of Final Homestead
Receipts],
vol. A, 1888-1896 (1 volume).
Records at the Yamhill County Stern Building, Clerk's Office Basement Plat Room:
DLC Tracings [Donation Land Claim], 1896-1966 (ca.75 maps);
[Miscellaneous
Trifolded Deed and Mortgage Records-includes some U.S. Patents], ca.1866-ca.1923
(.75 cu.ft.);
Section Plats [Assessor's-shows land ownership and Donation
Land Claims], ca.1960 (4 volumes).
Records at the Yamhill County Public Works Building, Surveyor's Office:
DLC Book [Donation Land Claim Plat Book], ca.1852-ca.1899 (1 volume);
DLCs [Donation Land Claim Plats-shows land ownership], 1859-1899 (53 aperture cards);
DLC Tracings [Donation Land Claim], ca.1964-ca.1992
(ca.300 maps);
Donation Land Claims [includes notes and legal
descriptions], ca.1853-ca.1865 (6 inches of aperture
cards).
Records at the Yamhill County Public Works Building, Surveyor's Office Vault:
U.S. Survey Notes [duplicate typed set of original notes], ca.1851-ca.1960
(6 binders).
Records at the Yamhill County Web Site:
Donation Land Claim Listings, n.d.
(Internet).
Records at Related Web Sites:
Search Land Patents [includes
patent and legal land descriptions and some document images], ca.1864-ca.1957
(BLM
GLO Web site);
Yamhill County
Donation Land Claim record abstracts, ca.1853-n.d. (US GenWeb Project).