Secretary of State
Grayson Announces Latest Addition to “Check It Out Kentucky!” Initiative, More Historical Land Patents Available Online

(Frankfort, KY) Secretary of State Trey Grayson recently announced the addition of a new Land Office webpage at a seminar sponsored by the McCracken County Genealogical & Historical Society and the McCracken County Public Library in Paducah. The addition of the patents expands Grayson’s “Check It Out Kentucky!” initiative, which is designed to bringer government directly to the citizens of the Commonwealth and to bring greater accountability to government.

“With its innovative search by township or section, this database revolutionizes land title research in the Purchase region of our great Commonwealth,” announced Grayson.

The West of Tennessee River Non-Military Patents database provides information regarding Jackson Purchase residents involved in land patenting in the 1800’s and colorscanned images for over 8500 land patent files.  The site also links to the “Jackson Purchase Locator” which helps researchers identify the location of patented tracts.

When he was advised of the new website, Dr. James C. Klotter, the State Historian of Kentucky and Professor of History at Georgetown College, said, “Once again, the Secretary of State's office has made the study of history and the search for genealogy much easier. The new “West of Tennessee River Non-Military Series Database”, with its links, provides an extremely valuable research tool for experts and amateurs alike.  Instead of pouring through dusty and often-fragile records, instead of making the trek to the materials, instead of searching almost endlessly through the pages of times past, researchers can now access materials from their own homes, see the same information, and find it all so much easier. This project allows all of us to be more a part of history and to learn more from our rich past--one of Kentucky's greatest resources.”

Earlier this year, at a monthly seminar sponsored by the Kentucky Genealogical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society, Secretary Grayson announced the downloading of Kentucky’s oldest land patents to the Land Office website. Researchers can see colorscanned images of warrants, surveys and grants for over 17,300 patent files in the “Virginia and Old Kentucky Patent Series” channel. In the “Sample Patents” section there is an original survey by Daniel Boone, a military warrant issued to George Rogers Clark, and a survey involving Simon Kenton. Over sixty Wills of historical interest were also added to the Secretary of State’s Land Office website in May.

“By making this information available on the internet, we continue to expand our ongoing “Check It Out Kentucky!” and civics initiatives,” said Secretary Grayson. “Our office strives to highlight the results of our records preservation projects in addition to providing instant access to corporate records, land patent files, legislation, governor’s executive orders and our offices expenditures. The inclusion of information regarding the history of our Commonwealth also promotes pride in our Kentucky heritage. This pride translates into civic involvement on all levels.”

All chain of title in the Commonwealth traces back to Virginia land patents and Kentucky land patents, and all Kentucky deeds eventually trace back to an original patent recorded in the Kentucky Land Office.  The Secretary of State maintains the security and preservation of these historical documents. The Office assists a variety of researchers such as historians, genealogists, and applicants for honorary societies as well as attorneys, mineral rights researchers, and land owners tracing the history of their properties. 

The new Land Office databases are located in the Patent Series pages of the Kentucky Secretary of State’s website at http://sos.ky.gov/land. 

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