Isn't it all online? Part 3-- War of 1812 Bounty Land Applications

The government allowed many veterans of wars before 1855 to be granted bounty land as a reward for their service in the military. For War of 1812 soldiers, the majority of this land wasn’t granted until the 1850s, 35 to 40 years after the end of the war.

 

In order to prove their eligibility for this bounty land, soldiers needed to submit an application, detailing why they were eligible. It’s not uncommon to find details about their service, when they enlisted, how long they served, etc. If the widow was applying, it’s not uncommon to find genealogical details in these applications

 

Many of these applications are NOT online on Fold3, Ancestry, or anywhere else. If you’re interested in getting your ancestor’s bounty land application, you’ll need to get them from the National Archives in Washington DC.

 

The exception to this would be if the soldier also received a pension later in life. In those cases, the bounty land application was most likely consolidated with the pension file. Most of the War of 1812 pension files have been digitized and are on Fold3.com, so if you’ve seen a pension file for your 1812 ancestor, you’ve probably seen any bounty land applications too.

 

If there was no pension file, you’ll still be able to get your ancestor’s bounty land application, but it won’t be online. It’ll be at the National Archives.

 

Looking for information about your Civil War or War of 1812 ancestors? Let us help! We provide on site research and record retrieval at the National Archives in Washington DC and provide a quicker and cheaper alternative to getting your ancestor’s records in your hands. www.CivilWarRecords.com