Range Indexes

Following the Land Through Generations

Have you ever wondered what happened to your ancestor's land after they died? Did the farm pass to a son or daughter? Was it divided among several heirs? Or was it sold to someone outside the family?

One of my favorite tools for answering these questions is a county range index.

Most Kansas counties kept range indexes, although Doniphan County did not. I've used these indexes extensively to track land owned by my ancestors. I find them particularly useful when an ancestor was an original landowner, since they provide a way to follow the property through subsequent transactions and, sometimes, across several generations.

Unlike a traditional deed index, which is organized by the names of buyers and sellers, a range index is organized by the land itself.

That difference makes it an incredibly useful tool for genealogy research.

What Is a Range Index?

A range index, sometimes called a tract index, organizes recorded land transactions according to the property's legal description.

Kansas uses the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), which divides land into townships, ranges, and sections.

A typical legal description includes:

• Township: Identifies a row of townships measured north or south of a baseline.

• Range: Identifies a column of townships measured east or west of a principal meridian.

• Section: Identifies one of 36 sections within a township.

• Subdivision: Identifies a smaller portion of a section, such as the northeast quarter or southwest quarter.

A section generally contains 640 acres. A quarter-section contains approximately 160 acres, while a quarter-quarter section contains approximately 40 acres.

The Kansas Historical Society's guide to land records  provides an excellent explanation of this survey system and how it was used to describe Kansas land.

The beauty of a range index is that it allows us to start with the property rather than the owner.

Instead of asking, "What land did Alexander Briles buy or sell?" we can ask, "What happened to this particular piece of land?"

An Example from My Briles Research

My third great-grandfather, Alexander Briles, acquired land in Coffey County, Kansas.

The following image is part of the range index for the land associated with his property.

Range index, Coffey County, Kansas, Section 12, Township 23, Range 15, page 343. 
Image from my genealogy research collection.

At the top of the page, the land is identified as:

Section 12 — Township 23 — Range 15

In Kansas, this would be Township 23 South, Range 15 East.

Notice the columns across the page:

• Instrument - Type of recorded document
• Name of Grantor - Person conveying an interest
• Name of Grantee - Person receiving an interest
• Description of Property - Portion of the section involved
• Volume - Record book
• Page - Page where the document was recorded

The volume and page columns are especially important. They provide the references needed to locate the original documents.

As I work through this index, I can identify transactions involving Alexander Briles and then follow later entries affecting the same property.

Those subsequent transactions are often where the genealogical discoveries begin.

An index entry alone does not tell the complete story, but it points me toward the documents that might.

Why Is This Better Than Searching Only by Name?

Most genealogists are familiar with grantor and grantee indexes.

A grantor index lists individuals who conveyed land, while a grantee index lists those who received it.

These indexes are essential when trying to determine what property an ancestor owned.

However, they have limitations.

Suppose Alexander Briles purchased a farm and later died. If I search only for deeds under his name, I might locate his original purchase but miss subsequent transactions involving his heirs.

The property might have been conveyed by his widow, children, an estate administrator, or another individual.

Those transactions might not appear under Alexander's name.

A range index provides another approach.

By searching the legal description, I can identify recorded transactions involving that same property, regardless of whose name appears in the document.

This allows me to follow the land rather than just the individual.

Following the Land Through Generations

One of the greatest benefits of range indexes is their potential to document the transition of land from one generation to the next.

Consider a hypothetical example.

An ancestor purchases 160 acres in 1860. Following his death, his widow and several children convey the property to one son. Years later, that son sells 80 acres to a neighbor and transfers the remaining land to his daughter.

A range index may provide references to each of these transactions.

By retrieving the original deeds, a researcher might discover:

• The names of previously unidentified heirs.

• Married names of daughters.

• The residence of an heir who moved out of state.

• Evidence that an ancestor had died before a particular transaction.

• Information about how property was divided among family members.

Of course, the index itself does not prove these relationships. The original deeds must be examined to determine what they actually say.

But without the range index, some of those documents might be much harder to locate.

How I Use a Range Index

When researching an ancestor's land, I generally start with the legal description.

That description might come from a land patent, deed, probate record, tax record, or plat map.

Once I have the township, range, and section, I locate the corresponding range-index page.

Then I look for entries involving my ancestor's property.

I don't stop with the first entry containing my ancestor's name. Instead, I examine the other entries for that same portion of the section.

I record the grantor, grantee, type of instrument, and volume and page references.

Then I locate the original documents.

Sometimes the next deed reveals a straightforward sale. Other times, it raises new questions.

Why did several individuals sign the deed? Were they heirs? Did a widow retain an interest in the property? Why was the land divided?

Those questions often lead me to probate records, marriage records, and additional land transactions.

I also pay attention to the dates. A deed may have been signed years before it was recorded, so both dates can be important when reconstructing the property's history.

Range Indexes and Original Landowners

I find range indexes particularly valuable when researching ancestors who were among the original owners of a tract.

If I can identify the initial acquisition, I have a starting point for tracing the property's subsequent history.

However, it is important to distinguish between two different types of land records.

Federal tract books document the initial transfer of public land from the federal government. County range indexes help locate subsequent transactions recorded at the county level.

According to the Kansas Historical Society, the federal tract books are organized by legal description, while later land sales are recorded in county Register of Deeds offices. [See: Land Records at the State Archives]

Not all Kansas land passed directly from the federal government to individual settlers. Some was granted to railroad companies and later sold to private owners.

Thus, an ancestor's first recorded purchase might have been from a railroad company or another private owner rather than directly from the federal government.

Combining federal land records with county range indexes can help establish a more complete history of a property.

What Else Can a Range Index Reveal?

While deeds are often my primary interest, range indexes may include references to other recorded instruments.

Depending on the county and the period, these might include mortgages, mortgage releases, easements, leases, or other documents affecting the property.

The Kansas Register of Deeds Association identifies deeds, mortgages, easements, oil and gas leases, and plats among the documents typically recorded by county offices.

These additional records can provide valuable clues.

For example, a mortgage might reveal how an ancestor financed a land purchase. A release might help establish when that obligation was satisfied.

A deed involving several heirs might lead to a previously unknown probate proceeding.

Even transactions involving neighboring properties can be useful when researching an ancestor's friends, associates, and neighbors — the FAN network.

Where Can You Find Range Indexes?

The county Register of Deeds office is a logical starting point.

Some counties have digitized their historical land records, while others still rely on handwritten or typed indexes. Older records may also be available on microfilm.

If you are researching land in another state, check with the appropriate county recorder or land-records office to determine whether a tract index exists.

Remember that not every county used the same indexing system. Some maintained numerical indexes, while others relied primarily on grantor and grantee indexes.

It is also important to check the dates covered by an index. A missing entry does not necessarily mean a transaction never occurred.

Don't Stop at the Index!

As useful as range indexes are, they are finding aids.

They provide references to recorded documents, but they do not replace those documents.

Whenever possible, I retrieve the original deed or other instrument and examine the entire record.

The original might contain information not included in the index, such as a spouse's name, an heir's relationship, a residence, or a detailed description of the property.

I also compare the legal descriptions carefully. A family might purchase an entire quarter-section and later sell only part of it. Following the wrong subdivision could lead to an incorrect reconstruction of the property's history.

A Different Way to Approach Land Research

Genealogists often approach land records by searching for an ancestor's name.

Range indexes encourage us to approach the research from another direction.

Start with the land.

Follow its transactions.

Identify the people involved.

Then investigate their relationships.

For my Briles research in Coffey County, the range index provides a way to follow the property Alexander Briles acquired and investigate what happened to that land over time.

It is one of the tools I use to move beyond simply documenting that an ancestor owned land and toward understanding how that property fits into the family's history.

Have you used range indexes in your genealogy research? Have they helped you discover what happened to an ancestor's farm or identify previously unknown family members?