06/11/2026
L Is for Land
Land ownership shaped the lives of our ancestors in ways that go far beyond property boundaries. For much of American history, land was wealth, and the records created around it are among the most detailed and informative that genealogists can find. As we discussed in our post on D is for Deeds, individual deed records can reveal family relationships and place ancestors in specific locations at specific times. But stepping back to look at land ownership
more broadly can reveal even more — migration patterns, community connections, and the economic circumstances that drove families to move or stay put.
Maryland researchers are especially fortunate when it comes to land records. Maryland's land grant system dates back to the 1630s, making it one of the best documented in the country. MDLandRec.net remains one of the most valuable free resources available for Maryland research, providing online access to land record images from all of Maryland's counties. For researchers working in the colonial period, Maryland's Rent Rolls are a lesser known but fascinating resource worth exploring. These colonial records list landowners and their properties
and can help identify ancestors who owned land before deeds became more common. The Maryland State Archives holds these collections and many are available online.
Tip for beginners: When you find an ancestor in a land record, make note of the names of neighboring landowners. In earlier times, neighbors were often relatives, and tracking those names in other records can open up new branches of your family tree.
Tip for experienced researchers: Plotting your ancestor's land holdings on an historical map can reveal patterns that aren't obvious from reading records alone. Neighboring tracts owned by people of the same surname, or a cluster of related families in a specific area, can point toward community connections and migration paths worth following.
Now it's your turn! Have land records helped you discover a new branch of your family tree or trace an ancestor's migration — and what did you find?
