Kentucky Land Grants, African Americans
The Commonwealth of Virginia issued land grants to settlers in the western Virgina area that is today known as Kentucky. The land was transferred to individuals through a process called patenting, and the final document of purchase was the patent deed. The Virginia series of the Kentucky land grants were issued before 1792. After Kentucky became a state, June 1, 1792, the land grants were issued in the Old Kentucky series by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Land warrants included treasury, state, county, and military warrants issued to soldiers as payment for service in the French-Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. There were a few free African Americans who owned patent deeds, such as Free Frank who had 50-200 acres in Pulaski County from 1826-1827, Free Jack with 8 acres in Pulaski County in 1856, and Colored Man Jim with 17 acres in Taylor County in 1858. For more see Kentucky Land Grants by W. R. Jillson; and see Kentucky Land and Property, a FamilySearch website. Contact the Kentucky Land Office / 700 Capital Ave., Ste. 80 / Frankfort, KY 40601 / (502) 564-3490.