Below is a listing of Assumption Parish land patents. By using the township map to the left, and the listing below, the researcher will be able to pinpoint the location of the patented land within a six-mile square area. Range lines run north and south, and township lines run east and west. For instance, if a land patent showed land in Township 13, Range 13, the researcher simply locates the intersection of the range and township. The six-mile square (called a township) where the range and township intersects will show the general location of the land. In this instance the property would be located in western Assumption Parish. Land patents were issued by the Federal government when public lands were sold to the public. Land Offices were established in the district handling the land transactions. They would frequently move and close within the States as the land within their jurisdiction began dwindling.

 Land patent documents contain additional information. The primary identification numbers are located in the upper left-hand corner of the document, e.g. a document number, warrant number, serial number or patent number, mining claims, etc. Beginning in July 1908 patents were identified with a GLO Serial number, that number appears at the top or bottom of the document. These numbers were assigned consecutively and filed numerically at the opening and closing of the various land offices. Military Warrant numbers are found in the body of these patents. Homestead patents have an assigned application number. Signature and Date will reflect the President of the United States of America in office at the time. Beginning on June 17, 1948, the authority was delegated to the Secretary of the Interior to issue patents on public lands.

Patentee names are shown in various areas of the patent. In instances where the patentee was not the original purchaser of the land, the patent will state the purchaser as the Assignee, heirs, and devisees. Military warrants will have the name, rank in service, and a regiment they were affiliated with. These patents were issued in favor of the Officers and Soldiers for their service in the Military, but were often assigned to their heirs or other individuals. 

Be sure to visit the U.S. Bureau of Interior's General Land Office website, where you can obtain a copy of the original patent from the list below. Simply click on the menu button near the top of the page labeled "Search Land Patents." The original land patent will also give the Section Number of the land, as well as the particular division of the section, where the land was located.