Seneca County, NY

Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants

The first act granting bounty lands in New York was passed on March 20, 1781. This and other subsequent acts set aside land in the Finger Lakes region in central New York and was known as the Military Tract. Included were the present day counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga and Seneca and parts of Oswego, Schuyer, Tompkins, and Wayne. The Military Tract consisted of 60,000 acres and was divided into 28 townships, subdivided into farm lots of 600 acres. Each of these townships bore the name of a classical literary hero. Land was also purchased from the Onondaga Indian Nation and the Cayuga Nation in 1788 and 1789. Purchases were also made from the Oneida and Tuscaroras.

Upon the purchase of this land, New York held the balloting for the distribution of the land. The name of each veteran was written on a slip of paper and put into a box. The names of the lots were written on another slip of paper and these were matched with the veteran's name as they were pulled from the boxes. Letters of Patent were given to the veterans. The land was to be settled within seven years and certain fees such as surveying costs had to be paid. Four lots from each township were set aside for use of schools and churches, some were given or sold by the state to fufill other obligations.

Only a minor part of the land that was given to the Revolutionary War soldiers actually was settled by the veterans. Because of the time that it took for the state to get clear title of the land, many became impatient and sold their rights to land speculators.

The amount of land set aside for veterans was:
privates - 500 acres
chaplains - 2000 acres
captains and surgeons - 1500 acres
majors - 2000 acres
lieutenant-colonel - 2250 acres
brigadier general - 4250 acres
major general - 5500 acres

Please click here for a map showing the location of the Military Tract in relation to the Phelps & Gorham Purchase and Watkins & Flint Purchase.

Please click here for a map of how the military tract was laid out.

Sources for Military Bounty Lands:

New York Area Key by Florence Clint [American Fork, Utah: Swift Printing, 1979]

Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants; awarded by state governments by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck [Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996]

The Balloting Book and Other Documents Relating to Military Bounty Lands in the State of New York [Albany, NY: Packard & VanBenthusen, 1825; reprinted by W.E. Morrison & Co., Ovid, NY, 1983]

Back to Index of Military Records

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© 1998-2015 Diane Lerch Kurtz