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Finding Divorce Records

July 18, 2025

While not as commonly sought as other vital records, divorce records can help genealogists fill in the blanks about an ancestor’s life. In addition to information about the divorce itself, divorce records usually include the date and place of the divorcing couple’s marriage and the names and ages of any minor children they share.

 

Divorce records are commonly found at the county level and are considered public records in most areas. However, some sections of a divorce record may be sealed due to sensitive information. Because they are kept at the county level, researchers need to know where the divorce occurred and have at least an approximate date.

 

Divorces were often considered shameful in earlier periods, so determining if a divorce occurred is sometimes difficult. Starting in 1880, the U.S. censuses include marital status. A “D” in the column for Marital Status indicates that someone was divorced. Women were often embarrassed to admit they were divorced, so many divorced women lied about their marital status. Finding a couple living in separate households may be a clue that they were divorced, even if neither has “D” by their name.

 

If you suspect an ancestor was divorced, a search of the local newspaper may help confirm your suspicion. In earlier eras, newspapers often published articles listing couples who had been recently divorced. These articles confirm a place and date to search for further records.

 

Family Search, Ancestry and My Heritage all have some divorce records. Family Search has the largest collection of divorce records which can be found through a place search for the county of interest.

 

For many counties, no divorce records have been digitized. You will need to contact the county clerk for assistance in obtaining these records. Some counties will search their records for you. Others may require you to visit in person or to hire someone to search for you.

 

In some states, earlier divorce records have been transferred to the state archives. Most state archives are willing to do lookups, but some may require an in-person visit.

 

Divorces are sometimes overlooked genealogical records, but they can give you insight into an ancestor’s life. In addition, they can provide sometimes hard-to-find information about where and when a couple was married, who their children were, and why the marriage ended.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records

July 11, 2025

If you have ancestors who settled in the western half of the United States during the 19th century, there’s a good chance that your ancestors received the land directly from the U.S. government.

 

The records of this transfer are held at the National Archives, but the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office records, usually referred to as the BLM GLO records, are indexed on a free website. There are millions of land patents listed on the website ranging from 1788 through the 1960s. The website can be accessed at https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx?searchTabIndex=0&searchByTypeIndex=0.

 

The BLM website is easy to use. There are several ways to search. If your ancestor’s surname is unusual, you may only need to enter the name into the search field. Otherwise, you can narrow the search by adding a specific state or including a first name.

 

Not everyone who filed an application completed the process to obtain title to his/her land. Only about forty percent of all applications were finalized. Incomplete applications are not shown on the BLM index. Access to them can be obtained through the National Archives. You will need to have a description of the property to do this.

 

The patents cover different types of land claims. These include military bounty lands, grants, cash entry sales, credit entry sales, homesteads, mineral or mining claims, and timberland claims.

 

The Homestead Act of 1862 is the most well-known of the various types of claims. This law allowed anyone to claim 160 acres of land if they met certain requirements. The applicant had to be a U.S. citizen (or someone who had filed a declaration of intent to become a citizen), was at least twenty-one years of age and must not have previously taken up arms against the United States. In addition, the applicant needed to live on his/her claim for five years and have improved the land by building a house and farming at least some of the property.

 

Homestead claims typically provide the most genealogical information. Once you have obtained a description of the land from the BLM site, you can order a copy of the land entry files from the National Archives. These files can contain all sorts of supporting documents including marriage records and even naturalization certificates and other documents.

 

There are several helpful articles on obtaining copies of land patents as well as other homestead documents at https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Land_Patent_Search#top-page under the title Land Patent Search. It’s a good place to begin your search for government land grants your family may have received.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

Researching Revolutionary War Ancestors

July 4, 2025

It’s the Fourth of July. Today is the perfect day to do some research into your Revolutionary War ancestors. The Revolutionary War began in 1775 and ended in 1783. If your ancestors were in America by that time, it’s likely that you will have Revolutionary War Ancestors.

 

In my family only one of my eight great grandparents was born in the United States. For years I doubted that I had any Revolutionary War ancestors. However, my one native born American great grandfather had lineage stretching back to the 1600s in New England. Through him I have three direct Revolutionary War ancestors as well as several collateral Revolutionary War relatives.

 

With so many records available online now, it’s easier than ever to locate elusive Revolutionary War soldiers and supporters. A good starting point is the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Genealogical Research System (GRS).

 

This free resource is a helpful tool developed by the DAR to aid general genealogical research. It is especially useful to anyone who is trying to become a member of the DAR. It is available on the DAR website. You may search for an ancestor at https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=1 .

 

Although the GRS features an extensive list of Patriots, not everyone who served will be included in the database. You may need to consult other sources such as Fold3 and Ancestry as well as the National Archives for additional information.

 

Don’t forget that some of your ancestors may also have been Loyalists. It is often stated that only one-third of Americans were Patriots who supported independence from England. Another third were Loyalists who supported the King of England. Another third didn’t support either side and were neutral.

 

Thousands of Americans served Great Britain during the Revolution. Approximately 60,000 Loyalists relocated to Canada after the war. Family Search Wiki has an informative article about American Loyalists at https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/American_Loyalists . This can help you start your research into these often-under-researched ancestors.

 

The fourth of July seems an appropriate time to spend some time looking into our ancestors’ experiences in the Revolutionary War, whichever side he or she supported.

 

Happy Fourth of July and Happy Hunting!

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society