By: James D. Walker, Pub. 1840, 666 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #978-1-63914-00-9.
Illinois has had quite the interesting history to statehood in 1818. French Canadian explorers starting arriving in the late 1600's via the Mississippi River. They established missions and forts along various rivers before retreating back into what is now Missouri. This allowed the British to take rule over these lands from the French. After the Revolutionary War, settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1780's via the Ohio River. In 1812, tensions between these settlers and the Native American came to an impasse. U.S. troops would eventually prevail and 5 million acres of land in this Illinois Territory were set aside to pay for these services. Information to be found within this book: date of patent, its Warrant Number, name of the veteran along with his rank and regiment, description of land including its location, name of the patentee recipient, many time giving his last know city and state of residence, and date of delivery of the patent. By knowing this warrant number, the researcher can then acquire photocopies of the veterans service records. The amount of information contained in the Bounty Land Warrant Application Files varies greatly. In claims made by their heirs, the Veteran's service, date and place of death, relationship to the veteran, and if appropriate, the date and place of death of remarriage of widow is given. In support of many claims, discharge certificates and various personal documents were submitted to prove marriage and to establish dependency.