[Genealogy] Three Lessons, Plat Book Strategies, and More

[Michael John Neill]

In this email:

Farmers But Not Landowner Presentation
Three Lessons I Remembered and One I Forgot
Trips
Platting out a Plat Book Strategy
40% webinar sale
Webinar
Consultation


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Farmers But Not Landowners
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Presentations on farming ancestors tend to focus on those who owned real
estate. It can be a challenge to research those farmers who rented their
ground, worked as sharecroppers, or those who worked in agriculture as farm
laborers. In this presentation we focus on these types of individuals
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/farmers-tenants-and-laborers/>.
Farm renters, sharecroppers, and farm laborers tend to leave fewer
records–we’ll
focus on research strategies directed towards them.
<https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/farmers-tenants-and-laborers/> They
can be challenging to research in a way that landowners are not.

Details at:
https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/genealogy_genealogytipoftheday.com

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Three Lessons I Remembered and One I Forgot
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Somewhere online (the precise location I will not mention) I recently read
that all the Bureau of Land Management Tract books were online at
*FamilySearch*.  The last time I checked *FamilySearch *Missouri’s books
were not online. There were some families in Chariton County who filed
pre-emption claims and I wanted to see if there were any neighboring
families who filed claims that were eventually cancelled. I was hoping to
look in the updated list of online materials

The only problem was that it wasn’t true. All the books were not online.
They still aren’t. Either the author copied the information from someone
else or assumed the list was complete because there were a lot of states
listed.

Four reminders from that:

   1. Don’t believe everything you read.
   2. Don’t assume anything–check it out.
   3. Don’t just copy and paste information–check it out.
   4. Write things down as soon as you think of them. I’ve forgotten the
   fourth reminder, so this one will have to do instead.

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Library of Virginia Research Trip--March 2026
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Join Michael for four days of research at the Library of Virginia in
Richmond this March.
https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025-library-of-virginia-research-trip-richmond-virginia/


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Midwest Genealogy Center Research Trip
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Join me for four days of research in Independence, Missouri, and the
Midwest Genealogy Center in May 2026. Details on our announcement page at
https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/mid-continent-genealogy-library-october-2025-research-trip/

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Platting Out a Plat Book Strategy
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Beginning in roughly the middle of the 19th century, a variety of
publishing firms began publishing what are commonly referred to as “plat
books.” These books show the sizes, shapes, and acreages of farm properties
along with the name of the owner. Typically drawn from information
contained in property tax and real estate records, modern copies of these
books are usually a well-worn reference in many farm households across the
United States.

Older ones don’t just include maps of farms. They can often include a
variety of other reference material. Sometimes that material was added to
sell books or to raise money from selling the privilege of having a picture
(of a farm, house, or your ancestor’s own visage) published in the books.
Sometimes these books contained directory-type information, particularly in
those rural areas where directories were not common.

Sometimes those whose ancestors were not farmers avoid using “plat books,”
often referred to as atlases. That can be a mistake. The 1874 Hancock
County, Illinois, “atlas,” includes:

   -

   lists of subscribers (probably those who purchased the book)
   -

   pictures of churches and other buildings
   -

   pictures of selected homes and businesses (probably those who paid a
   little extra fee)
   -

   biographies of selected residents

Some of the subscribers are not farmers or landowners, but are local
businessmen. There are pictures of homes and churches pictured from towns
around the county.

The “atlas” just isn’t about showing a map of who owns what piece of
farmland. Although locating your ancestor’s name on a map of a specific
township can be the starting point to land and other records.

You may not find your town dweller mentioned specifically in one of these
books. But you may find a picture of his church, places where he shopped,
or the local courthouse.
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40% webinar sale
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We've put our 40% webinar sale back on for today (20 November 2025).
Download immediate. View whenever.

https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/recent-webinars/


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Common Name Webinar
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Details on this presentation are at:
https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025/11/04/common-names-at-familysearch-full-text-webinar/

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Consultations with Michael
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Need help with your research? Schedule a genealogy consultation today!

https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/consultations-with-michael/

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Are You Getting These Emails?
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Send me a message at mjnrootdig at gmail.com to let me know.  Thanks!

(c) 2025 Michael John Neill

Until Next Time!

Michael
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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