Date: February 18, 2025 Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Location: Brewster Ladies' Library, 1822 Main St., Brewster, MA 02631 and via Zoom

Federal Land Records: Bounty Land, Land Entry Files, and Homesteading

Guest Speaker: Melanie McComb

Throughout its history, the United States has offered several land incentives to encourage settlement and migration westward. In this presentation, we will first discuss federal bounty land warrants for military service between 1775 and 1855 and then delve more deeply into homesteading records including land entry case files, patents, and tract books.  

 Melanie McComb, Senior Genealogist at NEHGS, assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She is an international lecturer who teaches on a variety of topics. Melanie holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. She previously served as the social media coordinator for the NextGen Genealogy Network, a non-profit that creates a community for younger genealogists, where she managed the Facebook and Twitter accounts. She continues her interest in helping younger genealogists get involved at American Ancestors by assisting with educational programs from local schools, scout groups, and universities.