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ITEM SPECIFICS
- Document Type: United States Land Patent / Land Grant
- Date: April 6, 1871
- President: Ulysses S. Grant
- Presidential Term: First Term
- Recipient / Patentee: Lawrence Brainard
- State: Minnesota
- Land Office: Alexandria, Minnesota
- Acreage: Approximately 160 Acres
- Era: Reconstruction / American Westward Expansion
- Government Agency: United States General Land Office
- Seal: Embossed General Land Office Seal
- Certificate Number: Appears to be No.352
- Country: United States
- Material: Paper
- Year: 1871
CONDITION DESCRIPTION
Original antique document dating to 1871, showing age and handling wear consistent with a document more than 150 years old.
Document has multiple old fold lines and creases, toning, scattered staining/discoloration, edge wear, and some separation/tearing along the folds, particularly near the left side.
The embossed General Land Office seal remains present at the lower left. Printed text and handwritten entries remain generally clear and legible.
Please examine all photographs carefully for the exact condition, as they are considered part of the description.
Document has not been professionally conserved or authenticated.
DESCRIPTION
Offered is an original 1871 United States General Land Office land patent conveying approximately 160 acres of Minnesota land to Lawrence Brainard during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.
The impressive large-format document is prominently headed:
“THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”
The patent records that Lawrence Brainard deposited at the General Land Office a certificate from the Register of the Land Office at Alexandria, Minnesota, showing that full payment had been made for the tract of public land described in the document.
The property is described as approximately 160 acres of land in Minnesota, with the original handwritten legal land description appearing prominently across the document.
The patent was:
Given at the City of Washington on April 6, 1871
during the first presidential term of Ulysses S. Grant, who served as President of the United States from 1869 to 1877.
The document retains the attractive embossed General Land Office seal at the lower left as well as the original handwritten entries and government signatures.
Historical Significance
Federal land patents such as this document represent the transfer of land from the United States government into private ownership and are important primary-source documents relating to America's westward settlement and development.
The Alexandria, Minnesota General Land Office administered federal public lands during a period of rapid settlement in Minnesota following the Civil War.
The recipient, Lawrence Brainard, can also be connected to early Minnesota land records. The Otter Tail County Historical Society identifies a Lawrence Brainard among Aastad Township taxpayers in 1870, very close to the date of this patent.
That historical connection makes the document particularly interesting for collectors of Minnesota history, American western expansion, genealogy, federal land records and Ulysses S. Grant-era material.
Ulysses S. Grant Signature Clarification
The document bears the printed/manuscript name of Ulysses S. Grant in the presidential authorization area.
Presidential land patents of this period were commonly executed by an authorized secretary or clerk on behalf of the president.
We are therefore NOT representing the Ulysses S. Grant signature on this document as a personally handwritten autograph of President Grant.
No independent autograph authentication has been performed.
KEY FEATURES
- Original 1871 United States Land Patent
- Issued during Ulysses S. Grant's presidency
- Dates to Grant's first presidential term
- Dated April 1, 1871
- Issued to Lawrence Brainard
- Approximately 160 acres
- Alexandria, Minnesota Land Office
- Original handwritten land description
- Embossed General Land Office seal
- Over 150 years old
- Excellent piece of early Minnesota history
- Relevant to American westward expansion and settlement
- Suitable for historical, genealogy and land-document collections
