Land Warrants of Randolph County, North Carolina, 1778-1948

By: Albert Bruce Pruitt, Pub. 2001, reprinted 2026, 762 pages, Index, soft cover, ISBN #978-0-94499-277-7. Randolph County was created in 1779 from Guilford County. To get a grant [or patent] from the State for unclaimed, or vacant, land, a person went to the county entry taker and described the land. The entry taker usually recorded the date, the person’s name, number of acres, nearby waterways, and neighboring land holders, if the enterer gave all this information. The entry taker then filled out a warrant of survey to the county surveyor. This warrant was an order to survey the land and usually described it the same as in the entry. The surveyor usually made field notes and made two copies of the survey and plat when he returned to his office, or his house. The warrant and surveys were then sent to the Secretary of State along with the fees required for a grant. Originally, entry takers collected all the fees; later the entry taker collected only his own fees. The Secretary of State then prepared a land grant which usually describes the land the same as in the survey. The Secretary of State and the Governor then signed the grant, and it was returned to the new owner or to a county official who distributed the grants. The new owner was supposed to record his new grant with the county clerk. The index mentions approximately 9,000 persons with in these 3445 entries.