Assignee

An assignee receives a right, claim or property from someone else, the assignor. Transfers like this were common for land warrants, bonds, leases and debts. Deeds often grant land to a buyer and his heirs and assigns, meaning anyone he later passes it to.

When a patent or warrant names an assignee, the original soldier or settler may never have lived on the land. Trace the assignment back to find who first earned it.