Bedford County Landowner Map Based on Surveys by E. L. Walker, 1861
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Our goal at Ancestor Tracks is to publish maps and land ownership information allowing genealogy researchers to place more precisely the locations where our ancestors lived. The state of Pennsylvania began platting the exact metes-and-bounds tracts of the earliest landowners, township-by-township, starting in 1907, but the Land Office only completed about 1/3 of the state before the project ended. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania did not plat the tracts of the earliest landowners of Bedford County. In lieu of being able to bring you Township Warrantee Maps of the earliest settlers, we are posting the Map of Bedford County, PA Surveyed, Drawn & Published by E. L. Walker in 1861. This map is located in the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. We hope that it will be a useful tool for locating your Bedford County families when coupled with the 1860 census and published county histories. If your ancestor was actually a first landowner in the county, purchasing his or her property from the colony or state of Pennsylvania, further information about these tracts may be gleaned from the Warrant Register and Patent Register on file at the Pennsylvania Archives in Harrisburg and available on CD from Ancestor Tracks. If your ancestor settled before Bedford Co. was created in 1771, check in the Cumberland Co. registers which are also included on these CDs. The earliest land warrants were filed under the county as it existed at the time the warrant was issued. Keep in mind that all sales of land after the state or colony transferred ownership to private individuals are recorded at the county courthouse. Images of the 1861 Bedford Co. map are below. Click on the township of your choice below. Once the images are loaded, they can be enlarged by clicking on them, and they may be saved to your computer by right-clicking and selecting "Save Image As..."
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