Warrant Register: A search of the Last Purchase Register did not reveal a warrant for Aaron Dale, but he is listed in the Allegheny County Warrant Register. His entry (under the letter "D") in the ledger shows that he received a warrant for 400 acres on 10 Apr 1793, that the survey containing 434 acres was returned for patenting 7 Feb 1799 to Wilhelm Willink. It confirms that the patent was recorded in Patent Register P38, pg. 195, and that the survey was recorded in Survey Book C46, pg. 112. According to the Allegheny Co. Warrant Register, a remarkable number of Dales were awarded separate warrants on that 10 April date: Sarah, Jonas, David, Daniel, Eliza, Noah, Hannah, Ann, Philip, Isaac, Peter, Israel, Grace, Roger, John, George, Elihu, James, Matthew, Aaron, Enoch, Owen, Paul, Edward, Aaron, Mark, Samuel, Benjamin, Robert, John, Nathan, Moses, George, Richard, William, Mary, Simon, Caleb, Luke, and Lydia. All of these tracts were patented to Wilhelm Wilink between 30 January and 11 February 1799--highly coincidental indeed, especially given the new law of 1799 tightening the requirements! None of these names are mentioned in the chapter on Brokenstraw Township in the History of Warren County (pp. 401-420) which details nearly all of the settlers prior to 1806 in the township.

Survey: Survey Book C46, pg. 112. The survey shows that his tract was surrounded by those of Matthew Dale, Israel Dale, Noah Dale and Jonas Dale.

Patent: The index to Patent Register P38, pg. 195, confirms that Wilhem Willink, et. al., patented 434 acres called "Elk-Lick" on 8 Feb 1799 which had been warranted to Aaron Dale on 10 Apr 1793. The numbers on the tracts in the 1878 atlas refer to numbers assigned to the tracts purchased under the 1784 "Last Purchase" and the sale warrants are recorded in the Last Purchase Warrant Register at the Pennsylvania Archives in Harrisburg. The warrants can be searched by scrolling through the pages under the first initial of the surname of the purchaser. Thus, Tract #2579 appears on pg. 48 (under "W") which verifies that it was granted on 12 Dec 1792 to "Willink, Wilhem and others" with an estimated size of 900 acres. The survey was returned for patenting to Silas X. Billings on 20 Apr 1874 with an actual size of 1002 acres. It confirms that the Patent was recorded in Patent Register H72, pg. 672 (since the patentee was Silas Billings, his patent was indexed under the letter "B" in the Patent Index Registers). The last column in the Last Purchase Register shows that the survey is recorded in Survey Book D7, pg. 127, which has been posted online with all other surveys by the Pennsylvania Archives. See the explanation of the Last Purchase of 1784 on our Elk County page and a map showing the Last Purchase counties in yellow).

Copies of the original warrant, survey (the one posted online is the version copied into Survey Books), and patent are available from the Archives.