Read Me First Filemaker Files

Read Me First – FileMaker Files

Texas Headright Survey Project

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this preliminary effort to index the First Class headright surveys found on the Texas General Land Office (GLO) website.

Upon completion, the results of the county you have agreed to index along with those of others which are a part of this preliminary undertaking will form the basis for a grant which, if successful, will be used to expand the Headright Survey Project to all 254 Texas counties. Subsequent grants will be sought to index all Second and Third Class headrights in the GLO database.

To Locate the County of Your Choosing in the GLO Database

Go to:

Select the name of your county in the dropdown

In “Class” type in: 1

Set the “Show Me __ Records per Page” to 500 (this should get ALL of your records without any problems).

Click: “Search”

The headright material is located in the “pdf” on the right side of the page. When you return to this page after initially opening one of the pdf files, you probably cannot click the next pdf to get the next record. If this is the case, simply right click on the pdf icon and it will open in a new window.

To Install the Work Folder on Your Computer

The (YourHeadrightCountyName)folderyou downloadedcontains a “Run Time” application. This means that you can run the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DBapplication contained within the folder without actually having the application on your computer. This will permit you and your project counterpart to enter the information from the original GLO surveys; exchange the single (YourHeadrightCountyName).DBfile via email and proof the entries all out of this single (YourHeadrightCountyName)folder(which each of you MUSThave on your computer).NOTE: your counterpart MUSTbe using the “Run Time” version of the County folder (NOTthe Excel version). This necessary in order for the two of you to be able to exchange the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB file.

To install the (YourHeadrightCountyName)folderon your computer simply place the entire folder on your computer’s desktop (you may also place it anywhere on your computer – just be sure and keep the entire folder together and not separate the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB from the (YourHeadrightCountyName)folder.

Working with the (YourHeadrightCountyName)County Database File

In order to begin your work, you will first need to unzip the (YourHeadrightCountyName)folder. To do this

• Right-click on the (YourHeadrightCountyName)folder and select “Extract All”
• Click the Browse button to place the folder on your Desktop (you can move it to another location of you choosing later if you wish) >
• Click OK >
• Click Extract – the (YourHeadrightCountyName)folder will be unzipped and become visible on your desktop >
• double-click the now-unzipped(YourHeadrightCountyName)folder
• double-click the file within the folder entitled (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB >
• Click OK for the User Name: SHSU

Following is an overview of the various fields shown. Please note that the information ABOVE the line at the top of the data entry page should not be altered in ANYmanner. These are reference fields. Those of some use to you would include:

Reference Fields

ItemNo: Each file provided by the GLO has been assigned a sequential number ((YourHeadrightCountyName) 001, (YourHeadrightCountyName) 002, etc.). These numbers will prove useful if you need to locate a specific survey (see Find function below).

County: The MODERN county in which the headright survey is located.

Class: The ORIGINAL county the survey was located in (all will be First Class).

File.No: This is the GLO file number (always 6 digit).

Grantee: The name of the person to whom the land was originally GRANTED.

Disregard the Abstract, Patentee and Invalid fields.

Date Entry Fields

The sample entries below are fictitious. They should only be used as a guide as to what your entries might look like.

Surveyed.For/Assignee: The original grantee did not always maintain possession of his headright certificate. These were often sold/traded. In such instances, another party (the Assignee) would execute the order for a survey. Usually the surveyor placed the name of both individuals (grantee and assignee) on the survey document. This information is typically located near the beginning of the document. Wayne, John(Note: Last name first, comma followed by the first name. NO spaces after the first name).

Certif.No: The survey was typically associated with an issuing county and a headright certificate number. This was not always the case – there are instances in which a JUDGEMENT was substituted for a certificate number. This information is typically located near the beginning of the document. 247 (or if appropriate enter Judgement or whatever the situation may call for)

Issuing County: This is the county that ORIGINALLY issued the certificate. It is not necessarily the same county as that in which the survey is located. For instance, it would be possible for an individual to apply/receive a certificate in Shelby County then move to Fannin County where the final survey was executed. This information is typically located near the beginning of the document. Shelby

Cert.Issue.Date: This is the date the ORIGINAL certificate was issued. This information is typically located near the beginning of the document. 1839.06.06(Using this format will assist those searching the database to find surveys by the year only, month only, day only or any combination. See the Find function below).

Survey.Date: The date the survey was done. The date is typically located near the top of the survey or in some instances at the bottom of the survey near the name of the surveyor. 1848.11.28(Using this format will assist those searching the database find surveys by the year only, month only, day only or any combination. See the Find function below).

Surveyor.Name: The individual who performed the survey. This information is typically located at the end of the document. Williams, J.K.(Note: Last name first, comma followed by the first name. NO spaces after the first name).

Chainmen: The name of the chainmen (there were typically, but not always, two chainmen). This information is usually located at the end of the document. Hill, James A.; Taylor, Samuel (Note the semicolon and double space between the two names. NO spaces after the final first name).

Settlements: Depending upon the situation, the surveyor often noted the location of nearby settlements in the first (general reference) paragraph of the survey. In some of the early surveys, he also made note of settlements within the body of the survey. All should be noted in the field provided. Marshall; Dallas; Carthage (Note the semicolon followed by a double space. NO spaces after the final settlement name).

Water.Features: As with settlements, the surveyor often noted the location of nearly water features (lakes, rivers, springs, etc.) in the first (general reference) paragraph of the survey. In some of the early surveys, he also made note of water features within the body of the survey. All should be noted in the field provided. Sabine River; Oak Creek (Note the semicolon followed by a double space. NO spaces after the final water feature name).

Roads.Trails: As with settlements and water features, the surveyor often noted the location of nearly paths, trails or roads in the first (general reference) paragraph of the survey. In some of the early surveys, he also made note of roads and trails within the body of the survey. All should be noted in the field provided.Trammel’s Trace; Shreveport Road(Note the semicolon followed by a double space. NO spaces after the final road/trail name).

Misc.Features: This field is provided for you to enter other features noted in the general body of the survey. For instance, in several early (1838) (YourHeadrightCountyName) County surveys mention is made of encountering evidence of the presence of United States surveyors. Put here anything that you feel significant that does not appear to “fit” into the Settlement, Water Features, Roads/Trails fields. United States survey reference(If there is more than one entry, use a semicolon followed by a double space. NO spaces after the final Miscellaneous feature).

Tot.Sq.Vara: Some surveys provide the amount of land in square varas. This information may or may not be present in a given survey. When present, it is sometimes located in the general reference paragraph; other times it will be at the bottom of the survey as a kind of summing up statement. Be careful if the survey represents only a part of the total headright. In such cases the number can be quite small. The balance will be found in the residual headright survey(s). 24193280(Note, do not use commas. No spaces after final numeral).

Arable.Sq.Vara.Surveyed: This is often NOT present. It represents the amount of land that could have been FARMED at the time (the balance would have been pastureland, swamps, etc.). 123456 (Note, do not use commas. No spaces after final numeral).

Tot.Acre: Some surveys provide the amount of land in acres. This information may or may not be present in a given survey. When present, it is sometimes located in the general reference paragraph; other times it will be at the bottom of the survey as a kind of summing up statement. Be careful if the survey represents only a part of the total headright. In such cases the number can be quite small. The balance will be found in the residual headright survey(s). 23456(Note, do not use commas. No space after final numeral).

Arable.Acre.Surveyed: This is often NOT present. It represents the amount of land that could have been FARMED at the time (the balance would have been pastureland, swamps, etc.).5678 (Note, do not use commas. No spaces after final numeral).

Percent.Arable: This is a calculated field. There is no need for you to be concerned with the contents of this field.

Arable.Comments: Often, but not always, the surveyor will make a general comment regarding the nature of the land. If he does, please enter his comment in this field. Arable acreage not provided(No spaces after final word).

Other.Items.in.Folder: Typically a GLO folder will contain a number of other documents besides the survey. Those of a general nature you can just sum up with something like “GLO note on clerical error,” “Request for information,” “GLO note” and the like. If there is something in the folder that really ought to be brought to the attention of the researcher (for instance you will occasionally find summaries of the application for the headright, court judgements, etc.), you might note the presence of such documents in this field. Request to GLO for information. Testimony on Arocha. Receipt for Certificate 389. (Note semicolon and double space is NOT to be used if more than one comment is required. No spaces after final word).

Data.Entry.Questions: There are some 10,000 First Class headrights in the state. Doubtless, the fields above will not cover all of the contingencies. If you find something that needs to be included but you are at a loss as to what to do with it, (1) consult with your counterpart for a solution; (2) email me (); (3) just make note of it here and I will look into it for a final determination.

In all of the subjective fields above, please keep in mind that we are indexing documents that researchers will make use of. If you believe it to be of value – then it is of value. We just need to find a place to make note of it.

Saving the File

This file is a bit different than the most files in that it does not require you to save it unless you just want to make a backup copy. It saves itself periodically. When you are done working with the file, all you need to do is close the file. It will save the work done automatically. Scary I know, but it works. Give it a try.

Sort, Find, Change Layout

Take a moment to get familiar with the tools needed to get around in the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB. Before you can do much with this section, you will need to add 6 or 8 records (so you will have something to look at. Note: The Tab Order (press Tab to advance one data entry field) has been set to reflect the sequence most commonly found in the old surveys. You can manually place the cursor if desired.

Open Book: Located in the upper left corner. This feature allows you to move forward or backward one record at a time in any of the layouts.

Sliding Bar Above the Word Records at Top Left of Screen: Use this to move forward or backward in the records more rapidly in any of the layouts.

Show All: When you click this icon, all of the records are available to work on in all of the layouts.

New Record/Delete Record: NEVERadd or remove a record.

Find: Click this icon and then type in what you wish to find in the appropriate field. For instance, by typing in 1838 in the Cert.Issue.Date all of the records with that date will be isolated. Try the same using a name you know is in the record. You can find also find all of the surveys done on a specific month (.10. for October) or a specific day (.21 for the 21st of the month, note there is no period after the 1 as there was for October).

Before we move to the Sort icon, look to the left side of the screen at the word Layout. At present it is set on DataEntry (it is ready for you to enter the data). Now, click the Find icon and in the Surveyor field type in the following – a “space” followed by the letter “M”). This will result in the isolation of all records which begin with the letter M (the program is NOT case-sensitive). Note that records which CONTAIN the letter M within the name are excluded (they do not have an M preceded by a SPACE). You now have all of the records in which the last name of the Surveyor isolated that begins with an M.

The problem is the DataEntry format only allows you to look at one record at a time. Click on the DataEntrylayout on the left side of the page and a dropdown will appear that lists a number of other layouts available to you (for your enjoyment – or maybe to assist you in finding a record more quickly). Choose the layout named Survey Related. Assuming you have more than one Surveyor record that begins with an M, they will all appear here with selected other data. Now suppose you want to sort these records (based on any of the criteria in the fields displayed). Let us suppose you want to sort these found records by SurveyDate. See the following:

Sort: Go up to the top of the page and click the Sort icon. (You will first need to remove the ItemNo in the right panel as this is the default I use as I assume most of you will be looking for a specific record). To remove, simply highlight the word “ItemNo” and then click the clear button between the two panels. Next, Highlight the “SurveyDate” in the left panel then click the “Move” button. The SurveyDate field will be moved to the right panel. Note below the left panel the default order is Ascending – 1 to 100 or A to Z. You can reverse the sort by clicking the Descending order. To complete the process click the Sort button at the bottom right corner of the Sort Records panel.

Before you leave this area, you might want to again click the Sort icon, remove the SurveyDate field and replace it with the ItemNo field.

Play with all this a bit. It may sound confusing, but it is actually simple and highly functional

Emailing/Receiving the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB File

Once you have entered the information for the surveys in your county, you will need to email the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB file to your counterpart/proof reader. This may be done in the following manner:

(1)Close the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB file and make a backup of the file in a FOLDER with a name of your choosing. Do NOT rename the file. This name is keyed to work with the Run Time materialsyou and your counterpart share.

(2)Open your email and attach the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB file to your email.

(3)Be sure and request in your email that your counterpart let you know when they have secured/opened the file in their (YourHeadrightCountyName)folder

(4)At that point, you will want to delete the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB file in your work folder (do NOTdelete the backup file). Your counterpart now has the original/working file.

(5)You are now ready to receive the corrected file from your counterpart once they return it to you. To do this, follow the instructions below.

To Put the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB file in your (YourHeadrightCountyName)Folder

(1)Upon receipt of the (YourHeadrightCountyName).DB file, you should save the file to your desktop.