What Is The Difference Between The “Purchase” Or “Entry” Date And Patent Date?
The “purchase” or “entry” date is the date the settler visited the Detroit Land Office, filled out the necessary paper work, and tendered the purchase price. For the most part, the dates found in the Oakland County Genealogical Society’s First Land Owners Of Oakland County are “purchase” or “entry” dates. As noted above, however, the Detroit Land Office itself did not issue patents. Instead, it transmitted the required paperwork to the General Land Office in Washington, D.C. Due to delays in receiving the documentation, as well as the volume of work it handled, the General Land Office would usually take several months, and in some cases several years, before issuing an actual patent. It further appears that purchases within a particular township would be processed in “batches.” Note, for example, the nine (9) patents all issued on April 1, 1837, even though the underlying purchases were made on March 30, July 2 and July 17, 1835. As a general rule, “purchase” or “entry” dates are of mo
