Early Landowners of West Finley Township, Washington County, PA (pdf download)

This chapter is based on the Township Warrantee Map of West Finley Township and was updated in 2020. Two maps show the metes-and-bound outlines of each tract and the first owners of each tract who received their land directly from the Penn family or from the state.  The first one is a copy of the original early 1920s map by the Pennsylvania Land Office.  The second one is the same map cropped of marginal information and superimposed with atlas coordinates.  We have transcribed every piece of information on the map (names of warrantee and patentee, or first owners); size of the tract; dates of the warrant, survey, and patent; and the patent books in which the transaction was recorded. 

The draftsmen, however, did not include the survey book and page number, so we recently added this information by looking up each tract in county Warrant Registers (all 67 county Warrant Registers are available together on a single flash drive or CD from Ancestor Tracks).  Using the survey book information, you can see copies of your ancestors' original surveys online. We also added copious footnotes that give additional details for these owners. 

These land conveyances start in the 1760s when the western portion of Pennsylvania was opened for settlement and continue through the 1800s. Once the land was transferred from the government to private individuals, all subsequent sales were recorded in the Washington County Courthouse in Washington, PA.