What Is a Township and Why Is It Important in Historical Research?

A township is a type of local government within a county and appears in federal census records to show where each household lives. Civil townships were created to oversee local administration and governance, particularly in rural areas and those with a sparser population. A township is typically overseen by a governing body, such as trustees, and is responsible for land development, taxation, and settlement planning. 

These townships are important for historical research as they can provide context to your family tree, from understanding exactly where your family lived to tracing land inheritance. Survey townships, created as part of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), were created after the American Revolutionary War to divide and distribute land. Townships are crucial for historical research and filling the gaps in your family tree. 

Civil vs. Survey Township

During your ancestry research, you’ll typically come across two different types of townships. A civil township is considered a government entity and is responsible for holding records such as voter registration and tax rolls. 

By comparison, a survey township focused on land-based transactions and oversaw deeds, maps, and land patents. It’s important to understand what type of township you’re looking for and how they can impact the records you’ll find. 

The Origins and Purpose of Townships

Townships were introduced to streamline governance, land division, and settlement planning. Many states across the United States used the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) system, relying on survey township documents to determine land ownership. If you’re searching through U.S. census records, you’ll encounter township names that can help you find court, land, and tax records when researching your family tree.

Records from townships can help determine when an ancestor acquired or sold property in the area, explaining why your family may have settled or left a specific region. These documents can also show how land was passed down through generations, showing the wider context of your family tree.

Why Townships Matter in Genealogy and Historical Research

If you’re tracing your family tree through the United States, townships will help you start to understand your family tree and ancestors. Even when city and town names have changed with time, townships can help pinpoint exactly where your ancestors lived, even before street names became commonly used. 

Identify Relatives with Common Names

Township records can be vital when trying to identify a potential relative with a common name. These historical tax and legal records can help you validate whether an individual is the relative you’re looking for. Townships are often documented in census records, land deeds, and tax records. Knowing the township that your relative lived in can help expand your family tree and make it easier to find other potential family members or connections. 

Provide Context to Your Family’s Circumstances

Townships also played a major administrative role and can have documentation that may reveal more about your family’s social and economic circumstances. They are commonly mentioned in probate records, such as wills and guardianship documents with local courts responsible for criminal proceedings and property disputes. 

It was common for townships to manage voting registers, school records, and poor relief, which may mention widows and orphans, along with road repairs, which may mention relatives that were landowners. 

Identifying a township that is relevant to your family tree will make it easier to identify which archive or local office will hold these documents. 

Find Your Ancestors with Historical Records on MyHeritage

Township records can help bridge the gap and find missing information for your ancestors, provide wider context, or enable you to correctly identify potential relatives with common names. 

Our historical records are expanding every month, including millions of newly released documents from newspapers, townships, and census records that can unlock your family tree. Start your free trial of MyHeritage today to explore billions of historical records and grow your family tree.