Summary
Letters of Inquiry are correspondence sent by individuals to the Survey Department of the General Land Office to ascertain the presence of unsurveyed public school land also known as a vacancy. The Letters of Inquiry include 7 file cabinet drawers of correspondence and maps, 1919-1930. Each letter contains at least one vacancy inquiry, though many have multiple pages of inquiries. As one of the more esoteric and complicated groups of records, the Letters are only available through appointment in the Research Room. Notice will give staff the time to consult with the Surveying Department to better serve the researcher.
Biographical Note
Letters of Inquiry are correspondence sent by individuals to the Survey Department of the General Land Office to ascertain the presence of a vacancy, that is unsurveyed public school land. For those seeking to recover a vacancy, the first step at that time was to send a letter of inquiry, through which the surveying department would review the records and respond. If the records showed that there was no vacancy, then the GLO surveyor would write that records "disclosed" proof. If proof was "not disclosed," through a records review, the surveyor would advise the individual to have the suspected vacancy independently surveyed.
A law from 1931 implicitly referencing the Letters of Inquiry states: "...expressing a desire to purchase unsurveyed public school land, where the official map of the Land Office shows the area applied for not to be included within the boundaries of any previous survey, and an answer that no vacancy existed has been given by the Land Office,... " (Acts 1931, 42nd R.S.,ch. 271, General Laws of Texas).
In 1939 the law "Land Vacancies" was passed, modifying the procedures for the discovery and sale of land vacancies (Acts 1939, 46th R.S., p.465,ch. 3, General Laws of Texas).
Current statute governing vacancies: Sec. 51.171, Subchapter E. Sale and Lease of Vacancies
Scope and Content
A law from 1931 implicitly referencing the Letters of Inquiry states: "...expressing a desire to purchase unsurveyed public school land, where the official map of the Land Office shows the area applied for not to be included within the boundaries of any previous survey, and an answer that no vacancy existed has been given by the Land Office,... " (Acts 1931, 42nd R.S.,ch. 271, General Laws of Texas).
In 1939 the law "Land Vacancies" was passed, modifying the procedures for the discovery and sale of land vacancies (Acts 1939, 46th R.S., p.465,ch. 3, General Laws of Texas).
Current statute governing vacancies: Sec. 51.171, Subchapter E. Sale and Lease of Vacancies
The Letters of Inquiry include 7 file cabinet drawers of correspondence and maps, 1919-1932. Each letter contains at least one vacancy inquiry, though most have multiple inquiries. Each inquiry is annotated with comments from the surveyor who responded. Common annotations include, "no vacancy", "doubtful", "covered by X". Occasionally the surveyor will note that there may be a vacancy.The Letters of Inquiry include 7 file cabinet drawers of correspondence and maps, 1919-1932. Each letter contains at least one vacancy inquiry, though most have multiple inquiries. Each inquiry is annotated with comments from the surveyor who responded. Common annotations include, "no vacancy", "doubtful", "covered by X". Occasionally the surveyor will note that there may be a vacancy.
Each letter is given a sequential "inquiry number" as it is received by the GLO and is used for cross-referencing purposes such as when a suspected vacancy stretches over multiple counties; or when a surveyor designates a suspected vacancy as "covered by X" where X is the number of a previous, already-answered inquiry.
The Letters have not been digitized but there is a spreadsheet inventory available to download in the Detailed Description of the Collection below.
Date
Each letter is given a sequential "inquiry number" as it is received by the GLO and is used for cross-referencing purposes such as when a suspected vacancy stretches over multiple counties; or when a surveyor designates a suspected vacancy as "covered by X" where X is the number of a previous, already-answered inquiry.
The Letters have not been digitized but there is a spreadsheet inventory available to download in the Detailed Description of the Collection below.
1919-1932
Extent
15.17 Linear feet (7 file cabinet drawers)
Language
English
Arrangement
The records are described at the folder level. The records have not been arranged; the original order has been maintained, though it has no obvious pattern.
Preferred Citation
[Short title of Document], [Date: Day-Month-Year]. Box [#], Folder [#], p. [#]. Letters of Inquiry (AR.58). Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin.
Access Restrictions
Unrestricted access.
Use Restrictions
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
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