While the Revolutionary War was still in progress, the General Assembly of Georgia passed two Acts relating to the granting of land, but until 1782 the State was overrun and occupied by the British and the government was so disorganized that the necessary official machinery for surveying and granting land was never perfected. As a result, both of these Acts became ineffectual and are referred to here only as a matter of historical interest. The first of these was the Act of June 7, 1777 (as amended by the Act of September 16, 1777) entitled " An Act for opening a land office and for the better settling and strengthening this State;’ the second was the Act of January 23, 1780, entitled "An Act for the more speedy and effectual settling and strengthening this state." Actually only a very few surveys were ever made under these Acts and the first grant of land based on any of such surveys was not signed and issued until October 22, 1783. Neither Act provided for a fee-simple grant, but both followed the Colonial requirement for the annual payment of rent of two shillings on each hundred acres in the grant, in addition to settlement and cultivation within nine months. However, both Acts recognized the fact that many Colonial and State records had been lost or destroyed during the war and stipulated that, despite their loss, those persons who could produce some proof of an application for survey, or an agreement to purchase, or settlement under any Colonial law or grant, would be entitled to confirming grants. One feature of both Acts, which was followed in every subsequent Act, was that a man would be entitled to 200 acres as his own headright plus an additional 50 acres for his wife, each child and each slave, but that in no event could the total grant exceed 1000 acres.
The first effective land Act was the Act of February 17, 1783 (as amended by the Act of August 1, 1783) entitled an "Act for opening the land office and for other purposes therein mentioned." This Act allowed a man to take up 200 acres upon his own headright free of any charge except office fees for survey and grant, plus an additional 50 acres upon the head of each member of his family at sales prices ranging from one to four shillings per acre, and it limited any grant ot a maximum of 1000 acres. The rights of persons who had previously received warrants of survey were ratified, and they were declared to be entitled to grants to land occupied by them. Those persons who, under legislation passed during the War, had become entitled to bounty lands, such as citizens who had not molested their neighbors’ families or property, refugees who had served in militia companies outside the State, militia men of the State and men who had served in the minute battalions were declared entitled to grants, without charge except the office fees. The machinery for granting land, as set up by this Act, was as follows: The applicant for land would appear before the land court of the county in which he desired land, composed of at least five Justices, and after making oath as to the size of his family, including slaves, would obtain a warrant of survey. The county surveyor would then lay out his land, keep a copy of the plat of survey in his office, and forward a copy to the Surveyor General. After living on the land a year and cultivating at least three per cent of the acreage, the settler would then apply to the Governor’s office for his grant and pay all purchase price due and all office fees. The grant would then be issued and recorded
The Act of February 25, 1784, which was passed primarily to create and open up Franklin and Washington Counties, made some revisions in the grants laws previously enacted. The sales price of land in those two counties was fixed at three shillings per acre, and the maximum grant was again limited to 1000 acres. Bounty grants could be located in the new Counties, and all the bounty grants in all the counties were no longer to be tax free for ten years but were to be increased fifteen per cent in acreage. A large section , in what later became Greene County, was reserved exclusively for bounty grants to men who had served in the Continental Line or Navy, as distinguished from citizens, refugees or militiamen. For the first year members of the Executive Council were to act as the land courts for the new counties, prior to their organizations.
Under the Act of February 22, 1785, the provisions for payment of a purchase price or consideration for granted land, other than office fees, were removed, and thereafter all land was granted free. Cultivation was no longer a requisite. However, the restrictions as to the amount of land to which a man was entitled on his own and his family’s headrights and the restriction to a 1000 acre maximum remained unchanged. No surveys for bounty grants were to be made after February 22, 1786, but as to bounty land surveyed prior to that date, a grant could be made upon the warrant at any time thereafter. (Source)