Don't forget if you find your ancestor received a patent from the Bureau of Land Management to search for others who might have patented property near his. The site is http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx.
I always search at least for people who obtained property in the same or adjacent sections. Entire townships can be too large when we're talking 40 acre parcels.
You may find ancestors by searching in the township of other relatives -- simply because you are not spelling the name the way in which it was indexed. It was in this manner that I found my ancestor's land warrant for service in the Mexican War. I had no idea this 20yr old Prussian immigrant had been involved.
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