The
theme for this week is “The Old Homestead.” It was during the
Civil War, in May of 1862 when the United States Congress passed the
Homestead Act. I believe that 6 of my ancestors chose to use that
legislation and gain “free” land: 2 in Oregon, 3 in Kansas and 1
in Nebraska.
So
who were my “Homesteaders”? I'll begin with those from Oregon.
My 2nd gt-grandfather, Commodore Perry O'Neal, received a
patent dated 30 Jun 1891 for 164.53 acres located adjacent to land he
had purchased in 1870. This was about 4 miles west of the town of
Creswell in Lane County, Oregon. His son-in-law John Howard Bond, my
gt-grandfather, received his patent about a year earlier, 28 May
1890, for 160 acres located about 2 miles northwest of Commodore
Perry's land. John sold his land in 1893 and moved across the Cascade
Mountains to Gilliam County Oregon where he stayed about 10 years
before moving back to the Willamette Valley. Commodore Perry stayed
on his land until his death in 1919. He had deeded his land to his 3
sons about 2 months before he died.
In
Kansas, my gt-grandfather, Nathan Elias Albertson, received his
patent 28 Sep 1893 for 160 acres in McPherson township, Sherman
County Kansas. As I noted in a blog post about his homesteading last
year, 9 Sep 2017, it was located about 10 miles southwest of the
County Seat, Goodland Kansas.1
Before the 1900 census he had moved to another township in the
County, Washington Township, about 2 ½ miles west of the town of
Edson Kansas.
Nathan's
future daughter-in-law's (Lucie Rachel Smalley) grandfather, my 2nd
gt-grandfather, Joshua Rodney Shipman had a homestead also in
Washington Township. His patent was dated 23 Sep 1893 for 159.28
acres, located about 2 ½ miles southwest of the town of Edson.
Lucie's
other grandfather, another of my 2nd gt-grandfathers, John
Wilson Smalley received his patent 29 Apr 1893 for 160 acres in
Itasca Township, Sherman County, Kansas. This was a mile east of
Goodland and so was about 5 miles west of where Nathan lived in
Washington Township.
It
was one of my 3rd gt-grandmothers who received the patent
to a homestead in Nebraska, Lucy Irene Chase (the mother-in-law to
Joshua Rodney Shipman.) Lucy's husband Timothy had originally filed
for the homestead, but died in 1877 before it was finalized. She
received the patent for 80 acres 30 Jun 1879 as his widow. This land
was in Atlanta Township, Saline County Nebraska.
Knowing
that some who filed for homesteads did not complete the process, I
was glad to discover that at least 6 of my ancestors did the required
work and were issued patents. Maybe I should also be thankful to the
U.S. Congress for passing such a law so my family had the opportunity
to be landowners.
1The
blog post about Nathan Elias Albertson's homestead is at:
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