tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post598105689250590872..comments2024-03-26T11:22:41.940-07:00Comments on Genea-Musings: Finding More Information About Land Grants in U.S. BLM Tract Books on FamilySearchRandy Seaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17477703429102065294noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-10741761887820700032013-07-31T04:56:18.110-07:002013-07-31T04:56:18.110-07:00Randy, I love that you are using the tract books! ...Randy, I love that you are using the tract books! I just lectured on them at IGHR and GRIP. You transcribed and interpreted your entries well. Just a few notes to help you --<br /><br />In the "Part of Section" column on the left the register or clerk usually included the type of entry. "Home" stands for homestead and "Pre 41" stands for a Preemption under the Act of 1841.<br /><br />You can see that the "By whom patented" column is really used for notes on the transaction. On Nellie's entry the "Com. to Cash" means that the homestead entry was commuted to cash. She decided to purchase the land for $100 in 1887 instead of completing the five years of residency for obtaining the homestead land for free (after the $5 filing fee). The No. 4686 is the final certificate number of the cash entry and the one you need to order the land entry file from NARA. The file should include all the paperwork she submitted on the homestead entry before she commuted it to cash, so it could have some genealogical information in it.<br /><br />I am glad you noticed the pencil notation for Nellie Randell. The "D.S. 1897" stand for Declaratory Statement number 1897 and means that in April/May 1885 Nellie Randell was living on the land and filed a declaration that she intended to claim the land by pre-emption. Clearly she did not complete her claim, as Nellie purchased the land Nov. 10, 1885, also claiming a pre-emption (see the "Pre 41" in the left column). Again, even those these records would all be filed with the cash entries, they will contain more than just a final certificate and receipt. Both Della and Henry were claiming a preemption so they would have had to file statements proving when they settled on the land and detailing the improvements they had made. There will probably be affidavits from neighbors as witnesses on their behalf.<br /><br />You may be able to find the Declaratory Statement #1897 at NARA if you are interested. These records are filed by land office (Oberlin, Kansas) and then type of transaction (homestead, cash, or declaratory statement) and then certificate number. <br /><br />Let me know if you have any questions on these records. I do love working with the tract books and land entry papers.<br /><br />Angela<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02938919970422576854noreply@blogger.com