To register for an event or for more information, click the link for any event. All times are Pacific Time.
Questions? Email [email protected]
I’ve been meaning to order my second great-grandfather’s (pictured above with his son, Orville, my great grandfather) homestead records for many moons, and today was the day. I kind of knew what to do, but if you are like me, you don’t truly know how to do it until you do it. So, I figured I would bring you along for the ride.
My entire article was going to be Step 1 all the way through the ordering process, but instead, this is going to be a lesson for you to remember to check all the details. And after you check them, check them again. And then, after that, start over and check them again.
I grew up hearing about my second-great-grandparents’ homesteading in South Dakota. So many stories about this, because although the time there was short for them, their children and grandchildren stayed in South Dakota. I’m only a Californian because my grandfather moved here from South Dakota. So that homestead was everything.
I have his land patent. I’ve plotted the land on a Platt map, along with all his neighbors throughout his entire time there. I’ve superimposed the coordinates to see the land as it is now on Google Earth and walked it virtually. I’m not a novice. But today I am. Because today, while writing this article, I wanted to show you all the details of how to get to where I am. Then we were going to take it a step further and order the homestead land entry case file.
But I can’t do that and, in a bit, I’ll show you why. First, let’s go find his record.
We’ll begin on the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records website (https://glorecords.blm.gov/), where we will search the Land Patents. Here you will put in the State, the County, and your ancestor’s name. I forgot the County off the top of my head and just did the search, and then I remembered Haakon County. So you can search without a County!
When you open the record to review, you can see some fun things. We will start on the Patent Image tab, where you can see the actual patent, signed by the President of the United States, who, in my case was Theodore Roosevelt himself.
The next tab shows records related to this patent, and you can get a picture of what happened to that land over the years. In my case, Grampa kept the land for less than four years (no water could be found). He sold off part of it to Daniel Stoyer in 1911 and the other to Walter Cripe in 1912.
Now let’s look at the Patent Details tab, you can see where the land was. This is important. Remember it! My grandfather had two plots as noted here. I’ll show you the map of this another time. It’s like math, but way more fun!
This tab is also where you can learn how your ancestor acquired the land. You look under the Authority Section to find, “May 20, 1862: Homestead EntryOriginal (12 Stat. 392).”
Oh. But wait. My second-great-grandfather says, “April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566).” This means that the land was purchased directly from the federal government for cash under the Land Act of 1820. This also means that although our family lore was that he homesteaded in South Dakota, he did not, in fact, homestead in South Dakota. He bought land in South Dakota.
Did the family make this up? No, I don’t think so. Because I also know that his father-in-law, my third great-grandfather, had a place in the same township, and HIS record does show in the Authority field: “May 20, 1862: Homestead EntryOriginal (12 Stat. 392).”
I think family lore mixed up who the homesteader was and which plot of land was the homestead. Regardless, let’s go ahead and order both. What’s $50 each in the name of science?!?!
First, we need to know if my records were July 1908 or later. Both of them were, so I can use a serial number to order my records. There are numbers all over this page, so we will concentrate on the Ascension Number at the top of the Details page.
Now we can go to the National Archives Online Ordering site (https://www.archives.gov/forms) and place our orders! Next to “Federal Land Entry Files (NATF Form 84)” click, “Order Online”. You’ll want to login to your account or create one if you have it. I choose to have my records delivered electronically via electronic transfer. Then Add to Cart. Once you do that, you will fill in all the details and then pay your $50.
When my records come, I will dissect them with you all. To reiterate, I will have one set of records come for the grampa that paid cash and another for the grampa who actually homesteaded.
If your records were before July 1908, you will need a little more information from that Details tab. You will need the State, Land office, Type of patent (Authority field), Patent Number (the Document Number field). Still relatively easy and most of the time in the ordering process is processing how William was not a homesteader and finding your credit card…
Again, I’ll share what I get, but if you made some stunning finds in land records, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Helpful Links
Events: https://www.californiaancestors.org/events-and-education/
Special Interest Groups: https://www.californiaancestors.org/special-interest-groups-for-members/
Calendar view: https://www.californiaancestors.org/cgs_calendar/
Tips & Talk: Oakland FamilySearch Center Family History Classes: https://www.familysearch.org/en/centers/oakland_california/classes
