More Living Columnists

• Dolores Sanchez Badillo: The view from the fenceline
• Mary Penner: Learning about your past is an awesome journey
• Steve Brewer: Goofy fads can hold fond memories for families

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

In 1888, 60-year-old Solomon, along with his wife and four children, lived in a 20-by-26 foot, one-story house in Tillamook County, Ore.

Built with split boards, the cramped quarters were divided into six rooms. The house had three doors, six windows and one fireplace.

A cookstove, six beds, a table, chairs, a sewing machine and a clock competed for space with the six residents. Solomon estimated his abode to be worth $150. He also had a barn worth $100 and $100 worth of fencing.

How do I know these details about this ancestral homestead? Because Solomon's place really was a homestead, granted to him as a result of the Homestead Act of 1862. I found all the family facts in his homestead case file.

Millions of Americans took advantage of the government's free land offer and became homesteaders.

The documents in homestead case files can provide genealogists a variety of family information. In addition to a description of the property, you may learn the applicant's age and birthplace. Occasionally a spouse is named; if not, you'll still learn the size of the family.

You'll also discover when the applicant moved to the homestead and where he or she had lived before moving onto the claim.

If the homesteader was an immigrant you might find naturalization documents.

Even if your ancestor wasn't a homesteader, you might find details about him in the homestead files of his neighbors. Two witnesses had to submit written testimony about the applicant. Two of Solomon's neighbors testified on his behalf. One had lived near Solomon for only four years whereas the other had lived on his nearby tract of land for 18 years. One neighbor noted that Solomon had never been absent from his claim except for two weeks when he went to Portland "to get grub."

So, how do you know if your ancestor was a homesteader? Start by checking General Land Office. Search for your ancestor's name in this online database. Use the "basic" search if you know where your ancestor lived. Use the "standard" search to get wider results.

If the land grant authority is listed as "May 20, 1862: Homestead Entry" you've got yourself a homesteader.

Request homestead case files from the National Archives. You can order copies of the files via mail or online.

Of the nearly 2 million people who applied for homestead land, more than half of them bugged out before the required five years of residency were up. There are still case files for them, but you probably won't find their cases listed in the online database.

Many of the regional archives branches have homestead application ledger books that can steer you toward incomplete homestead files.

Read more at National Archives on how to track down land records