Homestead Application No. 1 of Daniel Freeman

On January 1, 1863, Daniel Freeman became the first American to file a homestead claim for land under the Homestead Act of 1862. The act required a series of steps, such as improving a plot of land and living on it for five years, before the homesteader could gain ownership of the 160 acres he claimed. After initiating his claim on January 1, 1863, Freeman received his ownership certificate on January 20, 1868.

Daniel Freeman and 417 others had filed claims on January 1st. Many more pioneers followed, populating the land, building towns and schools and creating new states from the territories. By 1934, over 1.6 million homestead applications were processed and more than 270 million acres—10 percent of all U.S. lands—passed into the hands of individuals.

Transcript

Application No. 1

Homestead Land Office
Brownville N.T. January 1st 1863

I Daniel Freeman of Gage County Nebraska Territory do herby apply to enter under the Provisions of the Act of Congress approved May 20th 1862 entitled, an Act to Secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers on the Public Domain
The South half of N.W. 1/4 N NE 1/4 of NW 1/4 N SW 1/4 of NE 1/4 Sec. 26. in Township [crossed out] (4) N in Range Five East, containing 166 acres Having Filed my PreEmption Declaration thereto on the Eighth day of September 1862

Daniel Freeman


Land office at:
Brownville N.T. January 1st 1863

I Richard F Barrets Register of the Land office do Hereby Certify that the above application is for surveyed lands of the Class which the applicant is legally entitled to enter under the Homestead Act of May 20th 1862 and that there is No Prior valid adverse right to the same

Richard F. Barrets
Register