Are you a well-known Floridian whose ancestors took part in the homesteading craze of the 1800s? If so, the National Park Service wants to talk to you.
In 1936, the Homestead National Monument of America, a unit of the National Park System, was established on the former Daniel Freeman homestead in Beatrice, Neb., according to Todd Arrington, an agency historian. The site was picked because Freeman was the first settler to stake out a homestead. Today the HNMA exists to commemorate the lives, contributions and accomplishments of all homesteaders and to educate people about the Homestead Act.
One of HNMA's main projects is Homestead Legacies. "Its intent is to identify well-known people who have a family connection to the Homestead Act," Arrington said. "When such a person is identified, photos are gathered and a large banner featuring that individual is printed and hung outside our visitor center building." George Washington Carver, Lawrence Welk, Laura Ingalls Wilder and pop singer Jewel already grace the entrance.
"We currently have no Florida homesteaders and would really like the opportunity to identify a well-known Floridian either living or dead with a family connection to homesteading to show what a truly national story homesteading is." (See details at www.nps.gov/home)
"The Homestead Act was unique and revolutionary in many ways," said Arrington. "Eligibility requirements were extremely liberal for the late 19th century. Single women and widows, African-Americans and recent immigrants were eligible to become homesteaders. It also altered immigration and migration patterns," he said.
Approximately 270-million acres - about 10 percent of all land in this country - were granted to individual settlers. By the time the land giveaway ended, nearly 800,000 people had become patented landowners.
Any citizen over age 21, or anyone who had filed papers to become a citizen, could claim 160 acres of unoccupied available federal land for a fee. He or she had to agree to live on the land for five years, cultivate the property and build a home.
In order to stake a claim, an individual had to complete a formal application. Now in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration, these land entry files may be a bonanza to genealogists.
Records vary, but generally contain the names of the applicant and family members, his or her birth date, address, descriptions of the land, house and crops, military service records and evidence of naturalization.
That brings us to the second big endeavor on tap at the HNMA. The agency is trying to secure funding to acquire and microfilm all 2-million homestead case files owned by NARA. Homestead National Monument of America proposes to film these 30-million pieces of paper and make the records available to anyone who visits its Nebraska headquarters.
"Successful completion of this project will transform it into a major research destination for genealogists, historians and scholars," said Arrington.
- Read past Donna Murray Allen columns online at www.sptimes.com Type "Donna Murray Allen" in the search box. You can write to Allen c/o Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail her at rootscolumn@yahoo.com
Her Web site: www.rootsdetective.com which includes information on classes and lectures.
