LAND OFFICE at 186. I, Register of the Land Office, do certify hereby 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. of having filed my Application, No for an entry 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," do solemnly swear that [here state whether applicant is the head of a family, or over twentyone years of age; whether a citizen of the United States, or has filed his declaration of intention of becoming such; or, if under twenty-one years of age, that he has served not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States during actual war; that said Application No. is made for his, or her, exclusive benefit; and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever]. of range dollars cents one-half the compensation of of section in town under the act of Congress, ship approved May 20th, 1862, entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain.” Receiver. Should the homestead settler so desire, he may, after settlement and cultivation of the tract entered as above, prove such settlement and cultivation by disinterested witnesses, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, when he will have the right to pay for the same, instead of waiting five years for his title as provided in the law; in which case he will receive a certificate in the following form, entitling him to a patent for the land. CERTIFICATE. LAND OFFICE. IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED, That, pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress approved May 20th, 1862, entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain," has made payment in full for containing in township acres. of section of range NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT KNOWN, That on presentation of this certificate to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the said described. shall be entitled to a patent for the tract of land above Register. The fee required to be paid on a homestead entry is $10 for the use of the government, and one per cent. commissions to each of the officers-Register and Receiver-on the value of the land, at $1.25 or $2.50 per acre, as the case may be. A like commission has also to be paid upon receiving a Patent Certificate. Lands entered under this act are not liable for debts contracted prior to the issue of patent. An abandonment of the land for more than six months within the five years residence required, is cause of forfeiture, unless the land shall have been paid for under the 8th section of the act as above explained. In case of death of the homestead settler, the land may be sold for the benefit of infant heirs, but for no other purpose. Pre-emptions upon surveyed $1.25 lands may be transmuted into homesteads if no other rights shall have intervened. Persons residing at a distance from the proper land office may make application before the clerk of the county in which he or she resides, and transmit the same with the necessary fee and commissions to the Register and Receiver, in which case the same forms will be used, only making the necessary alterations as to the officer before whom the affidavit and application are made. Persons actually engaged in the military or naval service of the United States, may enter land under the Homestead Act, by duly authorized agents or attorneys. The necessary affidavits and applications, as well as the power of attorney must be verified before the immediate commanding officer. The time which he remains in the service will be counted as residence upon and occupancy of the land; but, upon leaving the service, he must within a reasonable time repair to the land, and remain upon, and cultivate the same in good faith, or his claim will become forfeited. The Homestead Law has been further modified by the act of Congress, approved June 21st, 1866, which is fully explained in the following circular and copy of the statute: GENTLEMEN: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Annexed is the act of Congress "approved June 21st, 1866," providing for the disposal of the public lands for homestead actual settlement in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. The 1st section of this act, in providing for the disposal of the public lands in the States above mentioned, according to the provisions of the Homestead Act of May 20th, 1862, and the amendatory act of March 21st, 1864, restricts entries to not more than a half-quarter section or 80 acres when held at $1.25 per acre. Should the tract selected, however, be $2.50 per acre land, only half that quantity, or 40 acres, can be entered according to the principle fixed in the original statute of 1862, the law imposing this restriction as to quantity in said States for two years from its passage. After the expiration of that time, however, entries as to quantity of acres, should no other legislation be had, will be governed by the provisions of the 1st section of the act of the 20th May, 1862. This section of the act of 1866 provides further that the benefits of the law shall be extended to citizens of the United States without distinction or discrimination as to race or color, and that no mineral lands shall be liable to homestead entry for settlement under its provisions. In lieu of the $10 fee required by act of May 20th, 1862, to be paid at the time of entry, the sum of $5 is to be paid at the time of the issue of patent in each case. The commissions of the Register and Receiver will be the same as provided for in acts of May 20th, 1862, and March 21st, 1864, viz., one per cent. on the cash value of the land to each officer, with additional 50 per centum provided for in the 6th section of the act of March 21st, 1864, to the officers in the several regions of country therein named. The foregoing provisions are mainly of special application to the States first above mentioned. The 2d section of the act is of general application to all the States and Territories, and re-enacts the 2d section of the act of May 20th, 1862, with the following modifications, viz.: Until the 1st of January, 1867, the applicant is required to make affidavit, in addition to the oath required by said section, that he has not borne arms against the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies. This requirement is already inserted in the form B of affidavit adopted in the administration of the original act, and forms part of the instructions in circular of October 30th, 1862. The effect, then, of this legal stipulation is to limit that particular requirement to the 1st of January, 1867. The law in question is further of general application in this, that the fee is reduced to $5 when the entry shall not embrace more than eighty acres held at $1.25 per acre; but where the entry is in excess of that quantity, the usual fee ($10) must be paid. The 3d section of the act stipulates that all the provisions of the Homestead Law of May 20th, 1862, and the amendatory act of 1864, so far as the same may be applicable, except as modified by act of June 21st, 1866, are to be held and regarded a part of said act of 1866 as fully as if therein enacted and set forth. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Jos. S. WILSON, Commissioner. TO THE REGISTERS AND RECEIVERS of the United States Land Offices. AN ACT for the disposal of the public lands for homestead actual settlement in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the passage of this act, all the public lands in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida shall be disposed of according to the stipulations of the homestead law of twentieth May, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain," and the act supplemental thereto, approved twenty-first of March, eighteen hundred and sixtyfour, but with this restriction, that until the expiration of two years from and after the passage of this act, no entry shall be made for more than a half-quarter section, or eighty acres; and in lieu of the sum of ten dollars required to be paid by the second section of said act, there shall be paid the sum of five dollars at the time of the issue of each patent; and that the public lands in said States shall be disposed of in no other manner after the passage of this act: Provided, That no distinction or discrimination shall be made in the construction or execution of this act on account of race or color: And provided further, That no mineral lands shall be liable to entry and settlement under its provisions. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That section second of the abovecited homestead law, entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain," approved May twentieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, be so amended as to read as follows: That the person applying for the benefit of this act shall, upon application to the Register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said Register or Receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, or shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States, and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly, or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said affidavit with the Register or Receiver, and on payment of five dollars, when the entry is not more than eighty acres, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the amount of land specified: Provided, however, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry, or, if he be dead, his widow, or, in case of her death, his heirs or devisee, or, in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit aforesaid, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated, and that he will bear true allegiance to the government of the United States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time a citizen of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law: And provided further, That in case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of said infant child or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children, for the time being, have their domicile, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose, and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States on the payment of the office fees and sum of money herein specified: Provided, That until the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, any person applying for the benefit of this act |
