Homestead Claim: The First in Line on the First Day

The Homestead Act became law on May 26, 1862, but it didn’t become effective until January 1, 1863. Therefore, January 1, 1863 was the first day anyone could apply for a Homestead and a total of 418 persons filed on that first day at 30 different land offices in 11 different states or territories. Listed below are those who were recorded as Entryman No. 1 at the United States Land Offices on January 1, 1863. That is, they were first in line at their land office.

 

Daniel Freeman long after he became one of the first to apply for a Homestead

To learn about the several who claimed to be the VERY FIRST visit Homestead National Monument of America and ask for the “First Homestead” handout or go here to learn how to contact them by phone, fax, or mail. Follow the links to learn about Daniel Freeman and how his Homestead became the site of Homestead National Monument of America.

FIRST ENTRYMEN

The entries below all bore No. 1 in each of the Land Offices names. There were no time stamps or notations on any entry. Hours of operation were not given by the offices. On January 1, 1863, Nebraska was a territory and what is now North and South Dakota were simply “Dakota Territory.” The other states listed had been granted statehood prior to January 1, 1863.

State    Land Office	Name
California         Stockton Visalia	Henry Ketterman Wm. B. Hector
Iowa Council Bluffs Des Moines Fort Dodge	Henry Stump Orin Holdbrook Henry H. Patterson
Kansas Humboldt Junction City	Melkes J. Martin  Robert L. Titua
Michigan East Saginaw Ionia                Traverse City	Paul W. Williams Wm. B. Smith John W. VanNostrand
Minnesota Minneapolis     Winnebago City Taylor’s Falls   Henderson       St. Cloud          Duluth	Samuel Taylor Samuel A. Poll  Stillman Gee Frederick Teubert James Tanner Seargale Wakelin
Nebraska Brownville       Nebraska City  Omaha             Dakota City	Daniel Freeman William Young Adam Smith John Smith
Ohio           Chillicothe	Samuel Harger
Oregon             Oregon City Roseburg	Everand Sharrock James Appleton
South Dakota   Vermillion	Mahlon Gore
Washington    Olympia	Michael Houliken
Wisconsin        Eau Claire        Falls St. Croix La Crosse Menosha Stevens Point	Edward Torsgaad James Logan John Henry Uringer Richard L. Degroff Dennis Manning