Nebraska, Broken Bow Homestead Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes homestead entry case files and land entry case files for the years 1890 to 1908. The files were arranged chronologically and assigned a final certificate number. The files are from the Bureau of Land Management and include documents required to qualify for a homestead, such as:


 * Final certificates
 * Applications with land descriptions
 * Affidavits showing proof of citizenship
 * Register and Receiver receipts, notices, and final proofs
 * Testimonies of witnesses

The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed into law after the secession of many Southern states from the Union. The Homestead Act allowed for settlement of land in unpopulated areas. It established a land acquisition process that required filing an application, improving the land, and filing for the deed of title. Any citizen or intended citizen could file an application for 160 acres of land, as long as they had never fought against the U.S. Government. Homesteaders had 5 years to build on, farm, and improve the land. After five years, a homeowner could file for a land patent or deed at a local land office. The local land offices forwarded the documentation to the General Land Office in Washington D.C. with a final certificate of eligibility.

Claimants paid $1.25 an acre. Service in the Union Army was counted towards the residency requirement after the Civil War. Not all homesteaders were able to qualify for ownership of the land due to harsh soil and weather conditions. Once the railroads were in place, homesteading increased due to the ease of travel.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Date
 * Application and final certificate numbers
 * Name of applicant
 * Description and location of land

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the applicant
 * The date of the homestead application

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Search for vital records, such as birth, marriage, and death
 * Search for the family in census records
 * Search for land records in the county where they lived
 * Search for church and probate records

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:"Nebraska, Broken Bow Homestead Records, 1890-1908." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. From "Land Entry Case Files of the Broken Bow Land Office, Broken Bow, Nebraska: Homestead Final Certificates, 1890-1908." Database. Fold3.com. http://www.fold3.com : 2007. Citing NARA microfilm publication M1915. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2005.

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