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Archiver > TMG > 2002-07 > 1027531253


From: Diana Powell <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Homestead Tag
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 10:29:32 -0700
References: <da.1b30c5d8.2a702bff@aol.com>


Joanne,
You'll probably get lots of different opinions on this but I would do
something along these lines:

> My first question: I have the homestead case file documents from the
> National Archives for four of my ancestors, plus I need to order some > more. What date would you suggest that I would use, the date of
> settlement, the date of application or the date of final proof or the > date of the patent?

I use a custom LAND-PAT tag for homestead or other patent type files.
In the date field I would enter the range of years covered by the
paperwork, eg. 1870-1880 and in the location fields I would enter the
state and the county (and township in states that had them) Then I
would change the sentence structure to read <[M]>. This would allow me
to create a narrative in the memo field that described exactly what I
wanted to say, eg,

On January 4th, 1870 John Smith applied for a patent for 160 acres of
land lying in Prairie Township, Jewell County, Montana. The papers he
filed at the Dixon land office stated that he had lived on the land for
7 years and had built a dwelling, etc., etc. John received the final
ownership papers for this land in 1880.
>
> My Oregon homesteads are also listed on the BLM website and one is
> listed in a published local history. So these should be additional
> sources, right?

Since you have the actual homestead file from the Natl. Archives I would
create a source citing that repository. I would probably also create a
source for the BLM website and one for the published local history. I
would add all three as sources on my LAND-PAT tag but I would put an
exclusion marker in front of the two secondary sources. That way your
report will cite the primary source, but you will be able to see that
you also looked at the other two sources.
>
> Somewhere I wish to give the legal description, what is the
> best place for that?

Some people who are more experienced at exhibits than I might attach a
scanned image of the patent. Right now I do this:

- after entering the descriptive sentence I want in the memo field I
create a split memo field by placing || at the end of my memo text.
Then I add the description of the range, etc. in the second memo field.
Since my sentence only has <[M]> in it, anything I entered after the ||
will not print unless I add <[M2}> to my sentence structure.

There are some people who select to embed memos when they create their
reports in which case the info in M2 might get included (not sure about
this). I do not select the option to embed memos since as long as you
have the "M" variable in the sentence structure the memos are
automatically embedded in the sentence.

As an aside, and this goes back to Dick's earlier message about patent
sources... I would create a source that had a <[CD]> field at the
beginning of the source, eg.:

<[CD], >John Jones patent case file #3465, etc., etc.

Then if I have a large case file with multiple documents as you describe
(and I agree they are wonderful), you can cite a specific document if it
provides specific information. So, if the patent application for
instance provides you with a date of naturalization and you want to
distinguish that specific document as the source, you can add a
naturalization tag, add the patent file as your source, and in the CD
field add something like:

Patent application papers dated 4 Jan 1870 at Jewell County, Montana

So the source for this particular piece of info would reflect not the
entire case file, but rather the individual document that provided the
information. I would also have had a CD2 element at the end of the
source so that I could comment on, or include, specific information
about the naturalization that I gleaned from the patent application
file.

This is also useful for Civil War pension files where there are tons of
wonderful papers that provide individual tidbits of info.

I will be interested in the responses you get from others on this
subject.

Diana Powell



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