Women could file claims under the United States Homestead Act of 1862. They simply had to meet the age and citizenship requirements like the men. In some areas of the United States, homestead claim eligibility was one of the reasons single women would naturalize.
——————
Our sponsor, GenealogyBank, is offering an annual subscription for a monthly rate equivalent to less than $5 a month.
3 Responses
Indeed the widow of my grandfather (Royal Edgar Lincoln) went to the Sand Hills of Nebraska with her father. They built a home that stradled the line between two homestead claims. With a bedroom on each claim Seirgn Potter Applegate and Maude Applegate Cook (later to be Henning) proved up on two claims. They both came back to Plano, Illinois, and lived the rest of their lives there. “Auntie Maude”, as she was known there, was our librarian for 50 years. That would have been remarkable in itself…but knowing that she began the task at age 34 adds another dimension.
Only a true farm family would have their picture taken sitting in a manure spreader! 😎
Or as my citified sister-in-law first called them, a “dirt chopper”. We’ve teased her over 50 years now.
My great-uncle, William Pope, invented an improved chain system that carried the manure back to the rear of the wagon, so that no one had to do that job by hand. His invention was first made by one of the factories in Plano, Illinois.
😉
That picture’s going to be the illustration for tomorrow’s tip, which has nothing to do with manure.
I’m assuming that you’ve seen the patent for that chain system? I have a first cousin (a few times removed) who patented a hog feeder of some sort in the 1940s or 1950s.