A homestead can mean several things, but two of them are rather specific.
Homestead claims were claims to federal property that were filed in the western states under the terms of the Homestead Act of 1862. The claim process (initially to 160 acres) was established by the 1862 Act.
A right to homestead is generally speaking a right the surviving spouse has to remain on their “homestead” after the death of their spouse. The surviving spouse for whom this is an issue usually is the widow and the “homestead” may not include the entire farm–depending upon the amount of real estate involved. Homestead in this sense is generally determined by state statute and there may be additional references to homestead in other sections of state code (most often in reference to property taxes).
A farm or piece of property that a family originally settled on and lived on for years could be more generically and more appropriately called a “homeplace.”
Homestead (generating from Federal law) and right to homestead (usually generating from state law) are fairly specific terms suggesting specific records or property rights. Homeplace is something slightly different.
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In a form it still exists today…I had to file a homestead on my house so that if any 3rd party sued me lets say and ended up getting my house because I couldn’t pay them and the house was sold I automatically get the first $50,000.