22 November 2008

Cancelled Homestead Claim from the National Archives

A recent post indicated I had located a "cancelled" homestead claim for my ancestor, John H.Ufkes in Franklin County, Nebraska.

Armed with the information from the cancelled claim (basically John's name and the legal description of the property), I made a request for the file from the National Archives. This request was completed online.

These reproductions are made specific to information you provide during the ordering process.

A variety of items can be ordered online through the National Archives. Keep in mind that there may be other ways to access some of these records, particularly census pages, immigration and naturalization files, and WW I draft registration cards.

I received the cancelled homestead application file today. There was not too much in the record as John apparently was on the claim barely a year before he left. A neighbor sued him for his claim. We'll post more details on this as I have time to read through the information and scan the files. Family tradition was that John was in Nebraska for a short time. This file indicates he wasn't there very long.