Nebraska, Homestead Records from Nebraska City and Lincoln Land Offices - FamilySearch Historical Records: Difference between revisions

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{{US NARA HR Infobox

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== What is in This Collection? ==

This collection includes homestead entry case files and land entry case files from the Bureau of Land Management. Records from this collection encompass the years 1863-1908. The records are arranged by final certificate number. The homestead entry case files include documents required to qualify for a homestead, such as:  

*Applications  

*Petitions  

*Affidavits

Many immigrants also included their naturalization certificates with their application. The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed into law after the secession of many Southern states from the Union.  

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.

=== Image Visibility ===

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== Collection Content ==

=== Sample Images ===

<gallery caption="United States Homestead Record Examples" perrow="3" widths="160px" heights="120px">

Image:Nebraska Lincoln Land Office United States Homestead Records 1873 Application DGS 4568014 img 7 .jpg|1873 Application

Image:Nebraska Lincoln Land Office United States Homestead Records 1880 Final Certificate DGS 4571528 img 2.jpg|1880 Final Certificate

</gallery>

== What Can these Records Tell Me? ==

Key genealogical facts found in most final certificates and homestead patents include:  

*Date  

*Application and final certificate numbers  

*Name of applicant  

*Description and location of land

== How Do I Search This Collection? ==

To search the collection it is helpful to know the following:

*The approximate time period when they purchased land

*The description of the land

=== Search the Index ===

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=== 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 [[Use_Appropriate_Forms#Prepare_a_Research_Log | 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 Who I was Looking for, What Now? ===

*Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, marriage, census, land and death records.  

*Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.  

*[[Nebraska Church Records| Church Records]] often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

=== I Can’t Find Who 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.

* [[Nebraska Research Tips and Strategies|Research Tips and Strategies]]

* [[Step-by-Step Nebraska Research, 1880-Present|Step-by-Step Research]]

== Citing this Collection ==

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.  

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[[Category:NARA_Land_Records]]