I have a copy of a homestead filed in the Boonville, MO land office. Certificate No. 0375, Application 14157. How do I find out the location of the homestead from the description on the copy? Is there a Township 38 map? If I could find out where Section 30 in Township 38, North Range 18, West of of the 5th Principal Median in MO. I think I could handle if from there. Richard Williamson Tucson, AZ http:\\williamsonfamilyaz.homestead.com <A HREF="http://williamsonfamilyaz.homestead.com/">Williamson, McFadden, Ryan, Kerr Web page</A>

Hello Richard, Perhaps I can point you in the proper direction, A couple of years ago I completed a very similar exercise. It appears that Booneville is in Howard County, if you will contact the county offices there, they will be able to assist you in obtaining the plat of the county. I suggest that you determine if they have the plats for different periods. The one I received from Johnson County was a current one, with the current owners of the parcels. But I was able to find the sections that my ancestors settled on, and received patents on. If you have not already done it, I suggest that you study the history of that time and place. Things were not at all as we would visualize them. For example, as I understand it, the Land Office did not start to selling land until something like 1818, then they were outright sales. It was not until several years later that the Homestead Act was enacted, and the land could be obtained free, if certain conditions were met. I hope this helps, if I can be of further assistance - I will try to help. Frank Mesa, Arizona