John, It is quite likely the land your GGrandfather purchased in 1849 was the same farm he settled on in 1838. This paragraph is from the glo’s Q & A section: “Some patents have the word "Pre-emption"in the upper left-hand corner. "Pre-emption" was a tactful way of saying "squatter". In other words, the settler was physically on the property before the GLO officially sold or even surveyed the tract, and he was thus given a pre-emptive right to acquire the land from the United States.” Even if someone else had been on the land and your GGfather bought the improvements the agreement would only have given him the right to purchase the property when it became available for sale, under the cash sale act of 1820, whereby land was offered for auction at a minimum of $ 1.25 per acre. Much of the land in western Missouri was not offered for sale until the mid 1840’s and allowing 2 or 3 years for the sale to become final, 1849 is not unreasonable. One of my ancestors settled in 1832 in the SW corner of what was to become Lawrence County where the first Barry County court was established in 1835 at Mt. Pleasant. His first land purchase was not made until 1843. Surveys took time and the Springfield land office had a large area to oversee. Also, available land far exceeded demand. The railroads were granted vast acreages to entice them to come west. Land speculation was common, even by farmers who sold as soon as their purchase became final. In 1860, only one half of the available land was in the hands of private citizens. The 1862 homestead act did not really kick in until after the war. The Jasper County Historical Atlas of 1876 depicts private ownership of most of the land but even then, the Atlantic and Pacific Rail Road owned acreages throughout the county. If you take a look at the neighborhood where your GGrandfather settled, you may find that 1849 was the norm because the land simply did not become available for sale until the mid 40’s. Bill Landers Cape Cod, MA