Searchers of ancestry and friends. Let me know if you have any breakthroughs here-- If you haven't tried finding land records yet, you are in for a treat!! The BLM site goes further than 1890 census, so you might get more information than you expect. Searchers of land records, this is from the Oregon Archives site. http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/land.html How to find land records. You can find the PROPERTY DESCRIPTION on this website, very fun!! http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ If you know the PROPERTY DESCRIPTION for land in Oregon, a visit to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Portland may provide you with the necessary information to access the land entry files at the Textual Reference Branch-Land. http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/land.html#Published More searches http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/land.html Donation Land Claims (DLC) Under terms of an act of 1850, certain white settlers and Indians of mixed blood in Oregon Territory (which then included Washington), and certain settlers arriving there between 1 December 1850 and 1 December 1853, were entitled to land. The number of acres granted (varying between 160 to 640) depended upon the marital status of the settler and the date of settlement. Settlers were required to live on the land and cultivate it for four years. The Oregon donation files for each appropriate land office (Oregon City, Roseburg, and The Dalles) are filed in two numerical series. One relates to complete entries, the other to incomplete or cancelled entries. Documents in a DLC file for a completed entry include the notification of settlement, which describes the land either by legal description (range, township, section, and fraction of section) or by natural features (metes and bounds), sometimes accompanied by a plat; an affidavit of settlement, which includes date and place of birth and, if applicable, of marriage; proofs of cultivation; an oath that the land had been used for cultivation only; for naturalized persons, proof of citizenship (not filmed on National Archives film M815); and the donation certificate, which shows name of entryman, place of residence, description of land, date of patent, and volume and page number of the recorded patent in the National Archives. The following resources are available in the Oregon State Archives Reference Room: Oregon Donation Land Files, 1851-1903 (National Archives (NARA) microfilm M815) Oregon Donation Land Claim File Index (Reference Library publication) Oregon Donation Land Claim Abstracts (NARA microfilm M145) Washington Donation Land Claims, 1851-1903 (NARA microfilm M203) Homestead Records Under the Homestead Act of 1862 citizens and persons who had filed their intentions to become citizens were given 160 acres of land in the public domain if they fulfilled certain conditions. In general, an applicant had to build a home on the land, reside there for five years, and cultivate the land. The homestead entry papers filed by name of land office are dated 1863 through June 30, 1908. In general, there are two separately numbered series for each land office, one relating to complete and the other relating to incomplete homestead entries. A complete homestead entry file includes such documents as the homestead application; certificate of publication of intention to make a claim; homestead proof, consisting of testimonies of two witnesses and the testimony of the claimant; final certificate authorizing the claimant to obtain a patent; and when appropriate, a copy of naturalization proceedings or a copy of a Union veteran's discharge certificate. These records are available at: Textual Reference Branch-Land (NWDT1) National Archives Washington, DC 20408 telephone (202) 501-5395 Bureau of Land Management 1300 N.E. 44th St. PO Box 2965 Portland, Oregon 97208 telephone (503) 280-7024 When writing to the Textual Reference Branch-Land provide 1) the name of the land office, 2) the type of land transaction (cash sales, credit sale, homestead entry) and 3) the file number. The name of the entryman, state, and complete township/range description is also acceptable.

>You can find the PROPERTY DESCRIPTION on this website, very fun!! >http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ > >Donation Land Claims (DLC) > > Homestead Records You can go straight to the search engine at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/search.asp Sometimes you get a better result of you check title search. Know that BLM is working at putting the post-1980 records on line and at present you can only access pre-1908. When inquiring about land claims be sure to understand that there are differences in claims and the claiming process depending upon the year (which corresponds with the governmental status of Oregon at that time. 1843-1849 the Provisional Government recorded PLGs (Prov. Land Grants) for 25 cents. The limit was 640 acres, men only could apply and descriptions had to be in metes and bounds as no survey existed. 1852-1868 the US Land Office registered DLCs (Donation Land Claims). The law, generally known as the Donation Land Act of 1850 (properly known as an Act to Create the Office of Surveyor-General of Oregon) gave any free white or half-white male in Oregon before December 1, 1851, 320 acres and an additional 320 acres in his wife's name if married. The law was to expire in 1853, but surveying did not begin until 1852 so it was extended to anyone arriving before December 1, 1853, only at half the acreage. The GLO was still processing DLCs in 1868 when the Homestead Act was extended to Oregon. I hope to have a 50 page treatise on PLGs and DLCs published in the Overland Journal soon. jim tompkins