The New Madrid earthquakes that began in mid-December 1811 and continued into 1812 are considered by the United States Geological Survey to be “some of the largest in the United States since its settlement by Europeans.” Reports indicate widespread occurrences of ground fissures, subsidence, liquefaction, landslides and damages caused by ground motion. The physical damage was obvious and directly affected the livelihoods of the inhabitants of the region. More devastating, though, was the psychological effect of the lesser quakes and aftershocks that continued to occur, causing many established inhabitants to want to leave the area.
At the time the series of earthquakes began, the First Board of Commissioners was nearing the end of its task of examining the claims to land granted by the Spanish and French and deciding the validity of those claims. Since the New Madrid area was an established area of settlement prior to the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the United States, there were many land claims in this area that had been approved by the Commissioners.
Owners of confirmed claims petitioned the Federal government for relief, but the more pressing matter of the War of 1812 prevented a timely response. Finally, three years later, the Federal government responded to this natural disaster by passing the Act of February 17, 1815, chapter 45, An Act for the relief of the inhabitants of the late county of New Madrid, in the Missouri territory, who suffered by earthquakes (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 211). The Act applied to those owning confirmed claims of land in the county of New Madrid, Missouri territory, to the extent that the county existed on November 10, 1812, whose land had been materially injured by the preceding earthquakes. They were authorized to locate the same quantity of land on any of the public lands of the territory that were authorized for sale. No one was permitted to locate a quantity of land greater than was confirmed to him unless he owned less than 160 acres. Such persons owning less than 160 acres were authorized to locate and obtain any quantity of land not exceeding 160 acres. The maximum quantity of land that could be located under this Act was limited to 640 acres. Lands containing lead mines or salt springs were not authorized for selection. In exchange, the title to the lands previously held was relinquished to the United States.
In order to make a claim for new location under this Act, the landowner was required to appear before the recorder of land titles for the territory of Missouri and produce competent witnesses to affirm that the land owned had been materially damaged by earthquakes. Having received sufficient proof, the recorder of land titles would then issue a location certificate, stating the quantity of land authorized to be located. The claimant would select a tract of land and then make application to the principal deputy surveyor for the territory, later the Surveyor of the Public Lands, specifying the land located and requesting that it be surveyed. The results of the survey were forwarded to the recorder of land titles for recording and issuance of a patent certificate. The patent certificate was then submitted to the Commissioner of the General Land Office. If approved by the Commissioner, a patent was issued for the new location.
To prevent the process from dragging out indefinitely Congress passed the Act of April 9, 1818, chapter 42, An Act limiting the time for claims being produced for lands authorized to be granted to the inhabitants of New Madrid (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 417). This Act compelled those making a claim under the previous Act of February 17, 1815 to file their application and produce their evidence to the recorder of land titles on or before January 1, 1819. The recorder of land titles was not to issue a location certificate for any claim that did not meet the deadline.
As claimants began to file claims under the 1815 Act, location certificates were issued, surveys were requested and issues began to arise. The 1815 Act was intended to provide relief to those who owned the land at the time of the earthquakes. Many of these original owners, however, had already sold out and moved away. In their place were opportunists ready and more than willing to take advantage of the situation. The opportunity to locate prime real estate before it was available for sale was very attractive to the settler and potentially very lucrative for the speculator. Thus, location certificates were readily sold and transferred from person to person for valuable consideration.
At the time the 1815 Act was passed, the surveys of the public lands in the Missouri territory had not yet begun. The Fifth Principal Meridian would not be established until later that year, beginning in October. Nevertheless, the Act appeared to allow the holders of location certificates a right to locate at their option without being limited by sectional lines, since waiting for the lands to be surveyed would not provide the relief desired. Tracts located in this manner did not conform to the sectional lines, resulting in fractional adjoining sections. The U. S. Attorney General took issue with this and opined that such locations were illegal and any sales of the fractional sections that had already occurred should be declared void.
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| New Madrid Claims that do not conform to the sectional and quarter sectional lines, located in Township 48 North, Range 14 West in Boone County, Missouri. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
In response to this issue, Congress passed the Act of April 26, 1822, chapter 40, An Act to perfect certain locations and sales of public lands in Missouri (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 668). This Act allowed those claims that had already been located that did not conform to the sectional and quarter sectional lines of the public land surveys to be perfected into grants. It also approved the sales of the fractional sections created by these nonconforming New Madrid locations. This Act further stipulated that any claims located after the passage of the Act were required to conform to the sectional and quarter sectional lines as nearly as possible to make the quantity of land permitted to be located. The time allowed to locate a claim was limited to one year after the passage of the Act.
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| New Madrid Claims in Township 44 North, Range 10 West in Cole County, Missouri. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
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| New Madrid Claims conforming to the sectional and quarter sectional lines, located in Township 52 North, Range 16 West in Howard County, Missouri. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
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| New Madrid Claims in Township 44 North, Range 10 West in Callaway County, Missouri. New Madrid Claims are distinguished from other private claims by the wording "Certificate No.", followed by the number of the location certificate issued by the recorder of land titles. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
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| New Madrid Claims in Township 57 North, Range 04 West in Marion County, Missouri. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
Another issue that arose concerned the manner in which location certificates were issued by the recorder of land titles. The original Act provided that those owning less than 160 acres could claim a quantity of land equal to or less than 160 acres. The recorder of land titles apparently interpreted this as meaning one location certificate for 160 acres for each confirmed original claim so long as the total quantity permitted to be located did not exceed 640 acres, the maximum authorized by the 1815 Act. Thus, owners of small town lots of 1 or 2 arpents (i.e., 0.85 or 1.7 acres, respectively) were issued a location certificate for 160 acres for each lot owned up to four location certificates. When patent certificates were issued and presented to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the Commissioner acted on the advice of the U. S. Attorney General and refused to issue patents for locations made under a single original claimant that were based on location certificates issued for more than one town lot.
This issue was addressed by the passage of the Act of March 2, 1827, chapter 34, An Act supplementary to “An act to perfect certain locations and sales of the public lands in Missouri,” passed April the twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 4, page 219). Those locations that were based on location certificates issued for lots and out lots in and adjoining the villages of New Madrid and Little Prairie were allowed to be perfected into grants, so long as the total did not exceed 640 acres.
Yet another issue that arose involved the right of pre-emption that had been previously granted by the Act of April 12, 1814, chapter 52, An Act for the final adjustment of land titles in the State of Louisiana and territory of Missouri (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 121). The fifth section of that Act permitted a person who had actually inhabited and cultivated and continued to inhabit and cultivate a tract of land in the territory of Missouri, not rightfully claimed by anyone else, to purchase the land under a right of pre-emption. Further, the Act of April 29, 1816, chapter 162, An Act concerning pre-emption rights given in the purchase of lands to certain settlers in the state of Louisiana, and in the territory of Missouri and Illinois (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 330), extended the right of pre-emption to adjoining fractional sections. The problem developed when a New Madrid claim was located adjoining a tract subject to pre-emption rights. The New Madrid location might then be taken by the pre-emption rights that extended to adjoining fractional sections, leaving the New Madrid claimant without relief.
To provide the necessary relief in such a case, Congress passed the Act of March 2, 1831, chapter 92, An Act for the relief of certain holders of certificates issued in lieu of lands injured by earthquakes in Missouri (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 4, page 482). New Madrid claimants that had located on lands subject to the right of pre-emption were authorized to make a new location on those lands available for entry at private sale, provided that they relinquish all claim to the previous location. The Act set a time limit of eighteen months from the time of its passage to make the new location.
A total of 516 location certificates were issued by the recorder of land titles. One certificate was determined to have been issued erroneously and was nullified. Twenty-two (22) certificates failed to result in a patent of new location. These were either withdrawn and not relocated, were located, but rejected due to interference with an existing claim, or, simply, were not located at all. That left 493 certificates that resulted in a patent of new location. Twenty-two (22) of these locations were made in Arkansas, leaving 471 locations in Missouri. These are distributed by county as follows:
Howard County 120
Saint Louis County or City 61
Cooper County 60
Boone County 41
Callaway County 31
Saline County 27
Chariton County 21
Marion County 16
Cole County 11
New Madrid County 10
Pike County 10
Saint Charles County 10
Clay County 7
Lafayette County 7
Montgomery County 5
Cape Girardeau County 4
Scott County 4
Franklin County 3
Lincoln County 3
Ray County 3
Warren County 3
Jackson County 2
Mississippi County 2
Moniteau County 2
Osage County 2
Ralls County 2
Carroll County 1
Lewis County 1
Macon County 1
Perry County 1
It can easily be seen that the majority of these claims were located in counties adjoining the Missouri River, some as far west as present day Kansas City. By far the most popular destination was Howard County. In many of these counties, New Madrid claims are the only U. S. Surveys that occur there. Those claims that conform to the sectional and quarter sectional lines are often easy to overlook on the General Land Office Township plat and are sometimes ignored altogether, preference being given to the designation by aliquot part of the section. New Madrid claims are easy to distinguish from other private claims on the GLO plat, however, because they include the wording, “Certificate No.”, followed by the number of the location certificate issued by the recorder of land titles. No other variety of private claims includes this wording. (As a side note, those U. S. Surveys having the wording, “Decision No.” are the private claims approved by the Second Board of Commissioners and confirmed by the Act of July 4, 1836, chapter 361, U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 5, page 126.) It should be noted that the New Madrid claims are numbered in the General Series of U. S. Surveys. (See the article, “GLO Surveys of Town and Village Lots” for more discussion on series of U. S. Surveys.)
This 1815 Act for the relief of those that suffered from the New Madrid earthquakes was a grand attempt by a benevolent and caring Federal Government to, in the words of then U. S. Attorney General William Wirt, “help the poor who had been rendered indigent by a visitation of God.” In the end, though, it provided yet another irresistible opportunity for enterprising and resourceful Americans to translate a government benevolence into personal gain.
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| New Madrid Claim (Survey # 2851) in Township 31 North, Range 15 East in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, conflicting with private claims confirmed by the Act of July 4, 1836, chapter 361. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
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| New Madrid Claims in Township 51 North, Range 32 West in Clay County, Missouri, being the most westerly located New Madrid Claims. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
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| New Madrid Claim in Township 61 North, Range 05 West in Lewis County, Missouri, being the most northerly located New Madrid Claim. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
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| New Madrid Claim (Survey # 2938) in Township 22 North, Range 14 East in New Madrid County, Missouri, just north of the Town of New Madrid. (image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey) |
This 1815 Act for the relief of those that suffered from the New Madrid earthquakes was a grand attempt by a benevolent and caring Federal Government to, in the words of then U. S. Attorney General William Wirt, “help the poor who had been rendered indigent by a visitation of God.” In the end, though, it provided yet another irresistible opportunity for enterprising and resourceful Americans to translate a government benevolence into personal gain.
COMPLETE LIST OF SOURCE REFERENCES
- excerpt from deposition of Robert McCay, August 15, 1825, Hunt’s Minute Book #2, pages 154-155, Missouri State Land Survey microfiche location 720/3198A1.
- United States Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program, Historic Earthquakes, New Madrid 1811-1812 Earthquakes, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1811-1812.php
- Act of February 17, 1815, chapter 45, An Act for the relief of the inhabitants of the late county of New Madrid, in the Missouri territory, who suffered by earthquakes (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 211)
- Act of April 9, 1818, chapter 42, An Act limiting the time for claims being produced for lands authorized to be granted to the inhabitants of New Madrid (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 417).
- Act of April 26, 1822, chapter 40, An Act to perfect certain locations and sales of public lands in Missouri (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 3, page 668).
- Act of March 2, 1827, chapter 34, An Act supplementary to “An act to perfect certain locations and sales of the public lands in Missouri,” passed April the twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 4, page 219).
- Act of March 2, 1831, chapter 92, An Act for the relief of certain holders of certificates issued in lieu of lands injured by earthquakes in Missouri (U. S. Statutes at Large, Volume 4, page 482).
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 3, page 437, No. 334, New Madrid Claimants
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 4, page 39, No. 429, New Locations in Lieu of Lots in New Madrid and Little Prairie Villages, in Missouri, Injured by Earthquakes
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 4, page 155, No. 453, Grants of Land to People of New Madrid County, Missouri, Who Suffered by Earthquakes
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 4, page 749, No. 504, New Madrid Claim in Missouri
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 4, page 872, No. 551, New Madrid Claim
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 4, page 881, No. 560, Application of Missouri for Further Relief to the Sufferers by Earthquakes in New Madrid County, in that State
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 6, page 184, No. 853, Claim to Land in Missouri
- American State Papers, Public Lands, Volume 6, page 409, No. 1034, On Claim to Land in Missouri
- Letter, dated January 19, 1821, from William Rector, Surveyor of the Public Lands of Missouri, Illinois & the territory of Arkansas, to Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office (Missouri State Land Survey microfiche location 720/3264B).
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Original composition by Steven E. Weible
