Dr. Lewis F. Linn, U. S. Senator for Missouri, serving on the Committee on Private Land Claims, recommended to the U. S. Senate on January 4, 1837 that new legislation be passed to complete the unfinished business of the second board of commissioners. It was highly desirable to permanently settle the land titles in the State of Missouri associated with these claims (ASP:PL, Vol. 8, pg 923).
In each succeeding year the U. S. Senate passed a bill to continue the work left unfinished by the second board of commissioners. The U. S. House of Representatives, however, failed to address the matter. Senator Linn reported to the Senate on behalf of the Committee on Private Land Claims on April 20, 1842 again urging the passage of the bill (Senate Doc. No. 258, 27th Congress, 2nd Session, 1842, Serial No. 398).
Another bill had been introduced, however, that would revive the expired Act of May 26, 1824, chapter 173, An Act enabling the claimants to lands within the limits of the state of Missouri and territory of Arkansas to institute proceedings to try the validity of their claims (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 4, pg 52). This bill would also extend the provisions of the revived act to additional states that were dealing with similar issues with private land claims (House Doc. No. 905, 27th Congress, 2nd Session, 1842, Serial No. 410). The U. S. House of Representatives supported this bill and it passed as the Act of June 17, 1844, chapter 95, An Act to provide for the adjustment of land claims within the States of Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and in those parts of the States of Mississippi and Alabama south of the thirty-first degree of north latitude, and between the Mississippi and Perdido rivers (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 5, pg 676). The provisions set out in the 1824 act, as they pertained to the State of Missouri, were to be continued in force for a term of five years and no longer and were extended to the States of Louisiana and Arkansas and parts of the States of Mississippi and Alabama.
In February 1847, the General Assembly of Missouri complained to Congress that there were still many private land claims in an unsettled state and that the uncertainty surrounding them hindered settlement and development. Many of these claims, through negligence, ignorance or unfortunate circumstances, had failed to be presented to the recorder of land titles when required and had, thus, been excluded from consideration by previous acts of Congress. They further complained that the Act of May 26, 1824, chapter 173, allowing claimants to seek confirmation from the courts was so expensive and difficult that very few claimants were able to pursue that course of action. The General Assembly requested that Congress pass a law for the final adjustment of all of these claims, stating, “It is better to settle them at once, even if some unjust ones are confirmed in the mass, than to spend years of legislation and litigation to separate the good from the bad. The time and money thus wasted, and the injury to the country by retarding its improvement, would be far greater than the value of any illegal claim that might be thus included” (Laws of Missouri, 14th General Assembly, first session, 1846-1847, pg 358).
The Act of June 22, 1860, chapter 188, An Act for the final Adjustment of Private Land Claims in the States of Florida, Louisiana, and Missouri, and for other Purposes (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 12, pg 85) authorized claimants and their legal representatives to apply for the confirmation of their title to any lands claimed in Florida, Louisiana or Missouri by virtue of a grant, concession, order of survey, permission to settle or other written evidence originating from any foreign government prior to the transfer of the territory to the United States. In Missouri, claimants were to file a notice in writing with the recorder of land titles at St. Louis, along with the supporting evidence of their claim. They were to include a brief abstract of the title, copies of the plats of survey, if any, and a sworn statement by the claimant indicating the legal divisions and subdivisions of the public land surveys that corresponded with the location of the claim. Any claim that had already been twice rejected on its merits by any previous board of commissioners was barred from consideration.
The recorder of land titles was to record the notices and evidence, hear witnesses, seek out existing public records, thoroughly examine the claim and provide an opinion as to whether it should be confirmed or rejected. He was then to make a report to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, separating the claims into three distinct classes.
Class number one was for all claims recommended for confirmation that had been possessed and cultivated by the claimants or their predecessors in title for a period of at least twenty (20) years before the date on which notice was filed with the recorder of land titles. The claim had to be based on some grant, concession, order of survey, permission to settle or other written evidence of title that originated from the foreign government claiming sovereignty at a date before the territory was transferred to the United States.
Class number two was for all claims recommended for confirmation that were based on written evidence of title as in Class number one, but which had not been actually possessed and cultivated for a period of at least twenty years prior to the filing of the claim.
Class number three was for all claims that were not recommended for confirmation. Justification for rejection may include defect of proof, suspicion of fraud, uncertainty of location, vagueness of description or any other sufficient cause. No claim was to be included in class one or class two that had been rejected as being fraudulent by any prior board of commissioners.
If the Commissioner of the General Land Office approved the report of classes one and two, then the report was sent to Congress for further action. If the report of class three was approved by the Commissioner, the rejection of the claims was to be final and conclusive and the land was to be considered as public land of the United States (section 4). The Commissioner was also to report to Congress all claims in any of the three classes of which he disapproved (section 5). The Commissioner was to report to each regular session of Congress all activity done under this act (section 10).
Section six of the act provided that if the claim was confirmed and it had already been sold, in whole or in part, by the United States prior to the confirmation or if the surveyor general determined that the land claimed could not be surveyed and located, then the claimant was authorized to select from the public lands subject to private sale a quantity equal to what had been sold by the United States. The land selected was to conform to the legal divisions and subdivisions of the surveys of the public lands.
If a tract of land was claimed as a complete grant, but had not been possessed and cultivated by the original claimant or his successors in title for twenty years as required, then those making the present claim had the option to forego the proceedings of this act and to enter a petition in the district court of the United States (section 11).
This act was to remain in force for five years (section 12). Any proceeding that extended beyond the five years was permitted to be prosecuted to a final decision.
For claims or grants of land derived from any foreign government that had not yet been located by survey, the Act of June 2, 1862, chapter 90, An Act for the Survey of Grants or Claims of Land (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 12, pg 410) authorized claimants to make application to the proper officer of the United States government for a survey to be performed at the expense of the claimant. The survey gave no more validity to the claim than to define its true location.
The provisions of the 1860 Act were extended for an additional three years by the Act of March 2, 1867, chapter 184, An Act to extend the Provisions of an Act entitled, “An Act for the final Adjustment of private Land Claims in the States of Florida, Louisiana, and Missouri, and for other purposes” (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 14, pg 544).
The provisions of the 1860 Act were further extended for another three years by the Act of June 10, 1872, chapter 421, An Act to extend the Provisions of an Act entitled “An Act for the final Adjustment of private Land-claims in the States of Florida, Louisiana, and Missouri, and for other Purposes” (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 17, pg 378). Section two of this act also provided for the confirmation of claims to land as specified in Section one of the 1860 Act in all cases where it could be shown that the claimants and their successors in title had continuously maintained possession of the land claimed since the date of the transfer to the United States.
Eventually it became necessary to pass the Act of June 6, 1874, chapter 223, An act obviating the necessity of issuing patents for certain private land-claims in the State of Missouri, and for other purposes (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 18, part 3, pg 62). The first section of this act released all of the right, title and interest of the United States in and to all of the lands in the State of Missouri that had previously been confirmed by any act of Congress or by any officer or officers, or any board or boards of commissioners acting under the authority of any act of Congress. The lands were released in fee simple to the owners of equitable title as completely as could have been done by patents issued according to law.
Section two of the act noted that the act did not affect the validity of any conflicting or adverse claim to the same land. The act also did not pertain to any lands previously relinquished to the United States.
Section three of the act provided for the discontinuance of the office of recorder of land titles, when the public interest no longer required it. All of the records of the recorder of land titles were to be transferred to the State of Missouri with the United States reserving the right of free access to the records. After the discontinuance of the office, the former duties of the recorder of land titles would pass to the Commissioner of the General Land Office.
The office of recorder of land titles in the State of Missouri was formally abolished by the Act of July 31, 1876, chapter 246, An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other purposes (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 19, pg 102 (see pg 121)). The office ceased to exist after September 30, 1876.
Since it appeared that some act of the General Assembly of Missouri was necessary to affect the transfer of records from the United States to the State of Missouri, the General Assembly passed “An Act to provide for the removal of the archives in the office of the United States Recorder of Land Titles of Missouri,” which was approved April 28, 1877 (Laws of Missouri, 29th General Assembly, Regular Session, 1877, pg 318). The Register of Lands was to receive the records and keep them in his office.
The office of Register of Lands was abolished by an act of the General Assembly of Missouri, approved February 25, 1891 (Laws of Missouri, 36th General Assembly, Regular Session, 1891, pg 181). Upon expiration of the last term of office in 1892, the responsibilities and records of the Register of Lands were transferred to the Missouri Secretary of State.
SOURCES
American State Papers, Public Lands (ASP:PL)
Laws of Missouri, State Documents Collections, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, MO
U. S. Congressional Serial Set
U. S. Statutes at Large
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original composition by Steven E. Weible
