Claims to Land in Missouri after 1836

This article has been modified. See Chapter 17 of "It Was Not Quick and It Was Not Simple: The Saga of Private Land Claims in Missouri" (Go to book now.)

The second board of commissioners had informed the Commissioner of the General Land Office in its final report, dated September 30, 1835, that it was unable to complete the investigation of all the claims that it was authorized to examine. There were about seven hundred (700) claims in the State of Missouri that still needed a decision. The board had earnestly recommended that the investigations should continue until the business was finally completed. If Congress should pass an act for that purpose, the board estimated that the work could be completed in another two years (ASP:PL Vol. 8, pg 22).

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

Claims to Land in Missouri and the Second Board of Commissioners

This article has been modified. See Chapter 16 of "It Was Not Quick and It Was Not Simple: The Saga of Private Land Claims in Missouri". (Go to book now.)

The courts as a means for the final settlement of the as yet unconfirmed private land claims in Missouri had not proven to be satisfactory for the claimants. In January 1831 the General Assembly of Missouri had sent a memorial to Congress, recommending the creation of a board of land commissioners endowed with sufficient powers to achieve full and final justice between the government and these claimants. They believed that such a tribunal should “adopt as its rule of action, to confirm every claim which the government of either Spain or France would have confirmed had no transfer of the territory been made ” (ASP:PL Vol. 6, pg 300).

Since the General Assembly of Missouri kept demanding it and the Committee on Private Land Claims in the U. S. Senate had recommended it in 1828, Congress passed the Act of July 9, 1832, chapter 180, An Act for the final adjustment of private land claims in Missouri (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 4, pg 565). The President of the United States was to appoint two commissioners to join the recorder of land titles in Missouri in examining all the unconfirmed private claims that had already been filed in the recorder’s office. The examination was limited to those claims founded upon any incomplete grant, concession, warrant or order of survey that had been issued by the authority of France or Spain prior to March 10, 1804. They were permitted to receive additional testimony, but it had to be taken within twelve months of the passage of the act.

The recorder and commissioners were to segregate the claims examined into two classes. The first class was to include those claims that they believed would have been confirmed according to the laws, usages and customs of the Spanish government and the practice of the Spanish authorities at New Orleans, if the government under which those claims originated had continued in Missouri. The second class was to include those claims that they believed were destitute of merit, in law or equity, under the same laws, usages, customs and practice of the Spanish authorities. They were also to provide an explanation of their reasoning in each case.

Once this second board of commissioners had organized, the office of the recorder was to be open for the purposes of the examination for two years and no longer. They were to proceed in a summary manner, with or without any new application from the claimants. During the term of their examination and at the commencement of each session of Congress, they were to send a report to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, detailing their opinions on the claims so far examined. The report would be forwarded to Congress for the final decision upon the claims of the first class.

After the final report was submitted by the recorder and commissioners, those claims falling into the second class, being destitute of merit, were to be subject to sale along with the other public lands. Those claims falling into the first class were to be further reserved from sale until Congress rendered a final decision. Any claim that was ultimately rejected by Congress was subject to sale along with the other public lands. An actual settler whose claim was ultimately rejected or any claimant who chose to waive his claim was granted the right of pre-emption to the land encompassing the improvements up to the quantity of their claim, but not exceeding 640 acres.

Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, nominated Doctor Lewis F. Linn of Sainte Genevieve, Missouri and Wilkins Updyke of Rhode Island to serve as commissioners with recorder of land titles Frederick R. Conway. The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointments of Linn and Updyke on July 14, 1832 (Senate Executive Journal, Vol. 4, pg 277). The second board of commissioners was organized on October 1, 1832 (ASP:PL Vol. 8, pg 923), but Updyke resigned shortly thereafter, leaving Conway and Linn to continue taking testimony until a replacement could be confirmed. To further hinder the board’s progress, the Asiatic cholera swept into Missouri, so that many claimants and witnesses were unable to appear before the board to present their testimony. Thus, no report could be made the first year (ASP:PL Vol. 8, pg 22).

On November 19, 1832 recorder Conway and commissioner Linn wrote to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, recommending that the Act of July 9, 1832, chapter 180, be amended in two ways so as to accomplish a truly final settlement of all the claims that could possibly be brought forward. First, they believed that the act should be extended to include claims founded on written grants, concessions, warrants or orders of survey that had not previously been filed in the office of the recorder of land titles, but which might have been submitted to the district court of the United States for Missouri. Second, they believed the act should be extended to include claims based on settlement and cultivation that had previously been submitted and rejected under other acts of Congress (ASP:PL Vol. 6, pg 516).

Congress responded by passing the Act of March 2, 1833, chapter 84, An Act supplemental to the act entitled “An act for the final adjustment of land claims in Missouri” (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 4, pg 661), extending the provisions and restrictions of the previous act to every claim based on settlement and cultivation. Additional testimony for these claims was allowed to be taken for two years from the date of the original act.

President Jackson nominated Albert G. Harrison of Missouri on December 31, 1832 to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Wilkins Updyke. The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Harrison on January 8, 1833 (Senate Executive Journal, Vol. 4, pg 291, 296).

Before commencing examination of the claims before them, Conway, Linn and Harrison resolved to settle the general principles that would serve as a guide for the decisions they were to make. They reviewed all of the pertinent Acts of Congress, consulted the available compilations of French and Spanish laws and considered the decisions of the United States Supreme Court that had been made up to that time (ASP:PL Vol. 6, pg 703).

On October 30, 1833 they passed a resolution adopting the following guiding principles (ASP:PL Vol. 6, pg 710):

1st. That it was the custom of both France and Spain, and formed a part of the policy of those nations in the settling of new countries, to appoint officers, whose business it was, by express regulations, to grant lands to all such of their subjects as might wish to settle in those countries, for the avowed purposes of improving and populating said countries.

2d. That all acts in relation to grants, concessions, warrants, and orders of survey, done and performed by the French and Spanish officers during the time those governments had possession of and exercised the sovereignty over the province of Upper Louisiana, ought to be considered as prima facie evidence of their right to do those acts and perform those duties, and ought to be held and considered binding on the government of the United States, inasmuch as the acts of the officers in said province were not only tolerated but approved by their superiors in power.

3d. That all grants, concessions, warrants, or orders of survey, made and issued by the French or Spanish officers in the late province of Upper Louisiana on or before the 10th day of March, 1804, where the same are not proved to be fraudulent, ought to be confirmed, provided the conditions annexed to the grant have been complied with, or a satisfactory reason given for not fulfilling the same.

4th. That O’Reily’s instructions or regulations of 18th February, 1770, those of Gayoso of 9th September, 1797, and those of Morales of 17th July, 1799, were not in force in Upper Louisiana, except, perhaps, the provisions contained in those of Gayoso, which related to new settlers.

5th. That sub-delegates, in making grants, &c., were not limited by any known law or custom as to the quantity of arpents they should grant, except, perhaps, as to new settlers, and that such grants passed title, and that a survey was merely an incidental matter after the title had passed by the grant, so as to identify the land, that the grantee might take possession of it.

6th. That what are called incomplete grants by the custom and practice of the country were recognized as property capable of passing by devise, transferable from one to another, and were liable to be sold for debt.

7th. That those grants which are general in their terms pass as good a title as those which are more special, the difference being in the description of the land, and not in the title.

8th. That those officers of the French and Spanish governments whose names are signed to concessions must be presumed to have acted agreeably to powers vested in them by their sovereign, and that their acts are accordingly legal until the contrary is shown.

9th. That fraud is an affirmative charge, and, as relates to the French and Spanish claims, as well as in all other cases, must be proved, and not presumed.

10th. That in all cases where there are conditions to a grant, &c., if the grantee shows satisfactorily that he has been prevented from a fulfillment of the conditions by the act of God, by the act of law, by the enemies of the country, or by the act of the party making the grant, or any other sufficient cause, the grantee will be considered as absolved from the performance of the same, and the grant regarded as absolute.

The second board of commissioners submitted their first report of claims of the first class, dated November 27, 1833, to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, who then forwarded the report to the U.S. Senate on January 18, 1834 (ASP:PL Vol. 6, pg 703). The report contained decisions numbered 1 through 142 that the recorder and commissioners recommended for confirmation.

David Delaunay's claim to 800 arpents was recommended for confirmation by the second board of commissioners as Decision No. 5 of the first class. When surveyed as General Series Survey No. 3128 in Township 41 North, Range 3 East, it was found to interfere with settlement claims previously confirmed by the board of revision. Parts of it had also already been sold by the United States government as indicated by the red letter "S".
(courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey)

In June 1833 Alexander Buckner, U. S. Senator for Missouri, along with his wife succumbed to the cholera and died. Missouri Governor Daniel Dunklin appointed Dr. Linn to fill the vacancy (Linn and Sargent, pg 78, 129). By the time the first report of the second board of commissioners was submitted to Congress, Dr. Linn had already joined the U. S. Senate. Dr. Linn would eventually end up on the Committee for Private Land Claims.

Albert Harrison resigned as commissioner to the second board and was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. The second board then having two vacancies could not proceed with its business until those vacancies were filled.

President Jackson nominated James S. Mayfield on February 3, 1834 to replace Dr. Linn (Senate Executive Journal, Vol. 4, pg 347) and he nominated Dr. James H. Relfe on April 8, 1834 to replace Harrison (Senate Executive Journal, Vol. 4, pg 390). The nomination of Mayfield was referred to the Committee on Public Lands in the U. S. Senate and was not approved until April 24, 1834 (Senate Executive Journal, Vol. 4, pg 392). Relfe was approved by the Senate on May 1, 1834 (Senate Executive Journal, Vol. 4, pg 398).

The next iteration of the second board of commissioners with Conway, Mayfield and Relfe resumed the examination of land claims in June 1834. They submitted the second report of claims of the first class, dated December 5, 1834, to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, who then forwarded the report to the U.S. Senate on January 7, 1835 (ASP:PL Vol. 7, pg 773). The report contained decisions numbered 143 through 255 (113 claims) that the recorder and commissioners recommended for confirmation.

John Hand's claim to 300 arpents and John Taylor's claim to 481 acres 8 poles were recommended for confirmation by the second board of commissioners as Decision Nos. 214 and 281, respectively, of the first class. When surveyed as General Series Survey Nos. 3148 and 3147 in Township 31 North, Range 13 East, they were found to interfere with the settlement claim of William Hand, which had been previously confirmed by the Act of April 29, 1816. Part of Survey No. 3148 had already been sold by the United States government as indicated by the red letter "S".
(courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey)

At some point early in 1835 James Mayfield was removed from the second board of commissioners. President Jackson nominated Falkland H. Martin on March 3, 1835 to replace him and the U. S. Senate approved the appointment the same day (Senate Executive Journal, Vol. 4, pg 483, 484).

The board was approaching a deadline set by the Act of July 9, 1832, chapter 180, so recorder Conway and commissioner Relfe continued the examination of claims until Martin joined them sometime around August 1835. The final reports of the second board of commissioners, dated September 30, 1835, were sent to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, who then forwarded the reports to the U.S. Senate on December 10, 1835 (ASP:PL Vol. 8, pg 20). The third report of claims of the first class contained decisions numbered 256 through 345 (90 claims) that the recorder and commissioners recommended for confirmation. The report of claims of the second class, being claims considered destitute of merit, contained decisions numbered 1 through 152.

The board further reported that they were not able to complete the investigation of all the claims that they were authorized to examine. There were about seven hundred (700) claims in the State of Missouri that remained unexamined. The board earnestly recommended to Congress that the investigations should continue until the business was finally completed. If Congress should pass an act for that purpose, the board estimated that the work could be completed in another two years (ASP:PL Vol. 8, pg 22).

Congress scrutinized the reports of the recorder and commissioners, particularly questioning the validity of the principles used by them in making their determinations. Congress requested opinions and arguments from the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of the General Land Office, who further called upon the Attorney General of the United States, who deferred to the legal counsel for the United States that had been arguing the similar cases from Florida in the United States Supreme Court (ASP:PL Vol. 7, pg 581, Vol. 8, pg 789). A thorough examination of the facts was pursued.

When Congress was finally satisfied, they passed the Act of July 4, 1836, chapter 361, An Act confirming claims to land in the State of Missouri, and for other purposes (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 5, pg 126). This act confirmed all of the claims recommended for approval by the recorder and commissioners. However, twenty-nine (29) claims were explicitly excluded from confirmation. Any adverse claimants were reserved the right to assert the validity of their claims in a court or courts of justice.

By that time it was entirely possible that all or part of the lands confirmed by this act had already been sold or claimed by someone else under some other law of the United States. If that was the case, no title was conferred by this act to those lands. An equivalent amount of land was permitted to be located on any unappropriated land of the United States within the same state or territory. The new locations were to conform to legal divisions and subdivisions.

Francois Normandeau's claim to 2500 arpents was recommended for confirmation by the second board of commissioners as Decision No. 97 of the first class. When surveyed as General Series Survey No. 3239 in Township 56 North, Range 5 West, it was found to interfere with the claim of Mathurin Bouvet and Charles Gratiot. Nearly all of it had already been sold by the United States government as indicated by the red letter "S".
(courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey)

SOURCES

American State Papers: Public Lands (ASP:PL)

Linn, E. A. and Sargent, N., The Life and Public Services of Dr. Lewis F. Linn, for Ten Years a Senator of the United States from the State of Missouri, 1857

Senate Executive Journal

U. S. Statutes at Large

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original composition by Steven E. Weible