Friday Find

Following Samuel M. Crawford’s Ford County Homestead

Sometimes a Friday Find isn't a newly discovered record. Sometimes one record leads to another—and then another—until a much fuller picture begins to emerge.

That is what happened as I continued investigating Samuel M. Crawford, a man who lived in the Dodge City area and who may—or may not—connect to my Crawford family.

My earlier research into Samuel centered largely on newspaper articles. Those records told me about the death of his daughter Nellie in 1901, Samuel's work as a railroad engineer, and his own tragic death in Torreon, Mexico, in 1902.

More recently, a cemetery record led me to theorize about Samuel's family.

Now land records are adding another layer to his story.

A Ford County Homestead

The Bureau of Land Management records contain a federal land patent issued to Samuel M. Crawford on June 10, 1891.

The patent describes his property as:

Lots 1 and 2 and the East half of the Northwest quarter of Section 18, Township 25 South, Range 24 West

The tract contained 152.12 acres. The patent states that Samuel's claim had been established under the Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, with the certificate coming from the Garden City Land Office.

Wanting to know what the local land records might reveal, I contacted the Ford County Register of Deeds.

Among the records I received was a copy of Samuel's federal patent as it was recorded in Ford County.

But that wasn't the only record they found.

Completing the Homestead

Ford County also had a copy of Samuel's Final Receiver's Receipt from the Garden City Land Office.

Dated October 16, 1890, the receipt identifies Samuel M. Crawford and Homestead Application No. 10,456. It describes the same 152.12-acre tract later covered by the patent.

The receipt was entered into the Ford County records on December 29, 1890.

[Insert image of Homestead Final Receiver's Receipt]

A newspaper notice helps explain what was happening before that receipt was issued.

In August 1890, the Garden City Land Office published notice that Samuel M. Crawford of Dodge City intended to make final proof on his homestead.

The notice is particularly interesting because it explains what Samuel was trying to prove: his continuous residence upon and cultivation of the land.

It also identifies the men who would serve as his witnesses:

• Thomas Miller
• William K. Hughes
• Frederick Stineman
• Joseph Erskin

All four were identified as being from Dodge City.

Those names immediately go onto my Samuel Crawford FAN list. If these men knew Samuel well enough to testify about his residence and cultivation of the property, perhaps researching them will reveal additional information about Samuel and his family.

And Then There Was Carrie

The Ford County records contained another particularly valuable document—a deed dated December 24, 1890.

In that deed, Samuel M. Crawford and Carrie A. Crawford, his wife, sold the homestead property to S. K. Martin of Cook County, Illinois, for $1,000.

The deed was acknowledged in Ford County on December 29 and recorded the following day.

[Insert image of Crawford-Martin deed]

For my research, the phrase "Carrie A. Crawford, his wife" may be more important than the land transaction itself.

I already had a marriage record for Samuel M. Crawford and Carrie A. Tuttle. Now I have another contemporary record explicitly identifying Carrie as Samuel's wife in December 1890.

A Short Homestead Timeline

Putting the records together creates an interesting timeline:

• August 1890 — Notice published that Samuel intended to make final proof on his homestead.
• October 16, 1890 — Final Receiver's Receipt issued.
• December 24, 1890 — Samuel and Carrie Crawford sold the property to S. K. Martin.
• December 29, 1890 — Samuel and Carrie personally acknowledged the deed in Ford County.
• December 30, 1890 — The deed was recorded.
• June 10, 1891 — The federal government issued Samuel's patent.

Thus, Samuel sold the property shortly after completing the requirements for his homestead and before the formal federal patent was issued.

That raises some additional questions. How long had Samuel actually lived on this property? Where did Samuel and Carrie go after selling it? And what might the witnesses to his homestead claim have known about the Crawford family?

More Than Just a Piece of Land

None of these records answers my biggest question:

Was Samuel M. Crawford related to my Crawford family?

But they tell me considerably more about him.

By 1890, Samuel was living in the Dodge City area and had established a homestead in Ford County. He had apparently lived on and cultivated that land long enough to satisfy the requirements for final proof. He was married to Carrie A. Crawford by December 1890. And several Dodge City men were prepared to testify about his residence and cultivation of the property.

Those witnesses may eventually prove just as important as the land itself.

This is also a good example of why I like to follow land records beyond the patent. The BLM patent gave me a legal description and a date. The Ford County records added the homestead receipt and a deed naming Samuel's wife. The newspaper notice added the names of people who knew Samuel.

One land patent became a small collection of records documenting Samuel M. Crawford in Ford County.

And perhaps one of those records—or one of those witnesses—will eventually help answer the question that started this research:

Just who was Samuel M. Crawford, and does he belong somewhere in my Crawford family?