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Umatilla County Records Inventory
Federal Land Grant Records
1864-1957
Series records ownership of county lands obtained from the federal government. Series includes records of land grants administered under a variety of federal programs such as donation land claims and homesteads. Donation land claims are the most common type of federal land grant in Oregon that is documented in this inventory project. Donation land claims resulted from an act of the 1850 Congress under which citizens of the United States, or those who filed a declaration of intention prior to December 1, 1850 and had resided upon or cultivated the land for four consecutive years, were granted a specified amount of acreage in the Oregon Territory. Donation land claims were unique in that acreage granted to married couples was divided evenly. Half of the acreage was placed in the husband's name while the other half was placed in the wife's name. Records include plats, indexes, and survey notes. Information includes township, range, and section numbers, names of donation land claim holders and claim numbers, claim dates, acreage, and descriptions of surveys.
Under the Homestead Act of 1862, settlers were given 160 acres of land in the public domain if they built a home on the land, resided there for five years, and cultivated the land. A complete homestead entry file includes such documents as the homestead application, homestead proof, and final certificate authorizing the claimant to obtain a land patent.
Oregon State Archives:
Misc. [Land Grant Certificates], 1885-1889 (.05
cu.ft.);
Misc. [Land Pre-Emption & Homestead-Records],
1881-1894 (.10 cu.ft.).
Umatilla County Courthouse, Records Office Research Room:
Deed Record C.C. Patent [Land Claim], vol. 83, 1913-1920
(1 volume);
Deed Record Homesteads, vol. Z, 1889-1900 (1 volume); vol. 64,
1910-1920 (1 volume); vol. 111, 1920-1942 (1 volume);
Deed Record [Land Claim], vol. 108, 1920-1952 (1 volume);
Deed Record
Pre-Emption [Land Claim], vol. Y, 1889-1893 (1
volume); vol. 12, 1893-1896 (1 volume); vol. 17, 1896-1905 (1
volume); vol. 46, 1905-1909 (1 volume); vol. 66, 1909-1913 (1
volume).
Related Web Site:
Search Land Patents [includes
patent and legal land descriptions and some document images], ca.1864-ca.1957
(BLM
GLO Web site).
umatilla county inventory home | umatilla county history | umatilla county scenic images
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