, 1853-07-23
Notice to Settlers in Washington
and Oregon

! |. Under the provisions of the act of
Congress; approved February Ilth, 1893,
entitled " an act to amend an act entitled,
an act 10 create the Office of Surveyor
General of the public lands in Oregon, and
to provide for the survey, and 10 make do
nations to the settlers Of the said public
lands approved September twenty seventh,
eighteen hundred and ffly,' the time allow
ed for making settlements in Oregon, (inclu-
ding the Territory of Washington, since es-
tablishcd), under the terms of the FIFTH
section Of the act Of 9th September, 1850,
is extended from the Isl December, 1858,
TO the lst December 1888.
>. The original act provided that a
patent shall not be issued 10 a donation
claimant until after he shall have occupied
and cultivated the land for a term of four
consecutive years; whereas the amended
act provides, that after having occupied and
cultivated the same for two consecutive
years, the settlerrmay obtain a patent by
paying for the land al the rate Of dollar
and quarter per acre.
3. Settlers on surveyed public lands il
the Territories of Oregon and Washington,
are required 10 give notice thereof to the
Surveyor General, according 10 the pre-
scriptions in the act of 9th September,
1880, concerning which instructions have
heretofore been given but under the late
amended act, settlers on lands not yet sur
veyed must file their notifications" " of the
same with the Surveyor Geueral OIL, or prior
10, the Isl December, 1853; and settlers on
surveyed lands, claiming under the provis-
ions Of the fflh section of the act of 9th
September 1850, must file their notifications
of settlement as aforesaid, on or prior to l ST
April, 1855.
no. Failure TO file such notice as aforc-
said will, in either case, operate as a forfeit
ure Of the claim.
4. The particular form Of settlers no.
tice is not material. Printed blanks, how
ever, will be furnished by the Surveyor
General on application. The facts in re-
gard to the settlement are all to be substan-
/ TALLY set forth, viz: the settlers name,
when he arrived in the Territory; whether
married or single man; if married, the
name Of his wife, and the names Of his chill
dren or heirs-at-law," if any the date
Of commencement of his settlement the
location, as precisely as it can be described
and identified in respect to adjacent natural
objects and the claims Of others.
5. In case of the death of a settler, "a
married many, after having filed his " noti-
fcation" with the Surveyor General, and
at any time prior to the expiration of the
four years, continued occupation and cult
walton of the land, as required by the act Of
27th September, 1850, all the rights of the
deceased "descend to tho hers-at-law of
such settler, including the widow, where
one is left, in equal parts, and proof of COM
pliance with the conditions of the act up to
the time of the death Of such settler shall be
sufficient to entitle them 10 the patent"
6. In the event that the wife of a settler
should die after settlement land the notifi-
cation oil the claim has been filed with the
Surveyor Gcneral) at any time within the
four years. continued occupation and cult
vation required by law, the right of the de-
cedent inures 10 the husband and children
in equal proportions, and in that case the
land Of the deceased can be paid for al
once.
T. The act of 9th September, 1850,
(sec 4l, grants to every white settler or oc-
cupant of public lands then residing in Ore
gon, or who shall reside therein before lst
December, 1850, 800 acres 10 himself, aud
like quantity to his wife, if married and
half that quantity is granted by the 9Th
section 10 married man and his wife who
settled, or shall settle, between the lst De-
cember, 1850, and 1st December, 1858,
since extended to Isl December 1850 In
either case the patent for the wife's share,
when liable to be issued by law, will be in
her name.
RIGHTS OF WIDOWS CLAIMING IS THEIR OWN
RIGHT.
s. 1t has already ben decided that a
widow being {" a settler and occupant " on
the public lands, on or prior 10 lst Decem-
Der, 1850, is included within the general
provisions Of the act of 27th September,
1880, made for "every settler or occupant"
and that she may, therefore, claim as such,
in her own right, under the terms of the
law.
9. The act of l4th February, 1853,
however, makes provision for two classes of
widows in the following terms:
Sec. s. And be it further enacted, That
each widow now residing in Oregon Terri
tory, and such others as shall locate in said
Territory, whose husband, had he lived,
would have been entitled to a claim under
the provisions of the act to which this is an
amendment, shall be entitled, under the
provisions and requirements of said act, to
The same quantity Of land that she would
have been but for the death Of her husband !;
and that in case of the death Of the widow
prior to the expiration oi 'he four yoars'