Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-10-29
SPARKS VS.. MARRIED WOMEN,

Washington special: Secretary Lamar,
letter in the Good case is MS follows:
The Commissioner of the Genera
Land sOfice-Sir: [ have considere
! the appeal of Maria Good, nee Wilco,
from your division, dated July 14th, lSS
holding for cancellation her househol,
entry No. 1852, Said entry, 1t appears
was made Sept. 2Sth, 1880, and cover
the northeast quarter of section 2e
township south, range 81. Korwin
. Kan. Nov. 7th, 1885, claimant made
hnal proof before the clerk of the dis
trlct court, which proof was, on the lItl
OF the same month, rejected by the loca
office because of insufficient residence.
FROM the action appeal was taken tt
your Office Your decision sets out tht
following facts as shown by the record,
IN the case, to wit: That claimant wa,
a native born citizen of the United
States, and single woman over twenty.
one years of age at the date of entry
soon after which she married; that he,
husband was u mechanic and worked in
Norton, three miles distant; that
claimants statements are that
| she stayed in Norton during bad
| weather IN winter, aside from which she
resided continuously on the land; that
the testimony OF her witnesses makes it
appear that she stayed in Norton win
ters; and on the homestead summers
that she was never absent for more than
three months at q time; that she has
never moved her household goods from
the land, and that the improvements,
which are valued at 5000, consist of u
| house, well, windmill, sheds, an or
chard OF l2S trees, and fifteen acres
under cultivation. Without passing
upon the question OF residence, further
| than to say that the testimony as to res.
ldence is not very clear, except that it
was established III November 1880, your
decision proceeds to rule the case upon
the act of the marriage OF appellant
| alter having made her entry. On this
| you hold that "a woman who makes a
homestead entry. and subsequently
marries before completing the same, for
| felts her rights to acquire title to the
| land" ana for that reason you dismissed
the appeal from the action of the iocL
| office, and hold the entry for capceila-
ton. Section 2,2S9 OF the Revised
Statutes contains the following provi-
sions as to who may enter public lands
under the homestead laws: Every
| person who is the head of a family.
or who has arrived at the age of twenty
one years and is citizen Of the
United Stated, or who has filed
| declaration OF irtention to become such,
as required by the naturalization laws
| shall be entitled to enter one quarter
section or ss quantity of unappro-
printed public land, upon which such
person may have filed pre-emption
claim, or which the time the application
ls made, be subject to pre.emption at
$l.25 per acre. etc. Your decision
tacltly admits that the applicant, as o
single woman over twenty-one years of
age and native born, Sas at the date
oi hei entry Qualified uuder inc law
to make such entry. The sole question
| before me fer consideration, therefore, is
| whether the fact of her marriage after
entry, and before final proof, of itse /
worked forfeiture OF suoh rights as she
acquired by her entry. L am unable to
concur In the conclusions arrived at by
you on this proposition. The original
homestead act of March 20, 1862,
was entitled IAN act TO secure home,
| steads to actual settlers on the public
domain That act which is substan
| italy embodied in the Revised Statutes,
section 2,289 ct seq, prescrIoes
certain pre-eminent qualifications,
which must exist In settlers
under that law. Those aualifi.
cations have already been mentioned
1t found to exist, then, what2 Actual
continuous residence and cultivation
| must follow, and 10 certificate shall be
given or patent issued until the expira.
ton of five years from the date of entry
and then, or within two years thereafter
proof may be made showing continuous
residence and cultivation; aud that no
part of the tract with reference to which
the proof is cffere4 has been aIienated
| except as provided in section 22SS oj
the Revised Statutes (2,291, r. s. From,
the foregoing 1t seems clear that when
once legal qualification to make home
stead entry is established and the land
applied for is subject to subentry, then
| the only remaining questions for the
| land department to consider are those
| relative to residence, cultivation and
| alienation. This beng true, the fact OF
the marriage Of the claimant in this
| case after she made her entry cannot oil
| itself work forfe OF any right
| which she may have acquired by virtue
OF said entry. 1t only remains for he,
| to show compliance with the positive
requirements of the homestead law
| which are conditions subsequent in
| order to eDtitle her to full legal posses.
| sion by patent. Her marriage did not of
| necessity prevent her remaining upon
and improving the tract. The
| marriage OF woman who has made
homestead entry may result in her leav.
| ing the land which she has entered and
establishing her residence elsewhere, and
| thus indirectly furnishing reason for
| forfeiture, but the ground of forfeiture
in such case would be abundant and
not the fact OF marriage. / am clearly
of the opinion that the fact OF Maria
Goods marriage does not in any degree
impair the right which she acquired IN :
der her entry. Upon reference to the
decisions of your Office upon the ques-
tIon herein involved, find thu practice
has, SO far as l have been able to dis
cover, heretofore been uniform in recoe-
nlzing the right of q married women to
complete homestead claim initiated
by entry before marriage, On the 10th
of February, 1874, your Office in passing
upon this question ruled that single
woman who makes an entry under the
homestead laws "does not forfeit her
rights under the homestead laws by
marriage, provided she fulflls the
requirements of the statutes as regards
settlement and cultivation of the land
embraced in her her homestead entry
See also the following causes: Mary
Latt, decided by your Office Aug. 25,
1887: Edna M. Csrnochan, decided
| Sent % 1881. Herman /, Phalns do.