Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-03-11
The Land Patents Again.

i
Many land owners of this county
have lately been stirred up and
made anxious with reference tc
their land titles, especially as tC
whether or not their lands were
ever patented by the U. S. This
nervousness is uncalled for. I DOM
suppose there is any thing serious
ly wrong with one tract IN a thou.
sand. Most of the lands in Grant
county were entered many years
ago, and paid for at the time al
from so cents to $1.25 per acre.
In no case where the u. S. has been
paid for the land and retained the
price, need the present owner,
claiming under that person have
any fears, even though he holds
no patent, or if no patent were ever
issued, for patent will not now be
issued unless to the man who paid
for it or his heirs.
A record of patent in this county
is Of little consequence, SO far as
real titles goes, The effective re-
cord of original patent from the U.
S. is in the general land Office at
Washington. The recording OF
patents here is only a matter of
convenience. The law authorizes
it, if one is willing to pay the cost.
The only places where trouble
need be looked for, is along the
rivers and where the land was not
worth paying taxes on until more
recent years In such places men
sometimes ran fences around ad
joining government land claimed it
and used it without entt ring it. The
U. S. not disturbing them, they in
time assumed to own it, and to sell
it if any one would buy. In such
cases, if any remain, the land being
now valuable, some one might buy
it from the U. S. and claim it.
If any one feels anxious about his
title in this respect, he might with
out expense, write a Litter to the
Hon Commissioner General Land
Office Washington, D c., give
description of his land, the section,
quarter section etc and ask If his
land has ever been patented, aud if
sc when and to whom. Be careful
to give your own address No need
to enclose postage for reply, for the
answer will be official business"
and 90 through the mails without
postage; stamp your own letter. In
about ten days or two weeks an an
swer will be received. If the reply
is that the land has been patented,
there is no occasion for anxiety, for
IN that case no one can now get a
patent on it, and if the patent has
not Teen recorded in this county
that can be attended to at any time
in the future if occasion require.
By the old settlers and old LAYERS,
who were thoroughly familiar with
government titles and land office
lpractice, which is the case with but
very few lawyers to day, except
those in the west, the recording OF
patents here was held unnecessary
and for that reason very few were
reco1 ded.
/ suppose this scare has grown
out of the four suits brought by Mr..
H. w. Coffin, of Duluth, Mimi, a
real estate man, a dealer in pine
lands, in which his title was sustain
ed. Mr.. Coffin bought up "Private
Land Scrip" with which the holder
may obtain public lands, by com
plying with the land office regWla-
tions on the subject, without having
to comply with the Homestead laws.
With some of this Scrip" he located
and purchased four forties of public
land in this county. When he went
to take possession he found others
claiming the land; they refused to
give it up, apparently thinking that
after so long a time the land was
theirs, not knowing, presume, that
time and statutes of limitation,
never run against the government.
Some of our own people would
doubtless have entered these lands
before Mr.. Coffin, had they been
able to examine the land Office
records and learn the truth, or had
they not been deceived by their
neighbors claiming the lands.
One of these tracts. that in Mt.
Ida, claimed by Mr.. Smith, had
been illegally assessed and taxed,
when still government land and not
taxable. The company illegally
sold the land for the nonpayment of
this illegal tax, and itself bought in
land. After repeating this illegal