claim

A right to claim or demand; a title to any debt, privilege, or other thing in possession of another. “A bar to all claims upon land.” (Hallam) The thing claimed or demanded; that to which any one has a right; as, a settler’s claim. — Webster, 1882

Four-fifths of the tree claims and two-fifths of all other claims have been filed on in Kingsbury county. – (Yankton, D.T.) Daily Press and Dakotaian, May 4, 1880

     
What happened to Almanzo Wilder’s claims?

On August 21, 1879, Almanzo Wilder first filed on two quarter sections in Kingsbury County, Dakota Territory: a homestead (the NE 21-111-56) and a tree claim (the SE 9-111-56). The map at right shows the location of Almanzo’s claims north of De Smet, as well as who his neighbors were during his homesteading years. Although Almanzo owned property in the town of De Smet prior to his marriage, it’s unclear if he ever lived in town except while baching with his brother, Royal Wilder, at the feed store on Calumet Avenue during the Hard Winter of 1880-1881.

Almanzo established residency on his homestead in September 1879; there was no residency requirement for tree claims. He built a frame shanty 12 feet square on the northeast corner of his homestead; the house had a cellar, 2 doors, and 1 window. He dug two wells. He built 2 barns: one was 14×16 ft. and the other was 16×32 ft., both were of frame construction. He planted some trees and cultivated from 20 to 32 acres on the homestead each year during his 5-year residency. At final proof, the house, barns and crops were valued at over $300.

Final proof on the homestead was made September 12, 1884; his witnesses were Alfred Sheldon, Oliver Sheldon, Robert Boast, and Charles Ingalls. Almanzo testified that he was gone from his claim “no more than a month at a time” during the winters of 1879-1880 and 1880-1881, and he was also away from his claim while working for the railroad in 1880. Remember that only a six months continuous residency was required each year for five years, and the government ended up making an exception for extra time away from claims due to the Hard Winter.

Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder were married August 25, 1885, and they moved to a new house built on Almanzo’s tree claim (SE 9) to the north. Although events in The First Four Years weren’t written exactly in the order they historically occurred, the book doesn’t avoid the many hardships encountered during the Wilders’ early married life, including dust storms, hail storms, blizzards, and crop failures. Laura didn’t record that Almanzo was unable to pay $18 of the taxes on the homestead for the year 1886 when it was due, or that their barn burned on July 16, 1887. From the De Smet Leader: “A. J. Wilder’s barn took fire last Sunday and burned, together with some hay and grain. Mr. Wilder and family were away from home and no one knows the origin of the fire.”

In The First Four Years, Laura wrote that Almanzo mortgaged his homestead the year after they were married and they were thus required to move from the tree claim and live on the mortgaged homestead. The $800 mortgage was actually taken out in March 1888, so it was years later than Laura remembered; the mortgage was through Minnesota Loan & Investment Company in Worthington, Minnesota, and the loan was repaid in full. It’s thus unclear exactly why Laura and Almanzo left their tree claim home to live on the homestead in 1886, other than a possible renter for the tree claim and – perhaps – a desire to be closer to town during Laura’s pregnancy. Rose Wilder was born December 5, 1886, on her father’s homestead.

Laura wrote about the diphtheria she and Almanzo suffered from during the spring of 1888. Grace Ingalls recorded in her diary on March 5, 1888, that “Laura and Manly were sick with diphtheria and are just getting over it so we have Rose here [at Ma and Pa’s house in town]. She is the best girl I ever saw…” The Kingsbury County News from March 9, 1888, reported that “Mr. and Mrs. Manly Wilder are doing nicely under the care of Dr. Cushman. Are up and around.”

Almanzo, Laura, and Rose moved back to the tree claim in April 1888 (making it clear that the mortgage on the homestead didn’t require the Wilders’ residency on the land), and on July 21, 1888, Almanzo sold the homestead to Ira Dexter for $1200. The outstanding mortgage was likely paid of at this time, meaning that the Wilders pocketed no more than $400, not the deed amount of $1200. Tax records for the year 1888 indicate that Almanzo’s homestead was valued at $500 and his personal property (livestock, farm vehicles, grain in storage, farming implements, and jewelry) was valued at $317.

Due to failure of the ten acres of planted trees to thrive on the tree claim, Almanzo knew that he would be unable to make final proof at the required time, which was between 8 and 12 years after filing (by August 1891 in this case), provided there had been the required number of trees planted and that there were sufficient trees of a certain size still thriving at final proof. August 8, 1888, Almanzo relinquished (“gave up”) the tree claim and filed an intent to preempt; he converted the tree claim to a preemption claim. To preempt at this time in Dakota Territory meant Almanzo would pay $1.25 per acre filed on (in this case, the claim was for 160 acres) between six months and two years after first filing (so, in August 1890 at the latest), providing – among other things – that a six months continuous residency requirement had been fulfilled during the period between first filing and final prof, a certain number of acres had been cultivated, and a habitable dwelling had been built on the claim. The sale of Almanzo’s homestead may have provided money with which to purchase the preemption claim (former tree claim), as well as pay any doctor bills there may have been while Laura and Almanzo were sick with diphtheria.

Laura and Almanzo’s second child, a son, was born and died while they were living on the preemption claim (SE 9, the former tree claim); Baby Boy Wilder was born July 11, 1889, and he died on August 7th. Earlier that year, Almanzo Wilder and Peter Ingalls (Laura’s cousin) formed a partnership called Wilder and Ingalls in order to raise sheep on the land, using the adjoining school section as extra pasturage. While two school sections had been set aside in each township until such time it could be sold after statehood for at least $10 per acre (with the sale benefiting the schools), school section land was typically rented prior to sale (with rent money benefiting the schools); it was not available for free use. Although Laura wrote in The First Four Years that it was her money from the sale of a pony that purchased some of the sheep they raised and sold, Almanzo was named as Peter’s business partner in town records.

On April 17, 1890, Almanzo paid $200 cash for his former tree claim. His witnesses were Alfred Sheldon, Oliver Sheldon, Uri Sheldon, and Charles Dunkley. Almanzo’s preemption papers state that their house was one story tall, 14×20 feet, frame construction, with an addition 7×12 feet. The house had a battened roof, and was boarded inside. The original house on the tree claim had burned on August 23, 1889, however, so the house described in the claim file description probably wasn’t the house she lived in as a newlywed and first described in These Happy Golden Years, but was the long shanty of three rooms in a row that, Laura wrote, was built near the ruins of the original house that burned. Two years later, a house valued at only $20 was said to be on this quarter section, according to tax records. Almanzo declared that for two growing seasons, he raised wheat, oats, corn, and flax on from 50 to 65 acres, with 40 acres prepared for the coming season. This is about half the acreage Laura wrote was being worked in The First Four Years, and the Wilders wouldn’t be there to do any planting that year. It is not known if the farm was worked, rented, or left fallow in 1890.

Days after preempting the former tree claim (SE 9) in April 1890, Almanzo mortgaged the property to Buchan & Robinson for $430. This loan, too, was repaid in full, likely from profit realized at the sale of their sheep. The May 10, 1890 De Smet Leader reported: “Peirson & Cooley have purchased of Wilder and Ingalls their flock of two hundred and twenty sheep. They will take the wool from them and during June sell the sheep.” John Peirson and Herbert Cooley were the purchasers; they were live stock dealers and ran a meat market in De Smet.

On May 17, the Leader reported: “A.J. Wilder intends moving with his family to Spring Valley, Minn. They will leave in a couple of weeks.” On May 30, 1890, Almanzo, Laura, and Rose left De Smet for Spring Valley. From the Leader: “A.J. Wilder and family started yesterday overland for Fillmore County, Minnesota. They go by team in order to move more cheaply their 20 head of stock.” Much of this stock was sold in Spring Valley.

From Spring Valley on September 16, 1891, Almanzo sold his preemption claim to the Dakota Land and Investment Company for $200 – the same amount he paid for it. At the time, the Wilders probably had no plans to return to De Smet to farm, hence the sale. Dakota Loan and Investment Company was organized in 1885 as a business to buy and sell real estate, loan money on real estate, and to transact all other kinds of business except banking. Its original partners were Thomas Ruth, William Broadbent, John Peirson, Alfred Waters, William Ruth, and Charles Dawley. Alfred Waters and Charles Dawley (a close friend of Almanzo’s) soon bought out the other partners and they took on Alfred Thomas as a partner in 1888, so the three men were running the business at the time Almanzo sold his preemption claim.

October 5, 1891, the Wilders left Spring Valley for Westville, Florida, returning to De Smet in the summer of 1892: “Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Wilder, hailing from Westville, Florida, are visiting relatives and old friends in De Smet.”

Although Rose Wilder Lane wrote in her introduction to On the Way Home that her family only rented a house in town upon their return to De Smet, Laura and Almanzo purchased the house at the corner of 4th Street and First Avenue for $200 in November 1892. May 24, 1894, they sold it for $350. July 17, 1894, the Almanzo Wilder and Frank Cooley families left South Dakota for Missouri.

     
Note: The Wilder home on the tree claim stood in the area where there are still trees on the former tree claim today, close to Highway 25. As this land is now part of the Wilder Airport property in De Smet, it is surrounded by a security fence and no trespassing is allowed. You can still photograph the tree claim from the roadways or through the fence. — The shanty on Almanzo’s homestead was built on the low hill near the northeast corner of the quarter section, so north of the historical marker and nearer the corner of Highway 25 and 205th Street. Note that the historical marker was placed at about the “halfway” point of the quarter section’s east side; the quarter section extends as far south of the marker as it does from the marker north to 205th Street.

     

claim (SSL 15, 24-28; TLW 1, 7-10, 16, 26, 28, 31, 33; LTP 2, 5-6, 9, 11-12, 21-22; THGY 1, 7, 13-22, 26-29, 33; PG), see also homestead, preemption, and tree claim
     claim jumper (SSL 20, 25, 28; TLW 16; PG), see John Hunt / George Brady
     filing (SSL 13, 18, 20, 22, 24-25; TLW 10-11) – To pick out up to 160 acres of land and declare intent to prove up on said land by paying initial filing fees.
     holding down a claim (LTP 21; THGY 14-15) – To occupy filed-upon land during the required residency requirement.
     homestead claim (SSL 6, 26, 30; TLW 10, 27; LTP 1-3, 6, 19; THGY 16, 20, 24)
     proving up (THGY 16, 19-20) – Sworn affidavit by claimant and three witnesses that all requirements for final proof had been met, as well as payment of final fees.
     quit claim (PG) – A legal instrument which is used to transfer interest in real property. The entity transferring its interest is called the grantor, and when the quitclaim deed is properly completed and executed it transfers any interest the grantor has in the property to a recipient, called the grantee.
     selling relinquishment (TLW 11; THGY 16)
     claim shanty (SSL 6, 15, 27-29, 31-32; TLW 1, 7, 13, 23, 33; LTP 2, 6, 11, 13; THGY 1-3, 14, 19-20, 24, 28-29; PG)
     take a claim / take up a claim (SSL 1, 28, 31; TLW 10, 25; LTP 8, 13; THGY 17) – To have filed on a parcel of land under the U.S. Public Land Laws.
     tree claim (SSL 29; THGY 19-20, 23, 28; PG)