Homestead records! I had heard so many good things about these records and was so excited to find ancestors who had these.
So today I’m going to focus on Sylvester Erway, my 4x great-grandfather. He was born to Daniel and Hilah (Clark) Erway on 8 March 1827 in New York. ((Michigan, “Death Records, 1897-1920,” database and images, Library of Michigan, (http://seekingmichigan.org : accessed 29 March 2018), entry for Sylvester Erway, 12 Mar 1908, citing Michigan Department of Community Health, certificate register no. 2, stamped 63.))
By 1853, Sylvester had applied for some land in Midland County:((Sylvester Erway (Midland County) cash entry file, certificate no. 7199, Genesee, Michigan, Land Office; Land Entry Papers, 1800-1908; Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49, National Archives, Washington D.C. [Best copies available].))
It is hereby certified, That,in pursuance of Law, Sylvester Erway of Midland County, the Lot or North half of North East quarter and North half of North West quarter of Section No Twelve (12) in Township No. Sixteen (16) of Range No. One (1) West containing One Hundred and Sixty acres, at the rate of __ dollar and fifty cents per acre, amounting to Eighty dollars and __ cents, for which the said Sylvester Erway has made payment in full as required by law.
Now therefore be it known, That, on presentation of this Certificate to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the said Sylvester Erway shall be entitled to receive a Patent for the lot above described. [Date 19 September 1853]
According to a Midland County biography, Sylvester “came to Edenville Township, Midland County, arriving the last days of November, 1854… his marriage was the first event of the kind within the limits of Midland County. His first business movement was to buy 160 acres of land. It was in an unbroken state of nature, and of the 100 acres he now owns he placed 60 acres under cultivation. He sold 60 acres in 1858 to his brother. ((Chapman Brothers, Portrait and Biographical Album of Midland County, Mich. : Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of all the Governors of Michigan and of the Presidents of the United States : also Containing a Complete History of the County, from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time {Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1884), 222; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 June 2014); locate through database of same title.))
The marriage mentioned was to Julia Bowman 6 April 1855. By 1860, Sylvester was farming in Midland County with his wife and two young daughters (one of whom is my 3x great-grandmother, Isadora Erway), and lived next door to his father, Daniel, and to his wife’s uncle. It was a small area at the time and there was a lot of family nearby. ((1860 U.S. Census, Midland County, Michigan, population schedule, Jerome Township, sheet 21 (penned), dwelling 168, family 168, Sylvester Erway household; image and index, Ancestry.com(http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 March 2018); citing NARA microfilm T653, roll 543))
For homestead records to be complete, Sylvester needed proof that he had actually settled and cultivated the land as required. He had, by April 1856, “erected thereon one Log House and cleared about three acres of laid lands” He needed other voices besides his own to prove that though. In come Edward N. Burton, who writes in stating that this is true. This Edward N. Burton was a neighbor who also owned about 160 acres of land. I get the impression that this area had many homesteaders who seemed to all look out and support each other. ((Sylvester Erway (Midland County) cash entry file, certificate no. 7199, Genesee, Michigan, Land Office; Land Entry Papers, 1800-1908; Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49, National Archives, Washington D.C. [Best copies available]. Also David Burton (Midland County), cash entry file, certificate no. 7685, Genesee, Michigan, Land Office; Patent image, U.S. Department of the Interior (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ : accessed 5 June 2014).))
Now, the great thing is, I can take that information of where his land was and map it out to what it would look like today. Funny enough, the property that he owned was just north and west of where I did my student teaching. I had had no idea how close I had been to that land during that time! What I’d really like to do (and plan to) is see what had happened to that land over the years – did it stay in the family? I know it’s still farming land to this day. I wonder if there are any remnants of the original homestead still around!
