The Heritage Gazette
Copyright 2010 Burks-Blake Company
Chancery Records
Oklahoma Land Rush
On April 22, 1889 at 12:00 noon, bugles blew and the wild Oklahoma Land Rush began! Settlers
lined up on the Arkansas and Texas borders of Oklahoma and raced forward on horses, wagons, on the Santa Fe train and
on their own two feet to be the first to claim their 160 acre homestead. As they rushed forward, many were disappointed
to see that illegal settlers had already staked out claims on choice land before legally allowed to.
Because of this
many claims were challenged in court. Once the settlers claimed their land, they were required to live on it and improve
it. This was the first of five land runs for land that was once Indian land. Land lotteries and land auctions
were also utilized to settle this area.
To keep record of all the claims, tract books were kept
by the federal government. These books list people who applied for homesteads in the Oklahoma Territory but are usually entered
by land description. Categories include description and content of tract, purchase money which was actually
an entry fee, name of homesteader, date of application, date of patent and number of receipt or certificate of purchase.
These tract books have been microfilmed and more information is available at the following website. http://www.sirinet.net/~lgarris/swogs/tract.html
Another land rush was the Cherokee Strip Land Run in 1893. Names for homesteaders for that run can be found at http://www.ausbcomp.com/~bbott/winrr/CherokeeStrip.htm.
Also, more names can be found on the 1890 Oklahoma Territory census at the folloing website.
Chancery records have been around for hundreds of years. They began in medieval times and during
the reign of King Edward III it became a court of law. Chancery records are for courts of law where decisions are based
on equity or fairness. These courts are different than other courts as decisions are not based on rules of common law.
These
courts of law are used for disputes on land, property, inheritance, injury, wills, orders, divorce, businesses and more. A complaint
is made and evidence is presented. Evidence can be surveys, accounts, documents, deeds, receipts and other information. Witnesses
are called and the defendant responds. An impartial judge considers the evidence and makes a decision based on what is fair
to both the plaintiff and defendant.
For genealogists these chancery records offer a plethora of
information. They contain not only the names of the plaintiffs and defendants but also names of family, witnesses, judges,
clerks and others. Locations and dates are also given. Depending on what is in the evidence, one can also obtain
biographical and historical information from these records. With information and clues from these chancery records,
you might find just what you need for your ancestor and especially for that hard to find ancestor.
To find chancery records online do a search on chancery records in the location you suspect your ancestor lived. Also,
if your ancestor was a defendant, the record could be in the state or county where the plaintiff lived. The Library of
Virginia has a collection of chancery records.
Below is the link to that website.