Nebraska, Custer, Broken Bow Homestead Records, 1890-1908

What is in This Collection?

This collection includes case files for homestead applications and land applications for the years 1890 to 1908. The files are arranged chronologically and have final certificate numbers. The files are from the Bureau of Land Management and include documents required to qualify for a homestead, such as:

• Land descriptions
• Proof of citizenship affidavits
• Receipts
• Testimonies of witnesses

Related Broken Bow Land Office Collections

• Department of the Interior. General Land Office. Broken Bow (Nebraska) Land Office. 7/7/1890-ca. 6/30/1922 Organization Authority Record
• Record of Patents Delivered, 1886 - 1904
• Registers of Patents Delivered, 1890 - 1919
• Cash Files,1890-1908
• Homestead Final Certificates, 1890 - 1908
• Canceled Homestead Files, 1890 - 1908
• Serialized Land Entry Case Files That Were Canceled, Relinquished, or Rejected, ca. 1908 - ca. 1913
• Applications and Transfers, 1908 - 1922
• Timber Culture Files, 1890 - 1904

The Homestead Act of 1862 was signed into law after the secession of many southern states from the Union. This act allowed for settlement of land in unpopulated areas of America, establishing a land-acquisition system. The process required the applicant to file an application, improve the land over a five-year period, and then file for a deed. After the five years, the homesteader went to a local land office and requested the deed (or land patent) after paying a registration fee. That office forwarded the documentation to the General Land Office in Washington, DC, with a final certificate of eligibility.

Homestead National Historical Park

• Homesteading by the State
• Research
• Researcher Information
• Requesting Homestead Records

• Bureau of Land Management
• General Land Office Records

Related Collections

• Public Land Survey Township Plats, 1789 - 1946 NAID 566647 RG 49 Records of the Bureau of Land Management

Related Publications

• Roberta King Homestead Records: Cancelled, Contested, and Relinquished Entries. NGS Magazine 34 #1 (January-March 2008): 46-49.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:
Homestead application

Homestead proof:

• Witness statements

Final certificate:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1873 Homestead Application

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  1873 Homestead Proof

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  1880 Final Certificate