Parsons Original Settlements in Jefferson County

The following is from the Bureau of Land Management Question and Answers.

Q. What's a land patent? A. Land patents document the transfer of land ownership from the federal government to individuals.

Q. How was the land sold or disposed of? A. The land was disposed of by the authority of many acts of Congress - sale, homesteads, military warrants for military service, timber culture, mining, etc. One of the primary purposes of these public land laws was to encourage people from the East to move West. In the early 1800's people could buy public land for $1.25 an acre. For a time, they could buy up to 640 acres under this law. Several Military Warrant Acts granted public land to soldiers instead of pay. The Homestead Act of 1862, allowed people to settle up to 160 acres of public land if they lived on it for five years and grew crops or made improvements. This land did not cost anything per acre, but the settler did pay a filing fee.

The colored blocks are the first Parsons settlers in the area. The white blocks are the Parsons who came after 1850. The number in the block is the last number of the date the land patent was issued. Its important to know that the land patent date is the issue date and not the date the property was settled. Before patents were issued surveys had to be made and paperwork completed. The "Alabama Fever" land rush delayed land patents issued by years.

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