Joseph Zenophile Lanctot Land Records - Part 11

See previous posts here.


This is the 11th and final installment of this Land Records Series for my 2nd great grandfather.    I must say, I'm going to miss it a little bit.  However, the wealth of information I have gained from posting these records to my blog is ... well, priceless.  I really think that had I not transcribed these documents word-for-word, there are a lot of details I might have missed.  That would have been tragic.


I'm not really sure what this last document is.  It appears to be a cover of some sort for the land record file, but I can't be sure.  It consists of 4 small pages, and I'm really only assuming they all go together.  In any case, here they are:


=======================

Cr. Book, Vol. 4
Page 474


Cash No. 4290


L. O. Yankton, D.T.
Name:  Zenophile Lanctot
Tract: Nw


Sec. 13, Tp. 99w(?), R. 67N
Sept./85


Docket No. __, Page __
Recv'd for patent
Referred to Div. Oct 20/88
Anderson
ACTION:
Aug. 2, 1889. Non-alienation
W.C.H.


Approved: Mar 22 - 1890
[B??]
=======================

Pre. No. 3290
District  Yankton
No. of acres, 160
Errors in description, none
Date of Settlement, Aug 1-84
"    " Entry (in Hds.),
"    " Residence, "   "  "
"    " Proof, ??? 22-85*
"  Advertised, "  17-"
"  of Certificate, Sept. 9-"
Officer taking proof, Prob Judge
"  advertised, "     "
No. of weeks advertised, 6
Proof by Clmt.
Improvements, house 12x14; stable 12x16, well
   Value of 600.00
Acres broken, 65
"   in crop, ";
Kinds of crops, flax, wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, & garden
Residence claimed, 1 Yrs., -- Mos., 22 Days.
Military or Naval service claimed,  none
"     "    "     "  verified, 
No. of absences, none
   Total duration,
   Cause,
Naturalized
Claimant's family, wife & 2 children
Papers missing, none
Remarks, In the Prob Judge's letter to RTR
he states that he was absent from the county 
until Aug 22, the date to which all official 
business before the court was adjourned.
     Examined ___ day of ________, 188  .
[Rex Man?] Examiner.
=====================

    Clerks using these cards will be held to a strict
responsibility for all errors and omissions, and in
estimating their reliability and efficiency all such
errors and omissions will be considered.
    These cards to be used only for the purpose intended.
WILLIAM WALKER,
Chief Clerk.
Rule 9

=====================

No. 4290
CASH ENTRY
LAND OFFICE AT
Yankton, Dakota
NW4
Sec. 13, Town. 99, Range 67
Ds. 4583. ???
Aug 1, Sept 7/84. No ??
??


Approved Mar 22-1890
by B.F.C., Clerk.
Division 9
Patented May 6 1890
Recorded Vol 10, Page 56
14/83
=====================


*I know the proof was given Aug 22, 1885, but for the life of me, I could not make this jibberish "say" Aug or August or anything even remotely similar.


So basically, these pages are simply reiterating everything that's on all the other documents in this series ... with two exceptions: the date the patent was approved, and the date it was actually patented.  Two new pieces of information for my timeline!


One question I do have ... and perhaps someone who has some naturalization experience or some experience with land records can help answer this:  What does "Non-alienation" mean (page 1 under "action")?  Could that possibly be the date he received his certificate of naturalization?  Since I know the date of his Declaration of Intent, it shouldn't be that difficult to have a date range for his Petition and then his Certificate, right?  Ha!  This is definitely going to require further research into the immigration and naturalization process.  I don't even know where to begin looking ... I know the South Dakota State Historical Society doesn't have anything but his "first papers."  I guess I will have to look in some federal court records or something.  One more thing for my to-do list ...

Joseph Zenophile Lanctot Land Records - Part 10

See previous posts here.


I decided to post these next two documents together, partially because they're small and they are basically the same thing, but mostly because I can't figure out which one came first.  The first is a receipt from the Land Office and the second is a receipt from the Receiver's Office.  


===========================
No. 4290

Land Office at Yankton, Dakota

September 9th, 1885

It is hereby certified that, in pursuance of law, Zenophile Lanctot, residing at Darlington, in Charles Mix County, Dakota Ty, on this day purchased of the Register of this Office the ----- North West quarter ----- of Section No. Thirteen (13) in Township No. Ninety nine (99) north of Range No. Sixtyseven (67) west of the 5th Principal Meridian, containing 160 acres, at the rate of one dollar and 25 cents per acre, amounting to Two Hundred dollars and ___ cents, for which the said Zenophile Lanctot 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 Zenophile Lanctot shall be entitled to receive a Patent for the lot above described.

[G.A. Wetter], Register.

===========================

No. ????

Receiver's Office at Yankton Dak

September 9, 1885

Received from Zenophile Lanctot of Charles Mix County, Dakota, the sum of two hundred dollars and ---- cents; being in full for the North West*4 quarter of section No. 13, in Township No. 99, of Range No. 67, containing 160 acres and ---- hundredths, at $1.25 per acre.

$200.00                                      [J?? Chandler], Receiver.

===========================

To summarize: One acre of land in 1885 cost about a third of the price of a gallon of gas today.  That's pretty sobering.

Tomorrow ... Approval?

I'm leavin' on a jet plane ...

By the time you read this, I will be on my way to Portland, Oregon to visit my paternal kinfolk.  Don't be jealous ... okay, you can be a little jealous.  My grandmother says that she has ... wait for it ... scrapbooks!  (OMG!)  I am (obviously) taking my handy-dandy FlipPal scanner, a digital recorder, my camera, my laptop, my iPad and lots of batteries.  I can always buy clothes when I get there, I suppose.  Priorities, people.


I am also taking along the land records I found, as well as some of the pages I downloaded from Ancestry's updated yearbook collection, to share with Gramma.


I'm told we will likely visit my Aunt Marie, who has also done some family history research.  I think she will enjoy looking at the land records as much as I will enjoy seeing what other little gems she may possess that I haven't seen yet!  I even heard a rumor about a family barbeque ... yum!


Sometime in between visiting with family and friends, I plan on visiting the Clackamas Library.  They have a published Lanctot family history, and I intend on making a lot of copies, or at least a lot of scans.  I also hope to take some photos of our old house (even though I know it has undergone some renovations over the last 30-something years), the hospital where I was born, the high school where my grandfather taught, and the one my dad and his siblings attended, and other significant locations around Portland.


Whew!  I just hope I have time to do it all.  Sleep?  Who needs sleep?

Eliza(beth) Bourke/Burk Lanctot - Women's Equality Day

In honor of Women's Equality Day, I thought I would honor one of the pioneer women of Armour, South Dakota - my 2nd great grandmother, Eliza Bourke Lanctot, and give her an equal opportunity to be the focus of my frustration.

This may be a topic for a show on A&E or one of those other cable channels.

Let me explain.

Every time I find some clue about my 2nd great grandmother, Eliza (Bourke) Lanctot, I end up with more questions than answers.  I received her death certificate in the mail a couple of weeks ago and I was even more confused than before it arrived.  Either she was born a bunch of times or something's wrong.

• 2 Feb 1859 - written on her death certificate  
• 2 Feb 1860 - calculated using the age at death - 70 years, 10 months, 20 days - and subtracting from the date of death - 22 Dec 1930  
• 1861 - if you believe the 1880 federal census
• Feb 1861 - according to both the 1900 and 1910 federal censuses  
• 1862 - calculated according to the 1920 federal census
• 1861 - according to the 1930 federal census
• 2 Feb 1861 - the transcribed obituary lists this date.

For the record, I have not been able to find her original obituary.  The one I have is a transcription from a cousin and doesn't list the name of the paper or the exact date the obituary was published.  I am also still trying to get my hands on a birth certificate for her.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a straight answer about WHERE she was born, either!

• Michigan - according to the 1880 federal census
• Illinois - according to the 1885 territory census, and the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal censuses
• Michigan - so says her death certificate
• Greenbush, Michigan - her transcribed obituary even pinpoints the town of her birth

So, do I put more stock in the information contained in the 1880 census, when she lived with her parents - who likely would have remembered where she was born?  Or do I simply request her birth certificate from both states and see who has it?  Second problem - Michigan didn't start keeping official birth records until 1867, and Illinois didn't start until 1916.  I vented some of my frustration in an earlier post here.  It hasn't gotten any better.

One of the items on my list of things to do is to find a history of Armour, South Dakota to see if she is listed there.  It's a longshot (because she's a woman), but she was one of the state's few women to own and manage a hotel by herself - Armour House - so, maybe.

Now on to the really bizarre stuff in her death certificate.

She is listed as a white, widowed female ... so far, so good.  

Birthplace: Michigan.  Okay, whatever.  

Father's name: Zenophile.  Wait, what?  

Mother's name: Eliza Burke.  Umm ...

Do you ever feel like you're being punk'd?  Or look around looking for hidden cameras, expecting Allen Funt to jump out of a closet or something?  Welcome to my world.

The only thing I can come up with is that Art (Arthur) Lanctot, Eliza's son, was the informant for the certificate.  I can only imagine that he either misunderstood the questions, and thought the form meant HIS parents - and put Zenophile and Eliza down. I just can't come up with another explanation.  In any case, not such a big help, Art.

I am so completely and totally open to suggestions at this point.  I just want one straight answer.  Someone?  Anyone?  Beuller?