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government, to the effort to prevent insolvent debtors from becoming useless members of society, and to the belief that such laws encourage the stability of the family. By the cessions of several of the older states, and by various See also:

TREATIES

treaties with See also:

FOREIGN

foreign countries, public lands have been acquired for the United States in every See also:

state and territory of the See also:

Union except the See also:

ORIGINAL

original thirteen, and See also:

Maine, See also:

VERMONT

Vermont, See also:

KENTUCKY

Kentucky, See also:

TENNESSEE

Tennessee and See also:

TEXAS

Texas. For a See also:

time they were regarded chiefly as a source of See also:

revenue, but about 1820, as the need of revenue for the See also:

PAYMENT (Fr. paiement, from payer, to pay; Lat. pacare, to appease, pax, peace)

payment of the See also:

NATIONAL

national debt decreased and the in-habitants of an increasing number of new states became eager to have the vacant lands within their See also:

BOUNDS, BEATING THE

bounds occupied, the demand that the public lands should be disposed of more in the See also:

INTEREST

interest of the settler became increasingly strong, and the homestead See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea originated. Until the See also:

ADVENT (Lat. Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, " the coming of the Saviour ")

advent of See also:

RAILWAYS

railways, however, the older states of the See also:

North were opposed to promoting the development of the \Vest in this manner, and soon afterwards the See also:

SOUTHERN

Southern representatives in See also:

CONGRESS (Lat. congressus, coming together, from congredi; cum, with, and gradus, step)

Congress opposed the See also:

general homestead bills in the interests of See also:

SLAVERY

slavery, so that except in isolated cases where settlers were desired to protect some frontier, as in See also:

FLORIDA

Florida and See also:

OREGON

Oregon, and to a limited extent in the See also:

case of the Pre-emption See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

Act of 1841 (see below), the homestead principle was not applied by the national government until the See also:

CIVIL

Civil See also:

War had begun. A general homestead See also:

BILL

bill was passed by Congress in 186o, but this was vetoed by See also:

PRESIDENT (Fr. president, from Lat. praesidens, post-Augustan Lat. for praeses, director, ruler, from praesidere, to sit in front of, preside)

President See also:

James See also:

Buchanan; two years later, however, a similar bill became a See also:

law. The act of 1862 originally provided that any See also:

CITIZEN (a form corrupted in Eng., apparently by analogy with " denizen," from O. Fr. citeain, mod. Fr. citoyen)

citizen of the United States, or applicant for citizenship, who was the head of a family, or twenty-one years of See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, or, if younger, had served not less than fourteen days in the See also:

army or See also:

NAVY

navy of the United States during an actual war, might apply for 16o acres or less of unappropriated public lands, and might acquire title to this amount of See also:

LAND

land by residing upon and cultivating it for five years immediately following, and paying such fees as were necessary to See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover the cost of See also:

ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration; a homestead acquired in this manner was exempted from seizure for any debt contracted See also:

prior to the date of issuing the patent. A See also:

COMMUTATION (from Lat. commutare, to change)

commutation clause of this act permitted title to be acquired after only six months of residence by paying $1.25 per See also:

acre, as provided in the Pre-emption Act of 1841. Act of 1872, amended in 1901, allows any soldier or See also:

SEAMAN, OWEN (1861– )

seaman, who has served at least ninety days in the army or navy of the United States during the Civil War, the See also:

SPANISH

Spanish-See also:

AMERICAN

American War or in the suppression of the insurrection in the Philippines, and was honourably discharged, to apply for a homestead, and permits the See also:

DEDUCTION (from Lat. deducere, to take or lead from or out of, derive)

deduction of the time of such service, or, if discharged on See also:

account of wounds or other See also:

DISABILITY

disability incurred in the See also:

LINE

line of See also:

DUTY (from " due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, dil, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. " debt ")

duty, the full See also:

TERM

term of his enlistment, from the five years otherwise required for perfecting title, except that in any case he shall have resided upon and cultivated the land at least one See also:

YEAR

year before the passing of title. Since x866 See also:

MINERAL

mineral lands have been for the most See also:

PART

part excluded from entry as homesteads. In accordance with the provisions of the homestead law, 718,930 homesteads, containing 96,495,414 acres, were established in See also:

FORTY

forty-two years, and besides this See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal act, Congress has passed several See also:

minor olxes of a like nature, that is, acts designed to benefit the actual settler who improves the land. Thus the Pre-emption Act of 1841 gave to any head of a family or any single See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person over twenty-one years of age, who was a citizen of the United States or had declared his intention to become one, permission to See also:

PURCHASE

purchase not to exceed 16o acres of public lands after he had resided upon and improved the same for six months; the See also:

TIMBER

Timber-Culture Act of 1873 allowed title to 16o acres of public See also:

PRAIRIE (adopted from the Fr. prairie, a meadow-tract. Late Lat. prataria, Lat. pratum, meadow)

prairie-land to be given to any one who should plant upon it 40 acres of timber, and keep the same in See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good growing See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition for ten years; and the See also:

DESERT

Desert-Land Act of 1877 gave to any citizen of the United States, or to any person who had declared his intention to become one, the See also:

PRIVILEGE

privilege of acquiring title to 64o acres of such public land as was not included in mineral or timber lands, and would not without See also:

IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation produce an agricultural See also:

CROP (a word common. in various forms, such as Germ. Kropf, to many Teutonic languages for a swelling, excrescence, round head or top of anything; it appears also in Romanic languages derived from Teutonic, in Fr. as troupe, whence the English " crupper "

crop, by paying twenty-five cents an acre and creating for the See also:

TRACT (from Lat. tractare, to treat of a matter, through Provencal tractat and Ital. trattato)

tract an artificial See also:

WATER

water-See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply.

These several land acts, however, invited See also:

FRAUD (Lat. fraus, deceit)

fraud to such an extent that in time they promoted the See also:

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of large land holdings by ranchmen and others quite as much as they encouraged See also:

settlement and cultivation, and so See also:

GREAT

great was this evil that in 1891 the Timber-Culture and Pre-emption Acts were repealed, the See also:

TOTAL

total amount of land that could be acquired by any one person under the several land laws was limited to 320 acres, the Desert-Land Act was so amended as to require an See also:

EXPENDITURE

expenditure of at least three dollars an acre for irrigation, and the original Homestead Act was so amended as to disqualify any person who was already proprietor of more than 16o acres in any state or Territory of the Union for acquiring any more land under its provisions; and in 1596 a residence of fourteen months was required before permitting commutation or the purchase of title. But even these See also:

MEASURES

measures were inadequate to prevent fraud. In 1894 Congress, in what is known as the See also:

Carey Act, donated to See also:

California, Oregon, See also:

Nevada, See also:

Washington, See also:

IDAHO

Idaho, See also:

MONTANA

Montana, See also:

UTAH

Utah, See also:

WYOMING

Wyoming, See also:

ARIZONA (from the Spanish-Indian Arizonac, of unknown meaning,—possibly " few springs,"-the name of an 18th-century mining camp in the Santa Cruz valley, just S. of the present border of Arizona)

Arizona, New See also:

Mexico and the Dakotas so much of 1.000,000 acres each of desert-lands as each should cause to be irrigated, reclaimed and occupied within ten years,' not less than 20 acres of each 16o acres to be cultivated by actual settlers; and in several of these states and territories irrigating companies have been formed and land offered to settlers in amounts not exceeding 16o acres to each, on terms requiring the settler to purchase ample and perpetual water-rights. In 1902, Congress appropriated the proceeds of the sales of public lands in these states and territories to See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form a reclamation fund to be used for ' In 1901 it was provided that the ten years should date from the segregation of the lands from the public domain.the construction and See also:

MAINTENANCE (Fr. maintenance, from maintenir, to maintain, support, Lat. manu tenere, to hold in the hand)

maintenance of irrigation See also:

WORKS

works, and lands reclaimed by this means are open to homestead entries, the entry-See also:

man being required to pay for the cost of reclamation in ten equal See also:

ANNUAL

annual instalments without interest. When Texas was admitted to the Union the disposal of its public lands was reserved to the state, and under its laws every person who is the head of a family and without a homestead may acquire title to 16o acres of land by residing upon and improving it for three years; every unmarried man eighteen years of age or over may acquire title to 8o acres in the same way. A See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short time before the National Homestead Act for aiding citizens to acquire homesteads went into operation, some of the state legislatures had passed homestead and exemption laws designed to protect homesteads or a certain amount of See also:

PROPERTY

property against loss to the owners in case they should become insolvent debtors, and by the See also:

close of the century the legislature of nearly every state in the Union had passed a law of this nature. These laws vary greatly. In most states the exemption of a homestead or other property from liability for debts can be claimed only by the head of a family, but in See also:

GEORGIA

Georgia it may be claimed by any aged or infirm person, by any trustee of a family of minor See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children, or by any person on whom. any woman or girls are dependent for support; and in California, although the head of a family may claim exemption for a homestead valued at $5000, any other person may claim exemption for a homestead valued at $1000. In some states exemptions may be claimed either for a See also:

FARM

farm limited to 40, 8o, 16o or 200 acres, or for a See also:

house and one or more lots, usually limited in See also:

SIZE

size, in a See also:

TOWN

town, See also:

VILLAGE

village or See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city; in other states the homestead for which exemption may be claimed is limited in value, and this value varies from $500 to $5000. With the homestead are usually included the See also:

APPURTENANCES (from late Lat. appertinentia, from appertinere, to appertain)

appurtenances thereto, and the courts invariably interpret the law liberally; but many states also exempt a specified amount of See also:

PERSONAL

personal property, including wearing See also:

APPAREL (from O. Fr. aparail, aparailler, mod. appareil, from Low Lat. adpariculare, to make fit. or equal)

apparel, See also:

FURNITURE (from " furnish," Fr. fournir)

furniture, provisions, tools, See also:

LIBRARIES

libraries and in some cases domestic animals and stock in See also:

trade. A few states exempt no homestead and only a small amount of personal property; See also:

MARYLAND

Maryland, for example, exempts only $See also:

LOO (formerly called " Lanterloo," Fr. lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song)

loo See also:

worth of property besides See also:

MONEY

money payable in the nature of See also:

INSURANCE

insurance, or for See also:

RELIEF

relief, in the event of sickness, injury or See also:

DEATH

death. To some debts the exemption does not usually apply; the most See also:

COMMON

common of these are taxes, purchase money, a debt secured by See also:

MORTGAGE

mortgage on the homestead and debts contracted in making improvements upon it; in Maryland the only exception is a See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment for See also:

BREACH (Mid. Eng. breche, derived from the common Teutonic root brec, which appears in " break," Ger. brechen, &c.)

breach of promise to marry or in case of See also:

SEDUCTION (from Lat. seducere, to lead astray)

seduction.

If the homestead belongs to a married person, the consent of both See also:

HUSBAND

husband and wife is usually required to mortgage it. Finally, some states require that the homestead for which exemption is to be claimed shall be previously entered upon See also:

RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record, others require only occupancy, and still others permit the homestead to be designated whenever a claim is presented. Following the example of either the United States Congress or the state legislatures, the governments of several See also:

BRITISH

British colonial states and provinces have passed homestead laws. In See also:

QUEBEC

Quebec every iettler on public lands is allowed, after receiving a patent, an exemption of not to exceed 200 acres from that of his widow, of his, her or their children and descendants in the See also:

DIRECT

direct line. In See also:

Ontario an applicant for a homestead may have not to exceed 200 acres of unappropriated public land for farming purposes by See also:

BUILDING

building a house thereon, occupying it for five years, and bringing at least fifteen acres under cultivation; the exemption of such a homestead from liability to seizure for debts is, however, limited to twenty years from the date of application for the land, and does not extend even during that See also:

period to rates or taxes. See also:

MANITOBA

Manitoba, British See also:

COLUMBIA

Columbia, See also:

QUEENSLAND

Queensland, New See also:

South See also:

WALES (Cymru, Gwalia, Cambria)

Wales, South See also:

AUSTRALIA

Australia, See also:

West Australia and New See also:

ZEALAND (also SEALAND Or SEELAND; Danish Sjaelland)

Zealand also have liberal homestead and exemption laws. See J. B. Sanborn, " Some See also:

POLITICAL

Political Aspects of Homestead Legislation," in The American See also:

HISTORICAL

Historical See also:

REVIEW (Fr. revue, from revoir, to see again, Lat. re and videre)

Review (1900) ; See also:

EDWARD

Edward See also:

MANSON, GEORGE (1850-1876)

Manson, " The Homestead Acts," in the See also:

Journal of the Society of See also:

COMPARATIVE

Comparative Legislation (See also:

LONDON

London, 1899); S. D. See also:

Thompson, A See also:

TREATISE

Treatise on Homesteads and Exemptions (See also:

San Francisco, 1886) ; P. See also:

BUREAU (a Fr. word from burel or bureau, a coarse cloth used for coverings)

Bureau, Le Homestead ou l'Insaisissabilite de la petite propriete fonciere (See also:

Paris, 1894), and L.

Vacher, Le Homestead aux Etats-Unis (Paris, 1899). (N. D.

End of Article: HOMESTEAD AND EXEMPTION LAWS

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