William Kirmse received a Land Patent in 1910 for the land he homesteaded[1].

What

From the National Archives copy of Wilhelm Kirmse’s land entry file of Serial Patent Number 113523.  The original patent application was made in 1904. Included here is the paperwork for completing the land patent.

The definition of a Land Patent as given by Wikipedia is “A land patent is an exclusive land grant made by a sovereign entity with respect to a particular tract of land. To make such a grant “patent”, a sovereign (proprietary landowner) must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document (patent), and openly publish the documents for the public to see. An official land patent is the highest evidence of right, title, and interest to a defined area. It is usually granted by a central, federal, or state government to an individual or to a private company.”[2]

The right and title to land was held in trust by the United States until someone proved a claim to it, typically by improving the homestead parcel for a certain period of time. Once a proper claim has been filed, the General Land Office (now the Bureau of Land Management) certifies that the claimant has paid the necessary fees. Then, pursuant to the various land acts of Congress, the land is granted to the private owner by letters patent under the signature and seal of the President of the United States of America.[2]

A search of the Bureau of Land Management database for Kirmse Land Patent found the following:

And asking for more details found the following:

The following is the results of a requested search by the National Archives for land entry case files of the Wilhelm Kirmse Land Patent.  The first files shown here are the HOMESTEAD PROOF TESTIMONY documents.

In the Homestead Proof – Testimony of Claimant dated May 6, 1909, Wilhelm Kirmse witnesses that he has made improvements of a frame dwelling house 16×30 feet with shingle roof, frame barn 42×42 feet, well & windmill, orchard of 100 fruit trees, two miles of two wire fence, hen house, all worth one thousand dollars. He has cultivated one hundred acres and has raised crops thereon for five seasons.

What

From the National Archives copy of Wilhelm Kirmse’s land entry file of Serial Patent Number 113523.

When

The original file claim was completed March 23, 1904.  The patent completion date was February 23, 1910.  And, the patent was transmitted on March 6, 1910 – almost 6 years after the original filing.

Where

Goodwin, Ellis County, Oklahoma – The Wilhelm Kirmse homestead was about 1 mile east Goodwin, Oklahoma and about 7 miles southwest of Shattuck, Oklahoma.

Notes

1. National Archives for land entry case file of Serial Patent Number 113523 for the Wilhelm Kirmse Land Patent.
2. Wikipedia, Land Patent. downloaded 10 Oct 2015 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_patent