When the Missouri Territory was established just after the Louisiana Purchase by Thomas Jefferson, the land claims of thousands of settlers from the Gulf to the Canadian border were affected. In this set of records, American, Spanish and French settlers prior to the Louisiana Purchase, laid their claims before the Commissioners to have them verified. Almost all of these claimants stated where the claim is located, but the best information comes from the "witness" who goes into much more detail about the claimant and their background. At this early stage of the record keeping, this witness is likely to say that the claimant settled in XXX year coming from XXX state with a wife and XXX number of children. If an claimant files on more than one piece of land, there might be multiple witnesses.
(2021), 2024, 8½x11, paper, index, 292 pp.
ISBN: 9780788493416
101-MO0654
