Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 12.djvu/422

 392 THIRTY—SEVENTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 75. 1862. Repeal ofin- SE;;, 20, And be it further enacted, That all acts and parts of acts °°“°'“t°"°1"" heretofore passed, which are inconsistent with any of the provisions of this act, are, for the purposes of this act, hereby repealed, so far as the same are inconsistent herewith. Approved, May 17, 1862. May 20, 1862- Cmr. LXXV`. —An Act to secure Hbmesteads to actual Settlers on the Public Domain. Be it enacted by the Senate and Hams of Representatives of the United Cmmpmous States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who is the may enter certain l1€2.d of B. family, OI` who l13S Rl'I'lVCd Ht the 3gG of hW9Uty·(lHC yB3.I‘S, and gsizuélggw 0*  is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration wpubgmn of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and who has never borne arms agamst the United States Government or given aid and comfort to its enemies, shall, from and after the hrst January, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, be entitled to enter one quarter section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands, upon which said person may have filed a preemption claim, or which may, at the time the application is made, be subject to preemption at one dollar and twenty-five cents, or less, per acre; or eighty acres or less of such unappropriated lands, at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, to be located in a. body, in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same shall have been surveyed: Provided, That any person owning and residing on land may, under the provisions of this act, enter other land lying contiguous to his or her said land, which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres. Such persons Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the person applying for the °°"‘“k“ 'md“"l' benefit of this act shall, upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the £dContt¤nm ofut* said register or receiver that he or she is the head of a family, or is m twenty-one years or more of age, or shall have performed service in the army or navy of the United States, and that he has never borne arms against the Government of the United States or given aid and comfort to its enemies, and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon filing the said atlidavit with the register or receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land spe- Certitlcates and cliied: Pr0vide¢L however, That no certificate shall be given or patent Hszzngffggnm issued therefor until the expiration of five years from the date of such whs; Pm0f: entry; and it; at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry; or, if he be dead, his widow; or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death; shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately suc- Amdtvih ceeding the time of filing the atlidavit aforesaid, and shall make aihdavit that no part of said land has been alienated, and that he has borne true allegiance to the Government of the United States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time a citizen of the United States, shall be Wn in entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided for by law: And provided, “£'°°,.'l'd‘wb of further, That in case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an applicant &c. infant child, or children, under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall enure to the benefit of said infant child or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children for the time being have their domicil, sell