The Des Moines River Land Grant Case of 1872

They had little money. Without knowing what they might find at the end of their journey, they traveled to a port in Sweden, then a long and dangerous trip across the Atlantic Ocean to a port in the United States. They traveled for weeks by foot, horse, and boat to their destination. And there, in Iowa, they laid down roots, buying land as they were able.

They became citizens. Sent their children to school. Participated in local government. Buried their families. And at least one of our ancestors was stripped of his land by the U. S. Government, lost it all through no fault of his own.

If I put the best spin on this sad tale, it was a huge debacle. A mistake of monumental proportions. But whether you believe that is true, or there was a more sinister design behind it, our ancestor, for all of his hard work, was literally dragged off of his farm by the local sheriff and lost everything, his land and his home. 160 acres. Improved on and farmed. Home built. And all he received for his efforts was $800 from the Government.

This is a complicated case, one that went all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court for a final decision. And the ancestor I'm describing is John Barquist, Sr., my 3rd great grandfather, father to our Maria Barquist Olofson.

John Barquist, Sr., had immigrated with his family from Sweden in 1857, traveling through Illinois as we saw in a previous post. Making his way to Webster County, Iowa, John and his family settled near the Des Moines River, in Township 86, Range 27, and there they purchased 160 acres along the Des Moines River, noted as being the West 1/2 of the NE quarter and the East 1/2 of the NW quarter, as seen below:

86N, 27W, 160 acres purchased by John Barquist, West of Washington Avenue and South of Hwy 175

This land was surveyed, divided into townships (36 square miles), range and section (one square mile within the township) and then sold through land offices. In Iowa, this land was sold through the Iowa Homestead Company. But the U.S. Government had held some farm land to give as "partial payment" and "bonus" to those men who had served in the military previously, including in the Revolutionary War and the Mexican War. From the warrant below, you can see that the original owner of the land was Private Samuel Hicks. And through Thomas Dale, the land eventually was sold to John Barquist in 1866.

The 160 acres described above was signed over from Samuel Hicks, through Thomas Dale, to John Barquist on June 1, 1866

You can see a better copy of the above land warrant at the Bureau of Land Management site. Search page is here.

And so, all of this seems to be tidy, legal, authorized by the president, Andrew Johnson. John Barquist thought so, too. He built his home, cleared the 160 acres, and farmed the land. That is, until he learned that the land was erroneously given to the soldiers. Instead of purchasing this land that he thought was free and clear, John Barquist became embroiled in law suits, legal claims, sheriffs coming to his door, and finally a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. And in the end, John and several hundred other Iowa farmers along the Des Moines River had to relinquish all claims to their land. 

Perhaps you remember from an earlier post about John Linn that he worked on a dam in Des Moines for a company known as the Des Moines Navigation and River Company. It is that company that filed suit, laying claim to the land that was in odd numbered sections along the Des Moines River from the Raccoon juncture all the way north to Fort Dodge. The land, they argued, was theirs, everything within 5 miles of the river itself in the odd numbered sections from Raccoon Forks north to Fort Dodge.

The Des Moines Navigation and River Company was incorporated in 1854 with 3 of the 10 original owners being men named Litchfield. Those of us who have lived in that area know the name Litchfield, Litchfield Realty, and many people today still harbor ill feelings about this company. The first lawsuit Litchfield was involved in was Dubuque and Pacific Railroad v Litchfield. In this suit, it was held that the land grant did not extend above the Raccoon Forks. With that decision in 1859, land was being sold up and down the Des Moines River to settlers. But in 1867, the Commissioner of the GLO said that settlers who had purchased before the original grant in 1846 would be able to keep their land, but later purchasers could not.

Litchfield was involved in lawsuits in both Webster and Hamilton counties. Individual farmers were sued by Litchfield. 

During the lawsuits and challenges, bills were passed in the U.S. Congress to give relief in the courts to those families who farmed on the disputed land; but President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bills twice. 

In trying to seek relief, the Iowa Secretary of State wrote the following in 1872:

These people have acted in good faith in the effort to secure homes for themselves and their families. They have spent years of earnest toil, aside from the investment of all their means. In this course, they have walked in the light of the counsel they have received from the authorities of the State and Nation. With patents of the United States as their muniment of title, they have been turned out of their homes by the strong arm of the law. Some have been imprisoned because they have not obeyed the decrees of the courts to give possession. Several hundred suits are now pending in the State and Federal Courts against the settlers, all of which must be decided in favor of the plaintiffs, and these unfortunate people rendered homeless.

It's clear that these farmers had the sympathy of some attorneys, legislators, and their communities; but in the end they had purchased land that was not for sale. They had to relinquish the land and then were paid the appraised value of the land, minus any amount owed the government. There was no restitution for improvements they made. 

In John Barquist's settlement, it was noted that the value of the land was $800, but the value of the improvements he had made was $5,741. Still, he only saw the $800.

John didn't live long enough to see all of the lawsuits finally end in around 1887. He died in 1878. He and his wife Margaret, who died in 1890, are buried in the Hardin Township Cemetery.

Some believe that the settlers were aware, or should have been aware, of the disputes along the Des Moines River and should not have bought that land. But others believe that these settlers, some with limited English skills, bought in good faith and were entitled to just compensation. 

There is much more to read on this fascinating bit of history that involved at least one our ancestors. 

And just a side note: In talking with my mom this week, I asked her about the disputed land. While she didn't know that John Barquist had lost his land, she did know that the odd numbered parcels were the Litchfield parcels. And if you ask her about her opinion of Litchfield, it would not be a good one. This river land issue and resulting law suits happened in the 1860's and 1870's, yet my mother had learned about it when she married into the Linn family in 1946, at least 80 years after. The hard feelings had clearly prevailed all of those years.

Further readings:

U.S. Supreme Court Case 1887

Report of the Iowa Secretary of State to the Governor You will see on a chart in this document that each parcel of land is in an odd numbered section; John Barquist's was in Section 23 of Township 86, Range 27.

History of the River Lands