The Land They Bought

Many immigrants came to the United States for the opportunity to own land. In Sweden, with the exception of just a couple of my ancestors, none of the Linns, Olofsons, Barquists, Anderssons, Rasks, and others were able to own a piece of land. While there are other reasons for migration (religious freedom, escape military service, and more), being able to own land was a very important reason for our ancestors to leave their family, friends, and homes.

Here is just a brief look at some of our ancestors' early land purchases:

Peter and Sophia Linn: Arrived in Iowa in 1851.

Through the Bureau of Land Management, they purchased 40 + 20 acres of land in Boone County on June 5, 1866. Township 85 North; Range 27 West, Section 3. Link here: Description of Land

Gustus and Catharine Lundblad Linn: Arrived in Iowa in 1853. By 1855, Gus and Catharine were buying and selling land.

One early transfer of land  on 24 May 1855 when Gus (grantor) to Peter Runyan (grantee), a man who had been born in 1787 in New Jersey and had made his way to Iowa and Boone County where he died in 1871. 

Also in 1855, Gus was on the purchasing side of land on 14 August 1855 from Andrew Kaulson; and on 4 September 1855, Gus sold land to Charles Munson. 

John and Marget Barquist: Arrived in Iowa in 1858.

Through the Military Scrip Warrant Act of 1855, the Barquists were able to purchase land along the Des Moines River that had been gifted to a Civil War soldier as payment and appreciation for his service. The 160-acre Barquist land in Webster County was bought on June 1, 1866. Township 86 North,  Range 27 West, Section 23. Link here: Description of Land. As you may recall, this is the land that was forcibly taken from John and Marget with the lawsuits going to the US Supreme Court for a final decision.

 John Linn: Arrived in Iowa in 1849. 

I'm not quite certain when John and Brita OR John and Sarah bought their first land, but on 3 May 1856, John and Sarah sold land to the School District of Hardin Township in Webster County for $10 to be used  to build a school. It was in Township 86, Section 26, Range 27 and contained 80 square rods which computes to half an acre.

 

The above plat map for Dayton and Hardin Townships was from 1909, much later than the sale of land in 1856. The owners of land clearly are not the same as they would have been in 1856. But we can see the Des Moines River and, to the right, sections 27 and then 26. It is in Section 26, around the name Berglund, that the school would have been built.

An accounting for the school shows that John Linn continued to support the school by giving money to a teacher fund, being paid $1.30 for a bucket and a tin cup for the school (1860), being paid $2.00 for work and lumber furnished for the school house (1860). This information was all found in a very brittle book on the accounting of the Hardin school. 

In 1859, I also show John Linn owning 80 acres in Section 27 of Hardin Township. For a time, he co-owned it with a man named Frederick Carlson, no relation that I can determine.

While these are just a few of the early purchases of Iowa land by our ancestors, many were busy buying and selling land during their first few years in the state. Through assessor's books, BLM online information, news articles and plat maps, I have put this brief look together. I hope it gives you an appreciation of our ancestors' desire to own land and become part of their communities.