Don's Reading of the Land Records

 

John A. Johnson and Ida M. Johnson - Land Purchases
written in 2002 by Donald J Johnson

 

When the house and other belongings of our parents, Arthur and Ida Johnson, was being readied for sale, we ran across some interesting papers that had belonged to John A. and Ida M. Johnson.  The papers included deeds to the property that they had purchased in Delmore Township, McPherson County, Kansas.

 

SE ¼ 30-18-2 This ¼ section was originally homesteaded by Samantha Rusk, a widow, in 1874. John A. Johnson purchased the land from S.M. Hustad on October 28, 1876 for $600.

SW ¼ 20-18-2  Home Place - bought our homestead from James Muspratt, March 1, 1878, for the sum of $300.  Pre-emption filing June 24, 1888.  The homestead certificate has the signature of Benjamin Harrison (President of the United States) dated January 5, 1892.  According to the deed, this quarter was purchased after the quarter in section 30.

SE ¼ 20-18-2  This ¼ section was purchased from George and Elizabeth Holcomb in 1885 for $1400.  The Holcombs received their homestead rights in May 1862.

S ½ of NE ¼ 30-18-2  This eighty acre farm was purchased from the Maria Sophia Lundberg Estate on June 1, 1908, for $5,000.  Richard Lundberg purchased the north eighty for $5,000 at the same time.

80 acres northeast of Alamo, Texas, purchased in 1917.

 

John A. Johnson had a loan separate from the land purchases:
Chattel Mortgage on personal property April 25, 1892 (loan of $3200) from a company in Vermont. The document contained a list of properties. This must have been only a partial list of his personal property, as he surely had more than one horse.  Maybe the other property was already mortgaged.
One Gray Horse 7 years old,
Nine Cows of different ages, all now on our farm in Delmore Township, McPherson, Kansas.
One Self Binding Machine, One Mowing Machine,
One Hay Rake, One Sulky Plow, One Double Row,
Two Stirring Plows, Two Lumber Wagons,
Twenty Three Hogs, 
68 acres of growing wheat - about 53 acres of which are on the SE ¼ of Section 30 - the balance on SW ¼ Section 20 Range, 2 West,
35 acres of growing oats - about 20 acres are on the SE ¼ of Section 30. Tp. 18 Range 2
*Said mortgagors are to keep said animals in good condition at their own expense.

Maybe our grandparents wouldn’t have appreciated me recording all of this personal information, but it is sure interesting to me.  I was amazed as to how they had the nerve to purchase all that property, even with the low cost of land at the time.  They also constructed a nice house, as well as other buildings on the homestead.  The dollar would buy a lot more at that time, but just think how hard they must have worked to make that dollar.  I doubt that anyone could do that today.