It’s not a family secret, but few people know my great-grandmother, Anna M. Gleeson (1860-1912), was naturalized as a single woman and got 160 acres of land from the federal government.
She was born on 13 February 1860 in Carleton County, Ontario, Canada, to John Gleeson and Margaret Tierney.[1] In 1879, the family, including her nine brothers and sisters, moved to Davison County in Dakota Territory, first living in Mitchell, the county seat.
On 7 October 1880, she and her brother, Martin, filed their intent to naturalize.[2] On the same day, she also made a claim on 160 acres of federal land. This land included portions of sections 9 and 10 of township 104 in range 60. Six months later, she petitioned to settle the claim and purchase the land for $1.25 per acre totaling $200. At the time she made her proof, she said she had built a one-story 14 by 16-foot framed house and had broken 16 acres of land.[3]
Her father, John, her brother, Martin, and her brother, John J, obtained land, too. Since their land was near one another, she likely had help with building her house and breaking her land. The paperwork does not say where her house was located in the 160 acres.
After mapping out the land her father and her brothers purchased, it is possible that they built their homes and broke the soil near each other. That way, they could help each other. Note, that section in red in Section 10 belongs to Martin.
Sometime in the next year, she married John H. Sullivan, a neighbor to her brother, Martin’s homestead land in Section 5.
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1. St. Philip Church, Richmond, Carleton Co, Ontario, Canada, "Regi Rich 2 1845-1868," 1860, no. 6, Ann Gleeson, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYWH-SXC); IGN 005106839, image 176 of 566.
2. Davison Co, Dakota Territory, 2nd Judicial District, naturalization record, first papers, 1878-1880, p 40, Martin Gleeson, p. 41, Ann Gleeson, 1880, imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WY-Z1K4); IGN 007191199, image 636 of 885.
3. Land Entry Papers, 1800-1908; Record Group 49; Records of the Bureau of Land Management; National Archives, Washington, D.C., Ann Gleeson (Davison County) homestead file, final certificate no. 14038, Mitchell, South Dakota, Land Office.
#52Ancestors-Week 9: Family Secret
This is my eighth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe.
I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family (https://mam-massouthernfamily.blogspot.com/) or My Trails into the Past (https://mytrailsintothepast.blogspot.com/). I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
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