Homestead Proof – Testimony of Claimant
Robert C. Sutherland, being called as a witness on his own behalf in support of homestead entry no. 26063, for N 1/2 NE 1/4 of Section Two, in Tp 9 SR 9 W. La. Mer. testifies as follows:
Ques 1. – What is your name as you wish it to appear in your patent, age and post office address?
Ans. Robert C. Sutherland, age 28, Westlake
Ques 2. – Are you a native born citizen of the United States, and if so, in what state or territory were you born?
Ans. Yes. In the state of Iowa
Ques 3. – Are you the identical person who made homestead entry, No. 26063, at the New Orleans LA land office on the 2nd day of November 1903 and what is the true description of the land now claimed by you?
Ans. Yes. N 1/2 of NE 1/4 of Section Two in Tp 9 SR 9 W La Mer.
Ques 4. – When was your house built on the land and when did you establish actual residence therein? (Describe said house and other improvements which you have placed on the land, giving total value thereof)
Ans. In March 1904. House is 14 X 28. 2 Rooms, and 12 X 14 kitchen, and 2 Galleries. Barn 24 X 30. Chicken house. Well, garden, orchard, and fencing. Valuation $600.
Ques 5. – Of whom does your family consist; and have you and your family resided continuously on the land since first establishing residence thereon? (if unmarried, state the fact)
Ans. Wife and three children. Was batching for 9 mos since I married myself. And family has resided continuously on the land.
Ques 6. – For what period or periods have you been absent from the homestead since making settlement and for what purpose; and if temporarily absent, did your family reside upon and cultivate the land during such absence?
Ans. Absent for a week at a time, when attending to outside matters, my family was residing on the land during my temporary absence.
Ques 7. – How much of the land have you cultivated for each season and for how many seasons have you raised crops thereon? If used for grazing only, describe fencing, state, number, and kind of stock grazed and by whom owned.
Ans. About 8 acres. And has raised crops thereon. 6 seasons.
Ques 8. – Is your present claim within the limits of an incorporated town or selected site of a city or town, or used in any way for trade or business?
Ans. No
Ques 9. – What is the character of the land? Is it timber, mountainous, prairie, grazing, or ordinary agricultural land? State it’s kind and quality and for what purpose it is most valuable.
Ans. Stump land. Most valuable for farming and grazing.
…
(sign plainly with full Christian name) Robert C. Sutherland
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing testimony was read to the claimant before being subscribed and was sworn to before me this 18th day of September 1909, at my office at Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
J.W. Gardiner
Clerk of Court
Full testimony of George Pilley, LeRoy Smith, Robert C Sutherland:
Witness Testimony and Homestead Proof