If family history is part
of the conversation, Maggie and her homesteading adventure often comes up. After featuring her in a previous blog post, I was compelled to attempt to put
together the pieces of her real estate adventures; albeit not very pretty.
Once I had waded through
the documents and had begun to get a picture of the coming and going of Maggie's
property way out there in Oregon, I was ready to tap into the internet in an
effort to pinpoint exact locations. It didn't take long to realize that Wallowa
County is a beautiful place. So much so, that it has been labeled one of the
seven wonders of Oregon.
But back to Maggie's not so beautiful tale of real estate woes. She and her two brothers arrived in 1903 and by 1909 U. S. Government Land Records indicate that the siblings started out with 160 acres each. Additional acreage appears for Maggie in 1922 and 1923 indicating and additional 120 acres.
Without going into all
the details of borrowing and paying back and borrowing again and of all things
buying more lots in town, she managed to hold on for a period of time until she
lost the acres out in the beautiful mountain country. This acreage
was located approximately ten minutes NW of town by modern travel. But back to Maggie's not so beautiful tale of real estate woes. She and her two brothers arrived in 1903 and by 1909 U. S. Government Land Records indicate that the siblings started out with 160 acres each. Additional acreage appears for Maggie in 1922 and 1923 indicating and additional 120 acres.
Joe
If I understand the facts correctly she was to pay the woman holding the mortgage enough to cover the taxes but failing that, the property was to be advertised for sheriff sale. The woman holding the mortgage agrees to bid the amount to cover the judgment she has brought against Maggie if Maggie agrees to release all rights to the property. This is where I begin to get lost in the legalese but apparently that is how it went down and the homestead acreage is lost at this point.
