Charles Cyprien

Quick Facts

Significance:

Louisiana homesteader

Place of Birth:

Louisiana

Date of Birth:

about 1862

Place of Death:

Tangipahoa, Lousiana

Date of Death:

April 2, 1934

Place of Burial:

unknown

Charley (Charles) Cyprien filed his claim for 80.09 acres under the Homestead Act of 1862. The land’s official description is the S1/2 of SE1/4 of Section Two in Township Five South and Range Eight East of the St. Helena Principal Meridian. The original application date was January 28, 1882.

In March of that year, he built a pine log house 20x20 feet with the help of his neighbors and friends. He also cleared another 15 acres for planting crops. He fenced in four acres of land using the trees he felled. In his affidavit, he testifies to being a voting citizen of the 5th ward of Tangipahoa Parish between 1882 and 1888. He paid his taxes at the Amite City courthouse, found in the heart of the parish. Amite City is located on State Highway 51, about a thirty-minute drive north of Hammond.

By law, it was required to make a public post regarding land. The local newspaper, “The Independent,” ran his advertisement for 6 consecutive printings. The publisher, R. W. Read, signed a notarized message that he had received payment and printed the notices. The post includes the names of Charles’ proposed Proof of Witnesses: Russell Robertson, Edward Dixon, Frederick Robertson, and Alfred A. Wright. He relied on them to provide information about his law-abiding claim for the property.

Charles waited until April 2nd, 1888, to give his affidavit for proof to the Land Office in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The two witnesses interviewed by the registrar were Edward Dixon and Alfred A. Wright. Each testified that Charles had lived on the tract since March 2, 1882. He lived alone for the first few years, but in 1886, he brought home a wife, and they now had a child. Both witnesses also said he had raised crops on the 15 acres of farmland for the past 4 years. The crops included corn, cotton, potatoes, and rice. Other improvements included three cabins, a corn crib, and two small outhouses.

Charles testified that he owned three shovel plows, a jack plow, a cotton scraper, two harrows and six hoes for the past four years. Livestock included three horses, five head of cattle, and 20 hogs. Furniture in his homestead included two tables, five chairs, two beds and two armoires. At the time of the report, he had already raised 45 bushels of corn, 170 bushels each of potatoes and rice, and a bale and a half of cotton each harvest.

Charles and Alfred both signed their names on official statements and documents. Their ability was unusual and spoke of education. In the 1940 census, Charles was recorded as being around 75 years old, a single black male, widowed, living alone in a rented house. He was actually 78 years old because he had estimated his birth around the year 1865. It also noted that he had completed 7th grade.

The law allowed that between five and seven years, the claimant, with testimony from two witnesses, could “prove up” their claim to the land. Persons wishing to gain the patent before this time limit could “commute” their entries by paying a minimum fee per acre. Charles paid seven dollars for his 80.09 acres.

Patents sometimes took six or seven years to be issued because the General Land Office needed to adjudicate them. This didn’t change until the Act of March 3, 1891, which stated patents must be completed within two years.

Patent Details - BLM GLO Records

~ Researched and contributed by Laura Wright, MSN

More about the contributor: Wright is an accomplished WGU Master-prepared Informatics registered nurse, professional writer, and National Park Service volunteer. She was born and raised a Texan who married her high-school sweetheart. They raised their three children at home and abroad while serving in the United States Armed Forces. After 26 years of homeschooling, she transitioned into professional careers as an EMT-basic, firefighter, and nurse(UTHSC-SA).