Josiah Cyprian

Quick Facts

Significance:

Louisiana Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Henry Cooper Plantation on the Tchefuncte River about 15 miles near Madisonville in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

Date of Birth:

Abt 1840

Place of Death:

Folsom, Louisiana

Date of Death:

February 26, 1923

Around the age of 18 or 20, Josiah Cyprian enlisted on August 17, 1864, in Company G, 10th Regiment of United States Colored Heavy Artillery Volunteers at the Touro Building in New Orleans. He was discharged on 22 February 1867. He married his first wife Arina (Rena M. Linton) in 1868, and they later divorced on July 9, 1892 in the St. Tammany Parish district court in Covington, Louisiana.

Josiah applied for an invalid pension #971991 on October 18, 1890 and resided in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. He married his second wife, Alice Cecelia Lotten, on November 6, 1895, in the presence of the following witnesses (Rev. Joshua Penn, Joseph Cuprier, George Richardson, and Alice Brown). Alice Lotten was born in North Carolina in 1838 and was a midwife in Louisiana, and Josiah was a farmer.

Despite Josiah Cyprian’s disabilities, at the age of 60-years-old, he submitted Homestead Application #18603 at the New Orleans Land Office on October 28, 1897, for 40.44 acres. This land is located at the SW 1/4 of NE 1/4 Sec.8 Township 5 South of Range 10 East Staint Helena Meridian. He could read and write, and his signature was on the application.

The land was ordinary pine land suitable for farming. The actual residence was inhabited on November 18, 1897 and Josiah cleared 18 acres. Improvements also included a log dwelling house, barn, and stable, valued at $300.00.

In addition, his household included his wife and ten children. Their names and birthdates were in the invalid pension record (Laura, 2 September 1866; Joseph; 20 August 1868; Emma, 22 September 1870, John, 26 May 1872, Mathew, 23 February 1872; Martha, 13 March 1877; Luke, 15 October 1881; Mark, 20 December 1883; Joshua, 20 January 1885; and Sarah, 19 September 1887.)

The St. Tammany Farmer is a weekly newspaper and listed the following witnesses to testify on behalf of Josiah: B Neil, Emile Baham, Robert Brown, and Tom Cyprian from Verger, Louisiana. This notice was certified by Register - Walter L. Cohen, and 42-year old B Neil, and 30-year-old Emile Baham corroborated Josiah's testimony about the length of time he lived on the land and about the improvements.

Josiah Cyprian received his Land Patent Certificate #11840 on December 21, 1904.

Upon the death of Josiah in 1923, Alice Cyprian filed for the widow's pension #WC 1205391 on May 14, 1923. She had two children, and the other children were from Josiah’s first wife Rena. Five of those children were still alive during her many discussions with the Pension Board to obtain money she needed to survive at her old age. Alice had several disputes about the homestead land with the remaining adult children and later died in August 1928 in Folsom, Louisiana.

Patent Details - BLM GLO Records

~ contributed by Bernice Alexander Bennett

Bernice Bennett
Photo Credit: B. Bennett

Bernice Alexander Bennett is an award-winning author, genealogist, nationally recognized guest speaker, storyteller, and producer-host of the popular Research at the National Archives and Beyond BlogTalkRadio program. She is also the first recipient of the Ida B. Wells Service Award given by the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage for her dedication to broadcast stories about enslaved and indentured ancestors of African descent. She also received the Elizabeth Clark-Lewis Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Genealogy Award in 2019 for original research in support of African American Genealogy. Bennett is on the Board of Directors for the National Genealogical Society. Her genealogical research is focused on Black Homesteaders.