Richard Nelson

Quick Facts

Significance:

Florida Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Born in Georgia

Date of Birth:

1814

Richard Nelson was born in 1814 and his wife Milly was born in 1823 both in Georgia. They were living in Gadsden County, Florida at the time of his homestead application.

Richard was 52 years old when he submitted application number 5 for 80 acres of land at the Land Office in Tallahassee, Florida on September 7, 1866. He initially settled on the land on August 28, 1866.

Richard’s claimant testimony for his homestead application was on November 27, 1871, and his witnesses were Frank Nelson and Sherrod McCall. Frank was a relative of Richard. Frank and Sherrod testified jointly with Richard about the homestead and stated to have known him for 20 years. In addition, they verified that this was Richard's exclusive home that he settled on December 28th, 1866, and that he cultivated about 50 acres of land. The improvements consisted of building a house of logs with a shed house attached, and he also plowed and fenced the land. Richard made other improvements that included building a corn crib, cotton house, smokehouse, fowl house, and stables.

The homestead application was approved on November 27, 1871. On January 6, 1873 Richard received his final Homestead Land Patent Certificate #5. He paid $7 and could not read or write. Hence, he signed his documents with an X as his name.

Around the time of his patent, Richard was the head of a family that consisted of a wife and five children. Further research revealed in the 1870 Census that Richard and Milly lived with their children Richard (17), Rebecca (15), Betsy (10) and James (8), and Phil (6). Richard was listed as a farmer and his estate was valued at $300 and his real estate was valued at $775. In later years, Richard still owned and farmed the land. In 1880, James(18), Phil (16), and William (12) still lived with Milly and Richard. In 1885, at age 63 years old, Milly was listed as widowed. Although the exact date is unknown, Richard passed away between 1880 and 1885.

Throughout the years, there are a number of Nelson and McCall families living on the homestead and they were neighbors. They rented parcels but lived on the land and maintained ownership of the land. Frank and Richard Nelson were African American Homesteaders. Sherrod McCall was a White Homesteader and owned several Sale-Cash Entry patents across Gadsden County along with one homestead patent.

Patent Details - BLM GLO Records

~ Contributor by Falan Goff

Falan Olivia Goff is a genealogist/family historian. She is currently an active member of Mobile Creole Cultural and Historical Preservation Society. She is a 2x graduate of Florida A&M University with her Master of Science in Agriculture. Falan currently works for the United States Department of Agriculture. She has always been drawn to connecting family history, agriculture, and ancestral lands. Falan's primary goal is to continue to educate and connect families through her work with genealogy. She is vested in bridging the gap between agriculture and family history. Her primary areas of research are along the Gulf Coast from Bayou Lafourche and Orleans Parrish, Louisiana as well as Mobile, Alabama and Apalachicola, Florida.