Willis Kyles

Quick Facts

Significance:

Alabama Homesteader

Place of Birth:

North Carolina

Date of Birth:

Between 1939 and 1842

Date of Death:

unknown

Place of Burial:

unknown

Willis Kyles was 38 when enumerated on the 1880 Census. He was living in Uchee, Russell County, Alabama, and was listed as a farmer born in North Carolina. His wife Dollie was listed as age 30, born in North Carolina, and her occupation was listed as housekeeping. Also in the household as “something other than a direct relationship” were Barton Kyle, age 20; Catherine Kyle, age 16; Adeline Kyle, age 13; John H. Kyle age 11; and Willis Kyle, age 7. 

Five years later, Willis Kyles filed his Homestead Application No. 17781 on December 30, 1885 for the purpose of settling on public land in Geneva County, Alabama. Geneva County was located about 130 miles south of Uchee where the family was living in 1880. On the application, Willis solemnly swore that he was “a native born citizen of the U.S. and over 21 years of age” and confirmed that he was residing on the land as of December 29, 1885. He confirmed that his improvements consisted of one log house that he valued at $5. He swore that he had never before made a homestead entry and confirmed the information by providing his mark of an “X”. The Homestead Affidavit was signed by S. F. Latimer, Clerk of the Court of Geneva County, Alabama.

At the Post Office in Geneva, Alabama, the application for the homestead property in Geneva County, was dated December 30, 1885. Under Section 2289, Revised Statues of the United States, Willis Kyles submitted the application for Surveyed Lands located at the North half of the northeast quarter, the Southwest quarter of the Northeast quarter of section 20 in Township 2 North of Range 22 East  containing 120.08 acres.

His request was received and acknowledged by the Land Office at Montgomery, Alabama on January 2, 1886. Thomas J. Scott, Register of the Land Office, certified the application for surveyed Lands for the class which the applicant was legally entitled under the Revised Statutes of the United States and confirmed the application was valid.

After the land was properly registered, the Receiver’s Office in Montgomery, Alabama acknowledged the receipt of $13.00 from Willis Kyles on January 2, 1886, as the amount of fee and compensation of Register and Receiver for the entry of property located at North half of the northeast quarter, the Southwest quarter of the Northeast quarter of section 20 in Township 2 North of Range 22 East. This receipt was signed by Wm. C. Jordan.

Public Notice was posted from December 17, 1890 to January 24, 1891 in the Geneva Record, a newspaper published by Gray and Glennan. Names of witnesses who could prove that Willis Kyles maintained continuous residence and cultivated the land were included in the posting. The witness names included Joseph Smith, Laspier Ezell, Pierce Berry and Allen Bolding/Baldwin, all of Geneva County.

The posting was required as final proof in support of his homestead entry No. 17781 and was listed in the newspaper for 6 weeks, This requirement was certified as completed on January 24, 1891 by the Register in Chancery for Geneva County, Alabama.

The documentation of Homestead Proof and Testimony of Claimant was provided by Willis Kyles on January 24, 1891. He gave his age as 52 years old at the time and his post office was located in Geneva, Alabama. He was a natural citizen, born in North Carolina. He claimed to be the person who made the homestead entry in Montgomery on January 2, 1891. He described the land he claimed as primarily pine and timber and only fit for farming purposes.

Kyles initial residence was established in January 1885. The improvements to the land included a residence of a log house, a framed dwelling, crib stables and 30 acres of open land under fence. He placed the value of his homestead at $200. He lived continuously in the residence with his wife and one child and he had never been absent from the homestead since making the settlement.

Kyles cultivated about 30 acres of crops each year, for a total of five years of crops. His land was not within the limits of an incorporated town or used in any way for trade and business. He described the land as common pine land with some timber, but the most valuable use was for agricultural purposes. There were no indications of coal or minerals of any kind on the land. He had not made any other homestead entry and he had not sold, conveyed, or mortgaged any portion of his land. He did not have any personal property of any kind elsewhere.

A signature of M.M. McAliley was to the left of Willis Kyles’ name and his mark of “X”. The handwriting of the completed form matched that of M.M. McAliley’s signature. It’s not clear what the relationship of M.M. McAliley to Willis Kyles, as he was not listed as a witness.

On January 24, 1891, two witnesses provided signed statements in support of Willis Kyles’s application. The witnesses were Joseph Smith, 51 years old and Allen Bolding/Baldwin, 25 years old. Both witnesses confirmed everything as stated by Willis Kyles. Joseph Smith listed the improvements to the land as a dwelling house, crib, smokehouse, and thirty acres under cultivation, valued at $150. The handwriting on Smith’s testimony matched that of his signature on the completed form.

Allen Bolding/Baldwin listed improvements as a log house and framed one crib, smokehouse, and thirty acres under cultivation valued at $200. The signature of M.M. McAliley was to the left of where Allen Bolding/Baldwin’s mark of “X” was placed. Both testimonies were signed by R.M. Gray, Register in Chancery for Geneva Co., AL. 

A “Final Affidavit Required of Homestead Claimants” was completed on January 24, 1891. It required Willis Kyles to solemnly swear that he was a citizen of the United States, that he actually made settlement upon, cultivated, and resided upon the land since January 2, 1885 to the present. He was the sole bona fide owner as the actual settler. The affidavit was signed with his mark of “X” and certified by R. M. Gray, Register in Chancery for Geneva County, Alabama.

On February 24, 1891, M. M. McAliley appeared before R. M. Gray, Register in Chancery in Geneva County. McAliley was duly sworn and indicated that the signature of Allen Bolding/Baldwin as it was published in the final proof notice was made by McAliley because Allen Bolding was not able to write his name. He confirmed that Allen Bolding was a witness in the application for final proof of Willie Kyles of Geneva County, AL.

Willis Kyles made the final payment of $3.00 to the Montgomery Receiver’s Office on February 19, 1891. The Final Certificate No. 10140 for 120.08 acres was certified at the Land Office on the same date and signed by J. H. Bingham, Register.

On February 25, 1891, a Certificate of Posting of Notice in the Land Office at Montgomery, Alabama was certified by Register J.H. Bingham. A printed copy of the Notice was posted in a conspicuous place in his office for a period of 30 days, commencing on December 9, 1890.

The approval by the Land Office in Montgomery occurred on September 9, 1891 and was signed by E.K. McNair, Clerk. The Homestead Land was finally patented on November 9, 1891 and recorded in Volume 20, page 41. The patent was signed by President Benjamin Harrison on November 9, 1891.

Willis Kyles died by 1900. The exact date, location, or cause of his death are unknown. What is known is that on the 1900 Census, his widow, Dollie Kyles, was enumerated in a household with one of her sons, John Henry Kyles, along with his wife Fannie and their three children. They were living on John Henry Kyles’s homestead that was patented in 1894 in Beaver Dam, Geneva County, Alabama.

It is not clear what became of the homestead that Willis Kyles worked so hard to obtain in 1891. It does not appear that any of the land remained in the family or is currently owned by any descendants. According to a family story shared by Aunt Carrie Belle Kyles Weeks, Uncle John C. Kyles (son of Willis and Dollie) got rid of the land. She shared that the “bank went under and many people lost their land.” Whatever became of the land does not diminish the effort that Willis Kyles took to obtain his homestead and create a home for his family. His fortitude and example of hard work continues to spark pride and inspiration in his descendants across the United States.

~ contributed by Dr. Mary Clark, descendant

Patent Details - BLM GLO Records

Dr. Mary Clark
Photo Credit: Wayne Norman

More from the contributor: The family story, as told to me many years ago by my maternal grand Aunt Carrie Belle Kyles Weeks, was that her granddaddy was land rich. At the time, I didn’t know who she was referring to nor did I have any idea what she meant. She also told me that granddaddy Willis Kyles was born free and his wife, Dollie was born a slave. That’s all I knew about my 2nd great grandfather for many years. As I started researching the family, I found the Kyles surname spelled many different ways including Kiles, Kylis, Kyle, and Kyes. John H. Kyle(s), Willis Kyles' son, is my great grandfather.

About the contributor: Dr. Mary K. Clark is an author who was raised in rural Millington, Michigan. She considers herself a fact teller rather than a storyteller. Her nonfiction stories are based on lived experiences and memories that have been collected in over 30 years of journal writing. 

Clark also works as an administrator at Wayne State University in Detroit after working as a higher education administrator for over 30 years in various leadership positions. She earned a B.A. in Fashion Merchandising from Bowling Green State University, an M.A. in Counseling from Wayne State University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Toledo. For over six years, Dr. Clark has served as a Michigan state-appointed AARP volunteer. She also serves as a national AARP Volunteer Facilitation & Training Team (VFTT) member where she develops and presents specialized volunteer-led training throughout the U.S.

She enjoys gardening, traveling, painting and doing family history research. The pandemic has provided an opportunity for her to expand her genealogy community through memberships with the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society - New Jersey (AAHGS-NJ), Kentucky Genealogical Society, Indiana African American Genealogy Group (IAAGG), Genealogical Forum of Oregon African-American Special Interest Group (GFO) and Arkansas Chapter of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (AAHGS-AR).