In the News: Peter D as Witness

A post several days ago (here) mentioned that there is at least one certain newspaper reference to a Peter Buller from our family line. That reference, from the 18 February 1886 Republican Register out of Aurora, Nebraska, appears in the notice to the right. 

The notice was issued by the Land Office in Lincoln on 23 January 1886. It was one of several notices published in that issue of the paper (see the top of the following notice at the bottom of the extract), all of which began with the same legal language:

Notice is hereby given that the following named settler has filed notice of his intention to make final proof in support of his claim and that said proof will be made before the Judge and in his absence before the Clerk of the District Court of Aurora, the county seat, on March 8, 1886, viz: Abraham Dalke. H. A. No. 16798 for the e hf of se qr [i.e., east half of the southeast quarter] section 12. town 9. N range 5 west.

     He names the following witnesses to prove his continuous residence upon, and cultivation of, said land, viz:

The notice then lists four witnesses who attest that the person meets the requirements to make a valid homestead claim: Peter Buller, Johann Penner, Johann Friesen, and Bernhard Friesen.

How do we know this Peter Buller is from our family line? Several clues make it almost certain. First, all four witnesses are from Farmers Valley, which is the precinct in which Peter D established his own farm. The “other” Peter Buller from the earlier post lived in Beaver precinct. Second, all four witnesses lived in close proximity to Abraham Dalke: Peter Buller directly to the north, Johann Penner to the northeast, Johann Friesen to the northeast of him, and Bernhard Friesen directly to the south. In fact, Peter Buller and Johann Penner lived on the same section 12 on which Dalke staked his claim.

Given this evidence, and in light of the fact that Peter P was only sixteen at this time, there is little doubt that the witness listed for this homestead claim was none other than Peter D Buller. Peter D would himself file a homestead claim within a few years after serving as witness. Although we have already explored Peter D’s homestead claim (here), I have since discovered additional resources that will flesh out our understanding of the process involved in homesteading the land.