Submitted by Jane Benson (jab50@bellsouth.net)

Land Office at Double Springs, March 14^th, 1892

I, Sim Waldrop of Winston Co. Ala. having filed my application No. 22288 , for an entry under section 2289, Revised Statutes of the United States, do solemnly swear that I am not the proprietor of more than one hundred and sixty acres of land in any State or Territory; that I am * the head of a family consisting of a wife & myself and a native born citizen of the United States , that my said application is honestly and in good faith made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not for the benefit of any other person, persons, or corporations, and that I will faithfully and honestly endeavor to comply with all the requirements of law as to settlement, residence, and cultivation necessary to acquire title of the land applied for; that I am not acting as agent of any person, corporation or syndicate in making such entry, nor in collusion with any person, corporation, or syndicate to give them the benefit of the land entered, or any part thereof, or the timber thereon; that I do not apply to enter the same for the purpose of speculation, but in good faith to obtain a home for myself, and that I have not directly or indirectly made, and will not make, any agreement or contract in any way or manner, with any person or persons, corporation or syndicate whatsoever by which the title which I might acquire from the Government of the United States should inure in whole or in part to the benefit of any person except myself, and further that since August 30, 1890, I have not entered under the land laws of the United States, or filed upon, a quantity of land, agricultural in character, and not mineral, which, with the tracts now applied for, would make more than three hundred and twenty acres. And that I have never before made a homestead entry.

Sim Waldrop

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 14^th day of March, 1892.

John S. Curtis
Circuit Clerk

RECEIVER’S RECEIPT, NO. 22,288
APPLICATION, No. 22, 288.

Receiver’s Office, Huntsville, Ala., March 19, 1892.

Received of Sim Waldrop Winston Co. the sum of Fourteen dollars and --------- cents; being the amount of fee and compensation of Register and Receiver for the entry of W ½ of the N. E. ¼, the S.E. ¼ of the N.E. ¼ and the S.E. ¼ of the N.W. ¼ of Section Thirty Two (32) in Township Eleven (11) South of Range Seven (7) West, under Section No. 2290, Revised Statutes of the United States: 157 20/100 acres.

P.O. Elk
Chas. Handley,
Receiver.

=========
$ 14. 00
=========

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No. 1 --- HOMESTEAD.
LAND OFFICE AT…………………
September 23rd, 1899.

I, Sim Waldrop of Winston Co. Ala who made Homestead Application No. 22, 288 for the W ½ of NE ¼ SE ¼ of NE ¼ & SE ¼ of NW ¼ Sec. 32 T. 11, R. 7 West do hereby give notice of my intention to make final proof to establish my claim to the land above described, and that I expect to prove my residence and cultivation before the Probate Judge at Double Springs Ala on Nov. 11, 1899 by two of the following witnesses:

===============================================================

LAND OFFICE AT Huntsville, Ala., Sept 26 1899

Notice of the above application will be published in the New Era printed at Double Springs, Ala. which I hereby designate as the newspaper published nearest the land described in said application.

John A. Steele, Register

I, Sim Waldrop, having made a Homestead Entry of the W ½ of NE ¼, SE ¼ of NE ¼ & SE ¼ of NW ¼, Section No. 32 in Township No. 11 of Range No. 7 W, subject to entry at Huntsville, Ala under Section No. 2291 of the Revised Statutes of the United States; and for that purpose do solemnly swear that I am a native born citizen of the United States; that I have made actual settlement upon and have cultivated and resided upon said land since the ………..day of August, 1892, to the present time; that no part of said land has been alienated, except as provided in Section 2288 of the Revised Statutes, but that I am the sole bona fide owner as an actual settler; that I will bear true allegiance to the Government of the United States; and further, that I have not heretofore perfected or abandoned an entry made under the Homestead laws of the United States, except………………………

(Sign plainly with full Christian name). Sim Waldrop

I, R. L. Blanton, Judge of Probate for Winston Co. Ala. do hereby certify that the above affidavit was subscribed and sworn to before me this 11^th day of Nov., 1899, at my office at Double Springs in Winston County, Alabama.

Sim Waldrop, being called as a witness in his own behalf in support of homestead entry, No. 22,288 for W ½ NE ¼, SE ¼, NE ¼ & SE ¼, NW ¼ of Sec 32 Tp 11 R 7 W testifies as follows:

Question 1.
What is your name, age and post-office address?
Answer: Sim Waldrop age 28 years My P.O. address is Elk, Ala.

Question 2.
Are you a native born citizen of the United States, and if so, in what State or Territory were you born?
Answer: I am I was born in the state of Ala.

Question 3.
Are you the identical person who made homestead entry, No. 22,288 at the Huntsville Ala land office on the 19 day of March 1892, and what is the true description of the land now claimed by you?
Answer: I am the same person who entered the W ½ NE ¼, SE ¼, NE ¼ & SE ¼ of Sec. 32 Tp. 11, R 7 W .

Question 4.
When was your house built on the land and when did you establish actual residence therein? (Describe said house and other improvements which you have placed on the land, giving total value thereof.).
Answer: My house was built prior to the date of my entry; I established actual residence on said land during the first of August 1892; 1 dwelling house 2 rooms, 1 barn, 1 smoke house, 1 crib, 2 stables, 18 acres open land, 30 fruit trees; value $150.

Question 5.
Of whom does your family consist; and have you and your family resided continuously on the land since first establishing residence thereon? (If unmarried, state the fact.)

Answer: Myself, wife and children; We have.

Question 6.
For what period or periods have you been absent from the homestead since making settlement, and for what purpose; and if temporarily absent, did your family reside upon and cultivate the land during such absence?
Ansnwer: I have not been absent from my homestead.

Question 7.
How much of the land have you cultivated each season and for how many seasons have you raised crops thereon?
Answer: cultivated 10 acres, raised 7 crops.

Question 8.
Is your present claim within the limits of an incorporated town or selected site of a city or town, or used in any way for trade and business?
Answer: No No

Question 9.
What is the character of the land? Is it timber, mountainous, prairie, grazing, or ordinary agricultural land? State its kind and quality and for what purpose it is most valuable.
Answer: Ordinary farming land, most valuable for agriculture.

Question 10.
Are there any indications of coal, salines, or minerals of any kind on the land? (If so, describe what they are, and state whether the land is more valuable for agricultural than for mineral purposes.
Answer: No. Land is more valuable for agriculture.

Question 11.
Have you ever made any other homestead entry? (If so, describe the same.)
Answer: No.

Question 12.
Have you sold, conveyed, or mortgaged any portion of the land; and if so, to whom and for what purpose?
Answer: No.

Question 13.
Have you any personal property of any kind elsewhere than on this claim? If so, describe the same, and state where the same is kept.)
Answer: No.

Question 14.
Describe by legal subdivisions, or by number, kind of entry, and office where made, any other entry or filing (not mineral), made by you since August 30, 1890.
Answer: I have made no other entry.

(Sign plainly with full Christian name) Sim Waldrop

I HEREBY CERTIFY, That the foregoing testimony was read to the Claimant before being subscribed, and was sworn to before me this 11 day of Nov 1899 at my office in Double Springs in Winston County, Ala.

I hereby certify that the final proof notice of Sim Waldrop was published in the New Era, a weekly newspaper published in said county, for six successive weekly issues next prior to November 11^th

J. M. Blanton
Publisher New Era.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this Novr. 11th, 1899.
R. L. Blanton, Probate Judge.

"Sim" Waldrop was Simeon L.C. Waldrop, born 1854 in Georgia. On October 24, 1874, in Haralson County, GA, he married Samantha Jane G. Slaton, step-daughter of Littleton Riley Jean. Sim and Samantha was found living in Marshall County, AL in the 1880 census reports and later moved to Winston County, AL where he filed his homestead land entry application. Their known children were: Ida D. Waldrep, James W. Waldrep (born Cedartown, Polk Co. GA), and Mary M. Waldrep. The son, James William Waldrep would also later filed a homestead claim and settled down to raising a fairly large family. He married Alice Walker, daughter of Israel Walker, thereby joining the families of Waldrep / Walker / and Berry.

National Archives of the United States
Washington, D.C.
Homestead Land File of Sim Waldrop
Date of Patent: 25 June 1900
Land Office: Huntsville, Alabama
Document # 12202