Jack Gatlin Homesteader Part 3

Jerry Conerly Testimony

In the process of a homestead application, it was necessary to have at least two people to testify that the applicant had lived on the land.  Jerry Conerly was one of the witnesses to verify that Jack Gatlin was a homesteader.  At the time of his testimony, he was a 50 year old farmer. His birth year would have been 1837. He states that Jack Gatlin was his son-in-law.   Jerry Conerly lived on his land for 12 years and Jack lived about a mile away. Tom Magee and Gail Brumfield are Jack Gatlin’s neighbors who live about a half a mile away. 

Jerry states that he has known Jack for about 18 years living in various places in Pike County.  Jack Gatlin was 34 years old in 1887 at the time of his testimony therefore Jerry Conerly knew him since he was 16 years old. 

Jerry Conerly states that Jack is a self-employed farmer with no boarding place on the land.  He describes the homestead as pine land, timber and farming.  The timber on the land has been used only for fencing and farming purposes. Jerry states that he has “been on the land a number of times too many to remember.” 

 In Question # 21 State in detail the character of the improvements; what they consist of, and when they were made; the value of each distinct improvement, fully describing the same; also weather they were made by the claimant or by some other person.

Jerry’s testimony gives a detailed description of Jack’s family house. The ”Dwelling house , a boxed house of one room with a gallery, with 3 doors and 2 windows, a dirt chimney, a kitchen”   On the homestead, there also was a “ log house with one door dirt chimney, a smoke house built with logs; a chicken house made of logs and split pickets; log corn crib with double slabs and a loft overhead; 3 log cotton houses; they were built at different times during the seven years by the claimant, but do not know when each house was built.  He has fences and cleared lands. They are valued as follows: Dwelling house worth about $35 ($871.21 in 2017), kitchen worth about 10 dollars ($248.94 in 2017), smoke house $10 ($248.94 in 2017), chicken house $5 ($124.97 in 2017), corn crib, stables worth about $30($746.81 in 2017) , cotton house about $30 ($746.81 in 2017)."    

In Question #23 and 24  inquires about the estimated value of the land and how long the claimant has lived on the land. Jack Gatlin and his family have occupied the land since March, 1879. “The land is worth $300 and never been offered for sale that I (Jerry) know of.”

Jerry states he believes that the family resides on the land and “by seeing him there and at work, and seeing his family there I know he has been living there.

Jerry Conerly signs his testimony with an X.

----The Tree Gardener