Today I am posting a newspaper article about my great-grandparents, Joseph Baldwin Tanner and Nora Almeda Foutz, describing the home they built and lived in, in Kirtland, New Mexico.
It appeared in the Farmington Daily Times (Farmington, New Mexico) on 14 Oct 1959, p E5. The article includes photos of the family home and a family portrait, along with wonderful biographical information.
U.S. Senate, editor, Senate Documents Vol. 8, 56th Congress 1st Session, 1899-1900 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government, n.d.), 8: Doc. 68, pp 19-23.
Schedule of improvements on land occupied by the Tanner and Foutz families in the Tuba City, Arizona area, 30 May 1899. This includes the property of Fred Tanner, John Tanner, Joseph Tanner, Emma Tanner, Seth Tanner, and Joseph Lehi Foutz. This information was recorded as part of “a Bill establishing the boundaries of an addition to the Navajo Indian Reservation, Arizona, and making appropriation for purchasing the improvements of settlers within the addition.”
Here is a map of the boundaries of the Navajo Reservation in 1900, with the proposed enlargement reaching the Little Colorado River. Tuba City is just east of the Little Colorado.
Here is a list of the settlers there and the proposed financial settlement for the improvements to their land. They did not own the land because it had not been surveyed by the government yet, so technically they were squatters. A settler could only apply for a patent, or claim, if the land had first been surveyed. I can’t imagine why the surveyors had not yet made it out there to the desert, several days journey from civilization! Nevertheless, the settlers were fortunate the government was willing to pay them anything for their improvements because they could have come away empty-handed. With these funds they were able to move and re-establish themselves elsewhere. Joseph Tanner and Joseph Lehi Foutz went into New Mexico and settled in San Juan County.
This is more from the U.S. Serial Set, or Senate papers, regarding the enlargement of the Navajo Reservation in 1900, which included the Tuba City area. The settlers there, including the Tanners and Foutzes were paid for the improvements they had made.
This begins with a letter from Pres. William McKinley, transmitting reports he had received from the Secretary of the Interior, E.A. Hitchcock and Col. James McLaughlin, U.S. Indian Agent, to the Committee on Indian Affairs. Hitchcock is explaining the need to enlarge the Navajo Reservation for the sake of water and grasslands needed for Navajo herds and crops, and McLaughlin is reporting on his observations during a 22-day visit to the Tuba City area.
The document also includes a “schedule of improvements” for David Brinkerhoff’s property. Brinkerhoff was the Bishop of the local LDS ward/branch. Brinkerhoff had the largest property, and later in the week you will see the schedule of improvements for the Tanner and Foutz families posted. Their industry and perserverance is remarkable, considering the arid conditions and remote locality.
U.S. Senate, editor, Senate Documents Vol. 8, 56th Congress 1st Session, 1899-1900 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government, n.d.), 8: Doc. 68, pp. 1-4. This volume was found at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah.
(The thumbnails below are the same as the larger photos beneath them. I couldn’t figure out how to remove them!)
This blog features a bit of what I found in the U.S. Serial Set about the Tanners and Foutzes in Tuba City, Arizona.
Congressional records are a rich source of valuable information for settlers in the Western States. That’s because there were so many issues involving land, Native Americans, settlers, and the Federal Government. Much of it ended up in the Congressional Record, found in the U.S. Serial Set, which is available in libraries which are federal repositories. University of Utah Marriott Library is one of these, and I was able to find an account of the federal government’s buyout of the Tuba City settlers. These two pages give the names of the settlers, the amount they were paid, and the agreement they signed 30 May 1899:
Senate Documents, v. 8, 56th Congress, 1st session, 1899-1900, #3850
This published version of the Congressional Record after 1817 is called the Serial Set; prior to 1817 the record is called the American State Papers. There are various indexes you can utilize to find things in them:
Stay tuned for more items from the Serial Set…
On Granny's Trail 