I am in hopes that you may be able to assist me in a quest for information
concerning an ancestor who is believed to be Native American. I have
exhausted all the leads provided by family information except for the following.
It is the belief of my mother's family that her great grandfather was Native
American, he was named Benjamin Standerfer and lived much of his life in
Illinos and Iowa. Benjamin had a son named Oliver Marion Standerfer who
claimed to have been born in Penn. We know that he spent most of his life in
Illinois.
The only support for the Native American connection by these men is that
Oliver was supposed to have received a letter (date unknown but assumed to
be around 1890 - 1910) informing him that he had been granted 80 acres of
land by the federal government. This land was supposed to be near
Montecello, Illinois; was supposed to be claimed by a certain day and is
assumed to have been in settlement of some tribal claim against the federal
government. The letter arrived too late for Oliver to make an appearance and
claim his land.
Can you provide any information as to where one would begin to search for
proof of the above land transaction and/or lists of the grantees?
Thank you for any assistance you may be able to provide.
Respectfully,
Michael E. Wright
4223 W. Gelding Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85023-5363
cyclops@primenet.com