Manuscripts
These papers document the transfer of land in Los Angeles County during the first few decades of California statehood. This collection consists of the original documents certifying the sale, purchase, pre-emption, or surveying of land by sheriffs, clerks, notary publics, and surveyors of Los Angeles County between 1850 and 1889. Some of these legal proceedings partially document the transfer of land ownership from Californio to American hands. Many of these documents are "pre-emption" claims to land made mostly by new American immigrants to California under the Possessory Act of April 20, 1852, which gave individuals the right to claim 160 acres of public lands for the purposes of mining or agriculture. The "inventories of women's separate property" were a result of the California State law enacted on April 17, 1850, entitled "Act defining the rights of Husband and Wife." This collection includes mortgage agreements and releases; inheritances and wills; certificates of sale due to taxes owed, law suits, and foreclosure; claims of preemption; land documents of individuals significant to Los Angeles history including Abel Stearns, Pío Pico, Ignacio del Valle, Francis P.F. Temple, and Benjamin D. Wilson; lease agreements; and additional miscellaneous legal documents relating to land transfers.
mssLAL
