Friends,
Got a bit of response to this question and several requested that I post
the replies to this list.
The general consensus seems to be that they went for land. President
Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in 1862, allowing persons to settle on
land and after certain improvements and a certain amount of time, they
owned the land.
I also learned that the railroads sold their excess land. While the
homesteaders could get their land thru work, and a filing fee, the land
owned by the railroad was for sale, sometimes as much as $800 per 160
acre farm. BUT - this land was closer to the rail lines (for shipping
if you needed it and getting about) and the railroads often threw the
cost of your train ticket into the bargain.
Around the same time as the Homestead Act, President Lincoln also chose
the route for the Union Pacific Railroad, which went thru Nebraska and
Kansas.
Another little tidbit I found was that the Homestead Act had a special
provision for Civil War veterans. They could deduct the length of time
in service from the length of years from the five year residency
requirement.
All in all I learned quite a bit, not the exact reason why so many are
listed in the Vidette Index as going to Kansas and Nebraska, but all of
these reasons may have played a part.
Most of my info came from
www.nebraskastudies.org
<
http://www.nebraskastudies.org/> Interesting site that may help us
with this quest.
Enjoy
Gypsy
You sure do learn a lot when you ask questions!