Daily AncestorSquatter
In American land records a squatter is a person who settled on land, especially public land, without holding title to it.
Many frontier families lived on government land before it was surveyed or offered for sale. Without a title they were squatters, and "squatter's rights" was the claim that occupying the land gave them a right to it.
The Preemption Act of 1841 let such settlers buy up to 160 acres they lived on for $1.25 an acre before it was offered to the public, so a squatter may show up in land office records as a preemption claimant.
As seen in a recordLand office record, 1830s or 1840s
Isaac Vane, a squatter on the public lands, claims a preemption on the N.W. 1/4 of Sec. 9
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Squatter." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/squatter. Last checked 2026-10-12.