FEDERAL LANDS SALES RECORDS:
TOWN OF METOMEN, FOND DU LAC COUNTY, WISCONSIN

Federal lands in Fond du Lac County were available for purchase following completion of the official land survey in 1836. Early sales focused on the Fond du Lac area and were depressed by slowing economic conditions late in the decade of the 1830's.

The first registration in the town of Metomen, Range 15 North and14 East, to Curtis Higley, occured in the spring of 1844, and subsequent sales proceeded rapidly. According to existing histories for the area, most were completed within two years, the end of 1846. Apparently there were significant lapses of time between the date of filing and the completion of the legal process. Higley is a good example. Although he filed his paperwork on May 29, 1844, the date recorded in the federal records is September 1, 1846.

This information is available on the Internet at http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/wisconsin/wisconsin.pl. Searches are by name only. It is not possible to search by range or section numbers.

The following table represents some informed searches based primarily on census records for the town of Metomen. Because many family names do not appear in the censuses--the population of Wisconsin was as mobile in the 1840's as it is in the 1990's--this information represents a work in progress. If you have information or names to share, please contact Bob Schuster by email at rmschust@facstaff.wisc.edu or at 6020 Kristi Circle, Monona, Wisconsin 53716 (608) 221-1421.