Tampa FLA

Nov 23 1867

Lieut Allen H. Jackson

A.A.A.G., B.R.F. & A. L.

Jacksonville FLA

            Sir:

            Your communication of Sept 30^th, in reply to a previous one of mine, and calling for a report is but just received.  I have the honor to submit the following.  During the month of July, August, September and part of October, the whole county was flooded by the incessant heavy rains, which, in connection with continued ill, health, prevented my travelling to locate land or inspect any locations already made.  The rains and the presence of the Yellow Fever in town prevented persons from coming in to enter land.  The great difficulty of doing any business with the U.S. Land Office at Tallahassee, while Dr. Stonelake was Register, also discouraged parties from applying.  But since his departure, business is attended to with much greater promptness.

            I visited Brooksville before the Election and found the Freedmen anxious to enter land.  I could only remain there a few days, and was unfortunately suffering from a severe attack of chills and fever.  But I took three applications, and did a little surveying.  I shall visit the place again as soon as possible, and locate all who wish land.  There is a considerable quantity of public land of the best quality near Brooksville.  I do not find the freedmen of this place generally desirous of entering homesteads & probably because there is no valuable public land in this vicinity.

            I enclose a list of Applications forewarded and Entries received.

Very respectfully

Your obs Servt

Wm Lee Arthorp

Locating Agent

 

** Agent Arthorp was a locating agent whose job was simply to locate people who were waiting to apply for homesteads or land through the Freedmen’s Bureau.  He would travel to the various Freedmen Offices to collect applications from both freedmen and destitute whites.  There was no list of the applications for which he spoke of in the letter.  It seems some agents report there are many freedmen at Brooksville wanting to apply for land while others reported not many at all, perhaps this was because the freedmen wanting to apply were not in downtown Brookville but rather the surrounding areas.   As the reports for the year 1867 are coming to an end so is the rainy season so that the agents will soon be able to make more travels during the upcoming year.   The reports that follow this one begin to show more freedmen applying for land.

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