Daniel Freeman (April 26, 1826 – December 30, 1908) was an American homesteader and

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

veteran. He was recognized as the first person to file a claim under the

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...

of 1862. Freeman was also the

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...

in a landmark

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...

decision.

Physician and soldier

Freeman was born in

Preble County, Ohio Preble County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,999, down 3.0% from the 2010 census population of 42,270. Its county seat is Eaton. The county was formed on February 15, 1808, from por ...

, and was raised in

Genesee County, New York Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388. Its county seat is Batavia. Its name is from Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".THE AMERICAN REVIEW; A WHI ...

, and

Knox County, Illinois Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 49,967. Its county seat is Galesburg. Knox County comprises the Galesburg, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Knox County ...

. While he was a young man, his family moved frequently, to

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

before settling in Beatrice, Nebraska Territory. He was a graduate of a medical institute in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, and practiced medicine in Ottawa, Illinois. He enlisted in the

17th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 17th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 17th Illinois Infantry was organized at Peoria, Illinois, and mustered into Federal service at Peori ...

during the

Homesteader

On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which gave adults of land if they filed paperwork and paid a small fee. The homesteader was required to build a 12x14-foot dwelling and farm the land for five years or plant trees. Although the land was cheap or free, many homesteaders did not last five years because of the blizzards, drought, disease, plagues of locusts, and loneliness on the open prairies.Badlands Homestead, South Dakota January 1, 1863, was the day the Homestead Act went into effect. Freeman may have been a scouter for the Union Army, and he said that he was leaving for St. Louis that morning for military duty. Freeman persuaded a clerk to open the land office just after midnight so he could file his claim. When five years was up, the homesteader had to have two or three witnesses sign a document called "Proof Required Under Homestead Acts May 20, 1862 . . . " Freeman had his neighbors, Joseph Graff and Samuel Kilpatrick, sign this first document.

Marriages

Freeman married Elizabeth Wilber, who may have died in 1861, though some sources indicate that they divorced. They had three children. Daniel Freeman proposed marriage by mail to Agnes Suiter of LeClaire, Iowa, and married her on February 8, 1865, in her parents' home. Agnes had been engaged to Daniel's younger brother, James, who was killed in the war. Daniel and Agnes had eight children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Agnes lived on the Beatrice homestead until her death in 1931. In addition to homesteading his claim, Freeman was a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, county

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jur ...

, and county

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. During their homesteading period, several structures were built, including a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

, a brick house, and several frame houses. None survive. In 1936, the Freeman homestead was recognized by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as the first homestead in the country and designated as

Homestead National Monument of America Homestead National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park System known as the Homestead National Monument of America prior to 2021, commemorates passage of the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed any qualified person to claim up to of fed ...

. It is now maintained by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

Religious separation case

Freeman was the plaintiff in ''Daniel Freeman v. John Scheve, et al.'', a landmark case concerning the separation of church and state. In 1899, Edith Beecher, the teacher at the nearby Freeman School, was giving religious instruction, including reading passages from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

, offering

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

s, and leading

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. (It is not known if this school was named after Daniel Freeman or for Thomas Freeman, an unrelated brick maker and president of the local school board.) Freeman requested that Beecher stop, but she refused, claiming that she had permission from the

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

. Freeman then took his complaint to the school board, which backed Beecher. Freeman filed suit in Gage County District Court, which found in favor of the school board. Freeman appealed, finally going to the Nebraska Supreme Court, which found that the actions of Beecher and the school board were unconstitutional under the Nebraska Constitution provisions (Article I-4) concerning the separation of church and state.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Daniel 1826 births 1908 deaths People from Preble County, Ohio People from Knox County, Illinois People from Beatrice, Nebraska Nebraska state case law People from Ottawa, Illinois People of Illinois in the American Civil War Physicians from Illinois Nebraska sheriffs American coroners People from Genesee County, New York