A Look at a Cash Land Entry File-Part 5

If you haven't been following along, you might want to read Part 3 and Part 4 in particular. Part 1 and Part 2 are about a separate Cash Entry file.
As I pointed out in Part 4, now that we have the legal description of William Ballinger's Preemption claim, we can plot the property on a map. Here's the legal description again:

• The SW ¼ of the SW ¼ of Section 17,
• and the SE ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 18,
• and  the NE ¼ of the NE ¼ of Section 19,
• and the NW ¼ of the NW ¼ of Section 20,
• of Township 1 North
• of Range 70 West
• containing one hundred and sixty acres

We can use Google Earth to locate the township, range (outlined in orange), and some section numbers (outlined in pink). Then we can, pinpoint William’s property, which is the area within the red box, and drive out there for a look see (using a more detailed local map).

Recently, I was in Boulder helping a family member and had the opportunity to drive through my great great grandfather's land. Visiting the land my ancestors lived on has become a bit of a hobby for me. I find it exciting to stand where my ancestors lived and worked. It helps give perspective on what their lives might have been like and, it's fun!
A portion of William's land is now a school:

The rest is a very pretty residential area:

So, what did I learn? Driving through the area and back into Boulder gave me a fantastic perspective of the area the Ballinger family lived and worked in, and more importantly, what it took for them to "go to town". The land is just a few short miles from the original downtown portion of Boulder where the Ballingers would have gone to shop, socialize, or go to school. A nice horseback or wagon ride in the spring or summer. Probably a miserable, bitterly cold trip at times during the winter months.
My great great grandmother, Nancy Ballinger would have made this trip regularly; I am told she probably attended school in Boulder along with her siblings.

Stay tuned...
Oh, and one sidenote: Sections 15 and 22 contain Theodore Low’s property discussed in, Finding the Low Farm in Boulder.

Here are links to the entire series, in case you are interested:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Summary
Artwork compliments of Free Clip Art Now
© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum