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A Lovely Claim is a special right given by the government to people who were forced to leave their land in Lovely County, Arkansas because of a treaty with the Cherokee nation in 1828. The government allowed these settlers to claim and own public land in Arkansas as compensation for their displacement. The term "Lovely Claim" comes from the name of the county where these settlers lived. Today, Lovely claims can be found in property records in Arkansas.
Definition: A Lovely Claim is an entitlement to settle on and take ownership of public land in Arkansas, created by the federal government for Lovely County settlers who were displaced by an 1828 treaty that gave the settlers' land to the Cherokee nation. The term gets its name from Lovely County in the Arkansas territory, which straddled what is now the Oklahoma–Arkansas border.
For example, if a person's ancestors were Lovely County settlers who were forced to leave their land due to the treaty, they may have a Lovely Claim to land on the eastern side of the Mississippi River. These claims can be found in chains of title in Arkansas.
The Lovely Claim illustrates how the federal government attempted to provide relief to settlers who were displaced from their land due to treaties with Native American nations. It also shows how historical events can have long-lasting legal implications for property ownership.