Georgia Archives > What Do We Have? > Land Lottery > 1832 (Seventh or Gold Lottery) Land Lotteries in Georgia
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/archives/what_do_we_have/land_lottery/land_lottery_1832gold.htm

Authority: Act of December 24, 1831

This act mandated that approximately a third of the 160-acre land districts to be laid out under the act of December 21, 1830, be designated as gold districts of 40 acres each and to be distributed in a separate lottery.

Date of Drawing: October 22, 1832-May 1, 1833

Counties

The original Cherokee Indian territory became Cherokee County by an Act of December 26, 1831. A law passed on December 3, 1832, divided original Cherokee County into ten counties: Cass (renamed Bartow), Cherokee, Cobb, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Murray, Paulding, and Union. In the drawing of tickets and in the granting of the land, the area was treated only as Cherokee territory. It was divided between land lots distributed by the sixth land lottery and “gold” lots that were distributed by the seventh land lottery.

Sections and Land Districts

• The territory was so expansive that Cherokee County was divided into four sections, and each section was divided into districts. There were 33 gold districts, and each was divided into gold lots.

First Section
Districts 1-5, 11-15

Second Section
Districts 1-3, 15-19, 21

Third Section
Districts 1-4, 17-21

Fourth Section
Districts 1-3, 16-17

Size of Gold Lots

• 40 acres

Grant Fee

• $10.00 per lot

Person Entitled to Draw

• Bachelor, 18 years or over, 3-year residence in Georgia, citizen of United States – 1 draw
• Widow, 3-year residence in Georgia – 1 draw
• Family of orphans, 3-year residence in Georgia, citizen of United States – 2 draws
• Married man, head of family, 3-year residence in Georgia (officers in the army of navy of the United States, 3-year residence not required), citizen of United States – 2 draws

Persons Excluded

• Any fortunate drawer in any previous land lottery who has taken out a grant of said land lot.
• Any person who mined—or caused to be mined—gold, silver, or other metal in the Cherokee territory since June 1, 1830.
• Any person who has taken up residence in said Cherokee territory.
• Any person who is a member of or concerned with "a horde of Thieves known as the Pony Club."
• Any person who at any time was convicted of a felony in any court in Georgia.

How do I find the names of the winners?

• Alphabetical Index to Georgia’s 1832 Gold Lottery, by Mary Bondurant Warren. (Danielsville, Ga.: Heritage Papers, 1981.)

Where will I find more information on the lottery?

• Georgia Land Surveying History and Law, by Farris Cadle. (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991).
• The Georgia Surveyor General Department, by Marion Hemperley. (Atlanta: Georgia Secretary of State, 1982.)