The Gold Lottery of 1832 was the seventh lottery of the

Georgia Land Lotteries The Georgia land lotteries were an early nineteenth century system of land redistribution in Georgia. Under this system, white male citizens could register for a chance to win lots of land that had (and in most cases recently) been taken from the M ...

, a lottery system used by the State of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

between the years 1805 and 1833 to redistribute stolen Cherokee land. It was authorized by the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

by an act of December 24, 1831 a few years after the start of the

Georgia Gold Rush The Georgia Gold Rush was the second significant gold rush in the United States and the first in Georgia, and overshadowed the previous rush in North Carolina. It started in 1829 in present-day Lumpkin County near the county seat, Dahlonega, an ...

. The act specified that approximately one third of the land districts to be distributed by lottery under the act of December 21, 1830 (the sixth land lottery), be designated as gold districts of each and to be distributed in a separate lottery. The drawings for the Gold Lottery of 1832 occurred between October 22, 1832 and May 1, 1833 and applied to land that had been owned by the Cherokee Nation. Those successful in the lottery had to pay a grant fee of $10.00 per lot. Those eligible were: bachelors over the age of 18 who were 3 year residents of Georgia and citizens of United States; widows who were 3 year residents of Georgia; families of orphans who were 3 year residents of Georgia and citizens of United States; and married men or male heads of family who were 3 year residents of Georgia (residency requirement waived for officers in the army or navy of the United States) and citizens of United States. Those excluded were: anyone who was successful in any previous land lottery who had taken a grant of a land lot; anyone who had mined, or caused to be mined, gold, silver, or other metal in the Cherokee territory since June 1, 1830; any person who had taken up residence in the Cherokee territory, anyone who had been convicted of a felony in any court in Georgia; and anyone who was a member of "a horde of Thieves known as the Pony Club." The 1833 Land Lottery was held in December, 1833 to, among other things, distribute lots and fractions from the Gold Lottery of 1832 that were not placed in the prize wheels during the Gold Lottery of 1832.

Sources

Website of the Georgia Archives, Office of the Georgia Secretary of State
(accessed October 30, 2006

(January 31, 2012)

External links

Cherokee County, Section 1, Gold District 1
4 June 1832. One of the Gold District lottery maps in th
Georgia Archives

Land Lottery Tickets, 1832Cherokee Land Lottery
historical marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Gold Lottery of 1832 1832 in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Gold Rush Georgia Land Lotteries Government of Georgia (U.S. state) History of Georgia (U.S. state)

See also

Sources

External links