Daniel Freeman

Daniel Freeman (April 26, 1826 – December 30, 1908) was an American homesteader and Civil War veteran. He was recognized as the first person to file a claim under the Homestead Act of 1862. Freeman was also the plaintiff in a landmark separation of church and state decision. Physician and soldier Freeman was born in Preble County, Ohio, and was raised in Genesee County, New York, and Knox County, Illinois. While he was a young man, his family moved frequently, to Iowa and Illinois before settling in Beatrice, Nebraska Territory. He was a graduate of a medical institute in Cincinnati, Ohio, and practiced medicine in Ottawa, Illinois. He enlisted in the 17th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. Homesteader