Ms. Barbara:  I am not sure you have given us enough information for
a definitive answer.  As Eric has said, the Bankruptcy Acts provided
for exemptions of the "home" and research in Phil. and locally (in
case of a "state bankruptcy") may provide your answer.

Then too, in June of 1864 Congress extended the Homestead Act of
1862 to the all the then Confederate States.  Though that extension
of the Act was repealed in 1872 (as another measure of punishment
for the Confederacy), entries had been filed for many tracts for
which the requirements of payment and settlement had not yet been
fulfilled.   While it does seem like a stretch from 1872 until 1878
when your ancestor gained a "deed" for his property, that may have
been the case.

Finally,  there were many so-called "probate homesteads" that were
granted to a widow (or occasionally a widower).  In those, the state
courts having jurisdiction over the estate often set aside the
residence and a parcel of land surrounding it as exempt from the
claims of creditors of a deceased spouse.  Such an order would
result in a deed signed by the administrator/administratrix.

I very much suggest that you send us a pic of that "deed" and that
you exhaust the records of that county for a few years before and a
few after the date of that document for any other courts' orders or
entries that might have to do with the land you mention.  The reason
for that suggestion is that the "deed" - if it truly was just that -
would be a result of a formal order of the court in the first and
third of the choices above, though it would not usually have been
required in land gained as a result of the extension of the
Homestead Act of 1862.

----- Original Message -----
From: karl Binz


I have a deed that was recorded in 1878 in Amherst County . It is
labeled as homestead and the Clerk's Office is said to recorded this
homestead, with the certificate of acknowledgement. Can someone
explain to me how he obtained a
homestead? I thought Virginia was land grants? When did homesteading
start and end? Thank you! Barbara in Idaho

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