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Object Description
| Title | Townsend Dickinson 1826 Deed |
| Date Original | February 23, 1826 |
| Creator | Reuben Richardson, County Clerk |
| Transcription |
This Deed made and executed this third day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty six Between Joseph Hardin sheriff of the County of Lawrence in the Territory of Arkansas and Collector of the Taxes therein of the first part and Townsend Dickinson of the County of Independence and Territory aforesaid of the second part witnesseth that whereas pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of the Territory of Arkansas passed October twenty ninth in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty three “entitled an act to regulate the collection of Taxed on military bounties” The Auditor of the Territory of Arkansas did transmit to the said Joseph Hard sheriff as aforesaid a list of the Military bounty lands situated in the said County of Lawrence, which had been patented by the United States three years previous to the first day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty four and whereas the said Joseph Hardin as sheriff as aforesaid did enter and list for taxation the following tract or quarter section of Land in the name of Jacob St John, to wit, The North- west quarter of section Eleven of Township fourteen North in Range four East containing one hundred and sixty acres, lying in the said county of Lawrence in conformity to the said law and agreeable to the laws of the said Territory regulating the collection of Taxes and whereas the term of sixty days having expired since the receipt of said quarter section of land for taxation and neither the said patentee or owner thereof nor any other person or persons for him having paid the taxes due on said quarter of section of land to the same Territory or to the proper thereof authorized to receive the same amounting to the sum of Two dollars and forty cents and there being no personal estate of the said Jacob St John whereon to lay and make distress for the same, Therefore I the said Joseph Hardin as sheriff as aforesaid did proceed to advertise and give notice according to law, that I would sell at public auction on Monday the first day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty four at the court house door in the Town of Davidsonville, the said County of Lawrence the said quarter section of land, or so much thereof as would be sufficient to pay the said taxes together with the costs and charges due thereon for the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty four which said advertisement containing the name of the patentee and a particular description of said quarter section of land and the amount of taxes due thereon was published in the Arkansas Gazette a newspaper printed at Little Rock in the said Territory and was also set up at the court house door of said County of Lawrence at least sixty days previous to the said day of sale and on the said first day of November in the year aforesaid the said taxes costs and charges on said quarter section of land still remaining due and unpaid. I the said Joseph Hardin as sheriff as afore said did proceed to sell at public auction at the court house door of the said County of Lawrence the said quarter section of land, or so much thereof as would be sufficient to pay the said taxes costs and charges due thereon as aforesaid where upon the said Townsend Dickinson bid and offered to pay the taxes costs and charges due thereon for the whole quantity thereof, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, and no other person or persons budding or offering to pay the same for a less quantity thereof the whole of the said quarter section of land was thereupon struck off to him the said Townsend Dickinson, which said taxes and costs and charges did amount to the sum of Two dollars and sixty five cents and an half cents, and the said Townsend Dickinson having paid to me the said Joseph Hardin as sheriff as aforesaid the said sum of Two dollars and sixty five cents and an half cents the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged and the term of twelve months the time allowed by law for the redemption of said quarter section of land having expired since the day of the sale thereof and the same not having been redeemed and the said Townsend Dickinson having produced to me the sheriff the certificate granted to him for said quarter section of land at the time of the purchase thereof and requiring of me a deed for the same. Now Kno ye that I the said Joseph Hardin as sheriff as aforesaid by virtue of the authority in me vested under the acts and proceedings before mentioned, and in consideration of the said sum of Two dollars and sixty five cents and an half cents received by me in manner and form and for the purposes aforesaid, Hath granted bargained and sold by these presents doth grants bargain and sell unto the said Townsend Dickinson his heirs and assigns the above described quarter section of Land, hereby granting and conveying to the said Townsend Dickinson his heirs and assigns all the right title and interest of the said Jacob St John and all and every other person or persons whomsoever in the same. To have and to hold the above described quarter section of land, together with all the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining to him the said Townsend Dickinson his heirs and assigns forever, as fully and absolutely as I, the said Joseph Hardin as sheriff as aforesaid and under the authority, acts, and proceedings aforesaid might could or ought to sell and convey the same. In Testimony whereof I the said Joseph Hardin as sheriff as aforesaid have hereunto set my hand and seal on the say and years first above written Sealed and Delivered in presence of AB Stuart Elijah Kennedy |
| Description | Jacob St. John originally purchased the Northwest quarter of section 11 of Township 14 North in Range 4 East in Lawrence County, Territory of Arkansas. He defaulted on his 1824 property taxes totaling $2.40, which led to his land being confiscated by the Sheriff of Lawrence County, Joseph Hardin. After advertising the foreclosure in the Arkansas Gazette, the land was auctioned off at Davidsonville courthouse where Townsend Dickinson placed the winning bid. For two dollars, 65 cents and one-half cent, Dickinson covered the taxes and fees to acquire all 160 acres. |
| Physical Description | Deed, 7.8 x 12.6", 4 pages |
| Subjects | Land; |
| Staff Comments | Quite simply, the handwriting is beautiful. The writer was an artist with a pen. There isn’t a misspelling, only one scratch out, perfectly even lines, and almost a work of art in the uniformity of his letter formation. Not only is this telling of how extensively the writer was educated, it also speaks to the long lost standards of his day. Penmanship was critical to a pupil’s learning regimen and especially useful on the frontier where printed material would have been highly costly. Beautiful form aside, it’s also amazing what a wealth of information one deed can hold. It mentions the Arkansas Gazette as being in print, reveals the legal processes of the time, identifies the Sheriff of Lawrence County, and demonstrates one of the uses of the courthouse at Davidsonville. There’s so much information packed into one document with lovely, legible handwriting. -Meredith McFadden |
| Geographical Area | Davidsonville, Lawrence County, Territory of Arkansas |
| Language | English |
| Local Identifier | MSNE.0077 / AN2010.0001 |
| Digital Resource | Document |
| Digital Collection | Tales from the Vault - Celebrating 110 Years |
| Publisher | Arkansas State Archives |
| Preferred Citation | Townsend Dickinson 1826 Deed, MSNE.0077 / AN2010.0001 – B1 F8, Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives, Powhatan, Arkansas |
| Rights and Usage | Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov. |
Description
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