University of North Carolina at Asheville
D.H. Ramsey Library
Special Collections/University Archives

 Manuscript Register
for

S.J. Justice and G.W. Justice Family Papers & Survey Records

M2003.4.1-5

"G.W. Justice by A.F. Baker," S.J. Justice and G.W. Justice Family Papers, (1800-1940), D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, UNCA 28804

Keyword : 
Samuel J. Justice ; George W. Justice ; Speculation Land Company ; Hendersonville, NC ; Henderson County ; land survey ; maps ; Green River Power Company ; Broad River Lumber Company ;

Papers include letters of correspondence, field survey notes, plats, maps, warrants, deeds, and photographs of family and associates. Documents range from the year 1833 to 1958 with the largest portion of the acquisition written between 1911 through 1920.

Samuel Jones Justice (September 6, 1851[?]-March 16, 1919)

Biography: S. J. Justice married Mary Etta (Marietta) Merrill and produced six children, including George Washington Justice. Marietta died prematurely in 1884 and Samuel remarried to Minnie M. Fanning Henninger. This second marriage produced two children. Samuel's primary occupation, like many in his family, was that of surveyor. Justice and Son, in Henderson County, North Carolina, was an endeavor with his son George W. for the purpose of surveying. Interesting anecdotes about the life Samuel J. Justice were located with the archives of the Hendersonville Historical Society. The French Broad Hustler, on 11/07/1907, wrote: "S.J. Justice left on Monday for Burke County (North Carolina) where he has a big survey to make will try to bag a bear or so, before he returns." This statement implies he was probably a hunter. Further, the surveying extended beyond Buncombe, Henderson, and Rutherford Counties to Burke.  An obituary that appeared in the Visitor, later renamed The News of Henderson County, reported: "Samuel J. Justice died at his home in Hendersonville Sunday afternoon at 6 o'clock age 67 1/2 years. Mr. Justice went to Spartanburg about two weeks before his death for a physical and learned of the serious condition of one of his kidneys and died about three days after returning home without undergoing surgery. He had large family connections in this section and was widely and favorably known......Since 1910, Mr. Justice was General Agent of what is locally known as the Speculation Land Co. He was physically a sturdy man and always enjoyed health. In character he was strong and noble  and nothing came between him an his duties to family and church."

George Washington Justice (November 19, 1878-August 14, 1948)

Biography: George, son of Samuel Jones Justice, married Ethel Marie Henderson in 1909. He and Ethel produced one child, Samuel Marion Justice. Unfortunately, Ethel died at the age of 28 in 1913. He was remarried to Irene Elizabeth Hunt in 1915 and produced four more children. George was a surveyor like his father. They were both involved in Justice and Son a surveying company in Hendersonville. George W. was the sole executor of his father's estate upon Samuel's death in 1919. He and his father were associated with the purchase of 5,000 acres in the "Big Hungry Section" of Henderson County. In 1940, George sold the land to a Florida land company for development. Samuel Jones Justice was the surveyor for the Speculation Land Company from around 1900 to about 1919. G. W. Justice succeeded his father as surveyor for the Speculation Lands only for a few months, from 1919 to 1920. The Court assigned G. W. Justice as a Commissioner to oversee the dissolution of the Speculation Land Company in 1920; at that time the heirs to the original lands numbered over 100, and the company had become unmanageable. He, along with Judge Fred McBrayer, on March 18, 1920, purchased the last 9,376 acres of land controlled by the company, officially dissolving it by 1921. 

Bibliography:
Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society, Hendersonville, North Carolina. Dr. George Jones and Virginia Thompson, President. 

http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/justice/default.htm