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University of North Carolina at
Asheville Speculation Lands Collection
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| Title | Speculation Lands Collection (1752-1930) | |
| Creator | Justice, George W. ; Justice, C.B. ; Justice, W.B. ; Justice, S.J. ; Justice, T.B. ; Justice family members ; Speculation Land Company | |
| Subject | Keyword : Tench Coxe ; Francis Sidney Coxe ; Revolutionary War ; land acquisition ; North Carolina real estate ; land speculation ; land tenure ; land survey ; Buncombe County, N.C. ; Henderson County, N.C. ; McDowell County, N.C. ; Polk County, N.C. ; Rutherford County, NC ; Asheville, N.C. ; George W. Justice ; James Glasgow ; Samuel Ashe ; Isaac Bronson ; James Greenlee ; James Beard ; Joshua Forman ; |
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| Subject | LCSH : Alexander, Francis Ashe, Samuel Beard, James Beard, Lewis Baird, Alexander Baird, James Bronson, Arthur Bronson, Frederick Bronson, Isaac, 1760-1838 Bronson, Oliver Bronson, Willett Cherokee Indian Reservation (N.C.) -- Boundaries Cherokee Indian Reservation (N.C.) -- Surveys Coxe, Tench, 1755-1824 Coxe, Francis Sidney Coxe family Deeds -- North Carolina -- Rutherford County Erwin, William W. Forman, Joshua, d. 1848 Glasgow, James Greenlee, James Hoyt, Goold [Gould] Hyatt, Jacob Justice, C. Bayliss Justice, George W. Justice, J. B. Justice, Samuel J. Justice, Thomas B. Justice, W. B. Justice, William M. McIntire, Archibald North Carolina, Western -- Genealogy North Carolina, Western -- History Land companies -- United States -- History Land grants -- Great Britain -- Colonies -- History Land grants -- United States -- History Land tenure Land titles -- North Carolina Land speculation -- North Carolina Polk, William J. Public land sales -- Great Britain -- Colonies -- History Public land sales -- United States -- History Rutherford Land Company -- North Carolina Sackett, Augustus Tilghman, William, 1756-1827 United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 United States -- History -- 1783-1815 |
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| Description | In Philadelphia in September of 1795, two agents,
Andrew Baird and Lewis Beard, approached Tench Coxe, assistant to
Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States
under Washington's administration, regarding land holdings of some half
million acres in western North Carolina. The Baird agents
represented the interests of the Rutherford Land Company that consisted of
some 18 members or Trustees, including William W. Erwin , James
Greenlee,
and others. The Rutherford Land Company was apparently created by Greenlee who owned extensive tracts in Burke County,
North Carolina. Andrew Baird, a former New Jersey iron master, knew
members of the Coxe family and this possibly accounts for the primary
interest in Coxe as an investor. The Bairds offered Coxe an opportunity to purchase some or all of the
land holdings of the Company, described as "east of the Blue Ridge Mountains" for 9 cents an acre. The tracts
Tench Coxe eventually purchased included land in present day Rutherford County, Polk County, Henderson
County, Cleveland County, McDowell County and Buncombe County. [William
W. Ervin and Andrew Baird to Coxe, Sept. 17, 1795, Coxe Papers.]
Tench Coxe through a series of purchases obtained some 400,000 acres in western North Carolina. He managed to retain many of the land holdings for some twenty years by placing his real estate into a land trust. The first trust was held by William Tilghman, a trusted cousin and family lawyer, another friend and relative Abraham Kintzing, and a close relative, Richard Coxe, his wife's brother. It is believed that Pierre-Estienne DuPonceau, a family friend and lawyer was also appointed a trustee at this time. This collection details the Tench Coxe purchase, the subsequent trusteeships and ownerships, the ensuing financial intrigue, and the substantial survey activity generated by various real estate activities. To trace the chronology of the Speculation Lands activity see the
TIME
LINE.
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| Publisher | D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 | |
| Contributor | Gene and Sharon Robbins ; Joe
Kimmel ; Lynn
Roundtree ;
UNCA is especially indebted to the careful inventory completed by Gene Robbins and for the sharing of that inventory and notes with the D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections. |
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| Datee | 2003-02-14 | |
| Type | Collection ; Text ; Map | |
| Format | 850 items ; 4 linear ft. | |
| Identifier | http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/speculation_lands/default.htm | |
| Source | M03.3.1-14 ; P03.3.1 ; OS03.3.1 | |
| Language | en=English | |
| Relation |
D.H. Ramsey
Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville
28804 Tench Coxe Collection (1798-1910), D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 Frank Coxe Papers (1899-1987), D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 Speculation Land Company Paperss, #2876, Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Southern Historical Collection. Speculation Land Company Records, 1775-1992. #124, Appalachian State University, Belk Library, W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection Archives. West, Lucy Fisher. Guide to the Microfilm of the Papers of Tench Coxe in the Coxe Family Papers at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1977. Coxe Family Mining Papers, 1774-1968, #3005, Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), Philadelphia, PA.. |
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| Coverage | 1755-1984 ; Pennsylvania ; North Carolina ; Tennessee ; New Jersey ; South Carolina ; New York | |
| Rights | Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law. | |
| Donor | Donor number #186 ; Joe and Steven Kimmel, Asheville, NC | |
| Acquisition | 2003-02-30 | |
| Citation | Speculation Lands Collection, [Item #...], D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 | |
| Processed byy | Special Collections staff 2003-04 | |
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Biographies and List of Key Players |
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| Alexander, Francis Ashe, Samuel Beard, Lewis Baird, Alexander Baird, Andrew Baird, James Bronson, Arthur Bronson, Frederick Bronson, Isaac Bronson, Oliver Bronson, Willett Campbell, Arthur Coxe, Daniel Coxe, Francis Sidney Coxe, Tench (1755-1824) Coxe, Frank, Col. Davis, M.W.. Du Ponceau, Pierre-Etienne 1760-1844 Erwin, William W. Forman, Joshua Glasgow, James Greenlee, James |
Hoyt, Goold [Gould] Hyatt, Jacob Justice, C. Bayliss Justice, George W. Justice, James Dyer Justice, Samuel J. Justice, Thomas B. Justice, William M. Justice, William B. Kintzig, Abraham Ladshaw, George E. McBrayer, Fred McIntire, Archibald Murray, James B. Polk, William J. Rutherford Land Company Sacket, Augustus Sacket, Augustus, Jr. Sacket, Edward Stevens, James Thompson, Smith Tilghman, William |
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Historical Context |
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| Following the Revolutionary War
the state of North Carolina disposed of lands formerly owned by the Crown
and also by individuals such as the Earl of Granville, one of the largest British
land owners. Under the state law settlers could locate unsettled land and
claim it. A settler was authorized to claim up to 640 acres and an additional 100
acres for a wife and for each additional minor child. The fees for this
granted land were two pounds and ten shillings per hundred acres. He could
also purchase lands in excess of the authorized allotment for five pounds per
100 acres or approximately ten cents per acre. Upon purchase, the settler
was also required to wait one full year to determine if there were other
legitimate claims against the land. The Revolutionary War military grants were made on lands now
held by the state of Tennessee and are not directly included in the
Speculation Lands transactions or in this historical context.
The process for purchasing land at the individual level in the state of North Carolina required that the transaction be recorded in county deed books. The recording of deeds follows a defined four-step process. Essentially it requires the individual to locate the desired land and make an application to an entry taker. The petition may then be submitted to a Court of Claims where the settler petitions the Council for a warrant to be conducted by a surveyor and to be set apart for the settler. The warrant with a loosely described tract (this can be narrative or include plats) is then given to a court appointed surveyor who then makes the survey using the metes and bounds survey method that relates the land to natural markers such as streams, known property lines, rivers, or identifiable trees that are used as "corners." The court appointed surveyor then formalizes the survey by detailing the direction in degrees and the distance in poles or chains and he creates a plat (map). The petitioner is then required to pay a set fee for the survey service per acre and the fee to issue the patent, or the combined fees. A document recording the payment of the settler's fee is made and the land warrant and the survey are filed in the county and in the state secretary's office. Generally the state recorded the warrants in bound volumes. After recording, the patent was then issued to the individual petitioner. Many of the Speculation Lands were held in trust. This practice was used when the buyer had extreme debts to creditors. This arrangement then required multiple negotiations to sell the land as the trustee may be seen as the legal "owner" of the land, i.e. hold the title, until the buyer can satisfy the debt. If the buyer cannot settle the debt according to the mortgage terms, the trustees may then become the de facto owners of the land. |
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| The engrossment of Cherokee land is particularly significant and
poignant. Through a series of treaties, and through legislation, the
Cherokee lands were first turned over to the Federal government to manage
in 1783. Federal Commissioners negotiated their first treaty with
the Cherokee in 1785. This measure prohibited the settlement of Cherokee
land by frontier settlers and restricted sale or cession of land without
the approval of the U.S. government. It was, however, during this time
that the Cherokee ceded territory in Buncombe County and the surrounding
area that bordered the French Broad River. The acreage was reported to be
some 352,000 acres. In 1791 a second treaty was negotiated and with this
treaty the Cherokee relinquished another 462,082 acres in the region west
of Asheville and extending to the Clinch River. Subsequent treaties
negotiated increases in the amount paid out as annuities on the land by
the Federal government. In an agreement, the treaty of 1798, the Cherokee
again ceded territory. This time the acreage was some 375,680 ceded to the
state of North Carolina. The acreage
was located in an area that is roughly between present-day Hendersonville
and Waynesville. The North Carolina legislature hoped this new purchase
would settle military bonus requirements. In 1827 the Cherokee adopted
their formal Constitution. By all accounts the status of the Indian nation was
extraordinarily progressive --- some would say more progressive than many of
their frontier neighbors. In 1828 gold was discovered in western North
Carolina and the progress of the Cherokee began to erode. In the landmark
case of the Cherokee Nation v. State of Georgia the court declined to take
the case, citing the foreign nation status of the Cherokee. Events began
to go against the Cherokee and their future spiraled downward and by 1835 the treaty that brought about the
"Trail of Tears" had been enacted. This treaty resulted in the last
cession of land, some 711,680 acres. Through the cession of land in the
treaties of 1777, 1778, 1791, 1798, and now the final treaty, the 1835
buy-out, settlers came into possession of a substantial series of tracts of western North Carolina land.
In the late 1820's another series of speculative land ventures occurred
and the voracious acquisition of land began again.
Gene Robbins noted that there is no evidence that the "Speculation Lands" Company, or "Speculation Land Company" ever existed as a legal entity. A grant issued by the State of North Carolina in 1818 used the term "Speculation Lands" for the first time, while "Speculation Land Company" was found in later documents. |
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WNC County Context |
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Bibliography:A growing list of books and articles related generally to land speculation and specifically to the Speculation Lands in western North Carolina. UNCA Press Release |
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ITEMSItems by Number:Items 001-099 Items 100-199 Items 200-299 Items 300-499 Items 500-777 |
Search the Speculation Lands Collection | |
| Items by Category: | ||
| Series No.: | Description: | |
| 1 | State of North Carolina Grants- The state grants (patents) in this series were issued jointly to Lewis Beard, William Erwin and James Greenlee with Tench Coxe as the assignee or direct purchaser. The patents are signed by Samuel Ashe, North Carolina Governor (1795-1798), by James Glasgow, Secretary of State (1777-1798), and by the surveyor of the tract. The some 21 patents generally pertain to land surveyed in Rutherford County in the late 1790's. Includes Patent 1040, Patent 1029, Patent 1035, Patent 1010, Patent 1009, Patent 1024, Patent 1011, Patent 1054, Patent 1039, Patent 1018, Patent 1003, Patent 1312, Patent 1032, Patent 1021, Patent 1034, Patent 250, Patent 1013, Patent 1001, Patent 1023, Patent 1030, Patent [n.d.] (21 items) | |
| 2 | Maps (Plats) - Generally include survey maps for various patents and warrants. Also included are maps for the Green River Power Company and for the Broad River Lumber Company holdings. (42 items) | |
| 3 | Survey and Survey Related Items - Included are field notes, surveys, and inventories of survey activity. (81 items) | |
| 4 | Books of Surveys and Field Notes and Other Land Related Matters - Specific land related matters are found in inventories and in field note booklets. Tax return memoranda, survey lists, land management problems, survey notes for grants made to William Polk and others. 1850's survey notes related to tract known as the "Davis Mine Tract," and the Samuel L. Gedney surveys are also included. (18 items) | |
| 5 | Books of Accounts, Ledgers, Expenses, and Miscellaneous Items - Includes account records of M.W. Davis (1847-49), J.D. Justice (1849-50) and expense records of T.B. Justice (1853). Contract books, survey notes, expenses, cash transactions, bids, lists of land owners, standing timber reports for Wright-Bachman Lumber Company, notes on the Green River Power Company litigation, and other miscellaneous reports are rich in anecdotal information about western North Carolina. A list of unsold Patens dated January 1, 1876 - July, 1905 and an accounting of the value of the western North Carolina property at that date, is especially noteworthy. Unsold acreage in 1906 was recorded to be 32,000 acres with a value of $117,000. (17 items) | |
| 6 | Miscellaneous Books - George W. Justice's cash book for the First Baptist Church of Hendersonville detailing home mission activity and "A Scrap Book for College Reminiscence," by George W. Justice (1903) that includes information on his years at Vanderbilt University is of personal interest. The third item is a book cover titled "Peter Fisher's Sales." (3 items) | |
| 7 | General Correspondence and Documents- Various letters related to land transactions, litigation, and advertising of speculation lands. Documents include many indentures, liens, probate court documents, deeds, and other official land conveyance items. Two miscellaneous items. (34 items) | |
| 8 | "Speculation Land Company" Documents and Correspondence - Includes general correspondence of Justice family, particularly C. Bayliss and S.J. Justice. Legal documents of appointment as agent, reports from the field, and reports to trustees of the land holdings, financial lists, lists of land owners, legal documents of Justice agents, and several chronologies of ownership of lands are included here. A copy of the last will and testament of Gould Hoyt is of particular interest. Indentures and Conveyance reports, Revocation of Powers documents, Act of Confirmation of James B. Murray signed by Smith Thompson (1828), and other early and extraordinary document fall into this series. The "Memorandum of Record" written by Joshua Forman dated October 21, 1829, Rutherfordton, NC provides a succinct accounting of early land negotiations with trustees. Documents and letters in this series constitute the core negotiations of the "Speculation Lands" and are central to an understanding of the real estate ventures of all the key players. (100 items) | |
| 9 | Surveys of Individual Plats and
Tracts of Land (1752-1842)- This series includes more than 500
items, largely surveys of smaller tracts of land (the largest being 1,616
acres), most purchased from the "Speculation Land Company" and
some from private individuals. The earliest survey in this group is one
dated 1752 and the latest is that of 1842. The bulk of the surveys fall
between the years of 1797 and 1835 and are the work of Rutherford County
Chief Surveyor, Francis Alexander. Gene Robbins in the original inventory
of materials notes that of the 500 or so surveys, only 4 or 5 were for
women. Generally each survey includes the Warrant Number, the date when
Warrant was legally registered, and usually the name of the individual(s)
for whom the Warrant was generated. (c. 500 items)
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