[Page 2]

Jany 15 1873

Dear Sir,
Yours of the 10th inst including Agreement and Power of Atto and also former Agreement with my father, is to hand. I herewith include the Duplicate of Agreement as per year instructions. I will place your letter on file and try to follow your suggestions in the future.

Jany 25 1873

Dear Sir,
Enclosed find draft from The First National Bank of Charlotte, Charlotte N.C. Jany 24 1873. The National Park Bank of New York.
Pay to the order of C. B. Justice Five hundred and ninety-six dollars.
No 343 signed M. A. Peynam
Which please place to my credit and inform me of the recpt [receipt] of the same.



[Page 3]
Feby 8 1873

Dear Sir,
Yours of the 4th inst acknowledges receipt of Draft is to hand. There is an Agency of the "Liverpool and London and Globe" insurance company, at this place, also the "Ale House" insurance company, and the "Old North State" insurance company. The awilling[?] house, owned by the Proprietors, cost originally something over thirteen hundred dollars and is worth at present about $1100. The office building is worth about $400. These are the only buildings on the property that are of much value.

Feby 13 1873

Dear Sir,
I herewith enclose Requisitions for nineteen deeds. Will you be so kind as to have them executed and forwarded to me at your earliest convenience, so that I may have them by the time the courts begin on our Circuit which will be the middle of March.




[Page 4]

Feby 23 1873
Dear Sir,
I herewith enclose to you two drafts payable at the National Park Bank New York one for $445.00 and one for $721.88 making a total of $1166.88 which you will please place to my credit and acknowledge the recp [receipt] of the same.

May 8 1873

Dear Sir,
On the 12th of Feby last I enclosed to you Requisitions for 19 Deeds, and also on the 23rd of the same month I wrote enclosing Drafts for $1166.88. On the 1st of March Mr. F. E. Vanankew wrote me acknowledging the recpt of the Drafts and informing me of your absence from the city. I write at present to ascertain whether or not you have returned to the city and also to call your attention to the Requisitions.




[Page 5]

June 9 1873
Dear Sir,
I am in recpt [receipt] of a proposition from some parties in Marion County wishing to purchase about 2000 acres of land, and inquiring for terms & c. According to my agreement with the Proprietors I have not got the power to make a sale of this size without submitting the same to you. I would suggest that the sale be made at $3.00 per acre or $6000.00 one half to be paid in advance and the remainder in one and two years with interest. My reason for suggesting the payment of one half in advance is that I think the parties are wanting to buy for the timber and will get most of if off in one year, and therefore it would be best to secure the Proprietors against any loss they might sustain by a forfeiture of the contract. Please let me hear from you at your earliest convenience.

P.S. The Deeds for which I asked are recd.




[Page 6]

June 18 1873
Dear Sir,
Yours of the 14th is to hand and contents noted, enclosed find Draft No 465 from The First National Bank of Charlotte N.C. payable to the order of C. B. Justice for Eight Hundred dollars $800, at First National Bank Charlotte N.C. dated Apr 21st 1873 which you will please place to my credit and inform me of the recpt of the same.

June 19 1873

Dear Sir,
Enclosed find Draft for $385.00 (The National Bank of Spartinburg [sic] Spartinburg S.C. June 18 1873. Pay tot he order of C. B. Justice Thirteen hundred and eighty five dollars. To the National Park Bank New York No 3315) Gro Cofield Cashier, which please place to my credit and acknowledge the recpt of same. Please know[?] of some of your dealers the price of Mica and also the sizes and gratitus[?] that are marketable with any other information of importance relative to mining for min[erals] There is some excitement here




[Page 7]
in the subject of mica but I can't tell as yet what are to be the results. Will let you know if any thing should be developed that promises good results.

June 29 1873

Dear Sir,
Yours of the 19th inst is to hand and contents noted; I have written to the parties, in Marion County, who proposed buying the 2000 acres of land making them an offer similar to the suggestion made to you in my letter of the 9th and will inform you immediately in recpt of their answer.
Enclosed herewith you will find Draft from (The First National Bank of Charlotte $794.97... [continues about bank transactions]




[Page 8]
June 30 1873

Dear Sir,
I herewith submit to you my semiannual report for the six months [??] June 10h 1873, and also statement of contracts made during the same period. All of which I hope will prove satisfactory. I have only been able to visit Pats 1005, 1061, 1028, 1024, 250, 1010, 1006, 1014, 1027, & 1036. I left home in April to attend Union[?] Court but found Messing to[?] prevailing in Shelby. I therefore wrote to some of my friends in Monroe and did not go. The business there so far has been carried on by correspondence, as is m__[?] very good corrections.[?] I propose visiting that county this fall and spending some time attending to the surveying & ect.[?] You will see from my recpt that I still have on hand a ballance [sic] of $1364.33 on hand which it is best to retain in office as the Tax lists will go into the hands of the Shff. [Sheriff] in a short time, and I may not be able to make evelections[?] in time to meet them, as many matters are likely to be a little close now, but should I see that I can meet the taxes and still have a ballance on hand I will make a remittance.
The Wilmington, Charlotte & Rutherford Rail Road has been sold and is now known as the Carolina Central Railway, and I learn that the intention of the present Co is to complete the road from Wilmington to Shelby by the 1st of




[Page 9]
Jany next. They are now working a strong force from Wadesboro to Monroe. What they intend owing[?] reaction to the extension of the road west of Shelby I can't tell, but it is generally thought that they will extend it to the Tennessee line via Rutherfordton, Reedy Patch Gap and Asheville. I learn that the Engineers are now at work making a survey for a road from Spartinburg [Sic] S.C. via Polk County to Asheville N.C. and should this road be built it will pass through a quantity of the lands. The people are manifesting more interest in R.R. matters than family.
As I remarked in a former letter there is quite an excitement hear [sic] at present on the Mica subject and great many applications to lease. I have in a few instances given Leases on small bodies of lands to be worked for Mica, reserving the right at any time to sell or lease the farming interest or any mineral intrest [sic] except Mica, the parties agreeing to pay as toll or rent one fifth of all the marketable mica taken out, and with certain other conditions that will compell [sic] the working of the mine or work a forfeiture of the lease but before making any other leases I have thought best to consult with you. There are doubtless some __itiees[?] on the property that will pay for wok but I think that a great many of the places now spoken of by parties as being of sufficient promise to justify will prove worthless; still the only way to develop those that may be profitable is by leasing to parties having the capital and who will open them and in this way bring in as much




[Page 10]
additional revenue to the proprietors as possible not only from the unsold land but from the lands that have been sold on which the minerals have been reserved. Say give a lease specifying that proper and permanent work shall be commenced in 30 days from the date of the lease, and should such work not be commissioned in 30 days from the date of the lease, and should such work not be commenced in 30 days or should it be suspended for 30 days, or should the leasee fail or refuse to pay promptly & faithfully the tolls then the lease to be void. This would tend to develop the mica intrest [sic] and at the same time not encumber the property that sis not contain mica sufficient to justify working. I shall not make any other leases until I hear from you and will then pursue such a course as you may think advisable. There is undoubtedly[?] a large quantity of mica in our mountains, the only question being as to whether or not it can be farmed[?] in such forms[?] and of such quantities as will make it profitable.
I have been requested by certain parties who profess to know something about the location of certain gold veins, to ask what intrest [sic] you would give them in the vein, provided they make a discovery on the property. I have but little faith in it but still it might result in the discovery of something that would be proffitable. [sic] I therefore submit the enquiry to you and await you answer.




[Page 11]
Sept 8 1873

Dear Sir,
Yours of the 3 inst is to hand. So far as giving an intrest [sic] in gold veins to parties who may discover them on property is concerned, I think that if the parties should be able to work them that a lease at a rent of 1/8 or 1/10 of the gross proceeds of the mine would be satisfactory, but if discoveries should be made by parties who are not able to work the mine then it might be necessary to give them such an intrest [sic] in the proceeds of the mine as would justify and remunerate them for the discovery, and thereby protect the proprietors from impositions that would be practised, [sic] or attempted, if they proposed to give any specific amt for the discovery. I think that your suggestion relative to the owners reserving "the powers to terminate the lease if they become satisfied that true returns are not made" is a good one. I have been very careful not to give any lease but what would be forfeited by a foreclose[?] to work the mine for 3 months at any time




[Page 12]
as I had learned that some of the parties of whom you speak were takeing [sic] nonforfeitable leases, and thought it best to guard against a thing of that sort. I find that the greatest difficulty in the way of leasing is that the leases are for so short a time that leasees fear that it will not justify them for the trouble and expense of opening the mine
I herewith enclose a copy of the leases that I have given. I have but few outstanding leases, as I have had some doubts as to whether the mica intrest [sic] of this county would pay to work or not, and have therefore declined making any leases except where the prospect was most flattering. So far nothing has been developed that promises any immediate returns. The purchasers Armfield and Stephens on Pat 1325 are E. A. Armfield and A. F. Stephens, citizens of Union County, who bought, jointly the land reported[?] in my statement of contracts. The contract is assigned by them forth individually, and finds each one of them for the payment of the purchase money, once is not assigned by them under the name or title of a firm. I am suiposed [supposed?] to think that the purchasers in this case are as solvent as any in the country. Since the 1st of July the receipts in this office have been small owing to a general presence in money matters and to the fact that it is just the season of the year that farmers have but little to sell[.] I think however that as the season advances the collections will be better as farmers will find a market for stock and grain. The cotton crop is as good and perhaps better that it was last year which will bring some money in the country. I shall be hapy [sic] to recieve




[Page 13]

any suggestions that you may have to make.
Nov 5 1873

Dear Sir,
I have recd [received] an application from parties resident in this County proposeing [sic] to lease 200 acres of Mtn [Mountain] land to be worked for minerals, but who are not willing to commence operations under a base for a shorter period that three years and would prefer it for five years at a toll of 1/10 of the minerals/gold or silver taken out of the mine, to be void on condition that they fail to work for thirty days at any one time or fail to make a full and fair return of the proceeds of the mines. Being limited in my Power of Atto to making leases for one year I submit the matter to you.
There has been no work done of the premises at any time, and therefore the whole thing will be to develop. I think the parties are responsible and will do what they agree to
I wrote you on the 8th of Sept but have recd no answer as yet




[Page 14]
Nov 14 1873

Dear Sir,
Yours of the 8 is to hand. There are but two outstanding leases at present, several others had been made but the prospects[?] not justifying the least refused or failed to work and forfeited the lease[.] There is one lease running with Tho[mas] Kirwin in that part of Pat 1027 lying in Cleveland County, this lease was made for two years, from the fact that in the latter part of my father's agency he gave some leases for that term of years, and in making this lease I pursued the same course he did without examining my Power of Atto as carefully as I should, and like men often so who neglect to examine for themselves, did something I ought not[.] This lease is only for the mica intrest [sic] for which he agrees to pay at toll $500 a year to be paid semi-annually in advance, with 30 days of grace and should he fail to make said semi-annual payment of $250, in allowance the lease is to be forfeited & void. The first payment has been made and the second will be due the 6th of Decr. I would not approve of the conditions of this lease for general use, but thought them best in this case from the fact that I was anxious to have the mica veins of this section thoroughly[?] __ted[?], and seeing no chance of having it done without making an arrangement of this sort I asserted to the propesition [sic] of Mr Kirwin who I took to be a gentleman and a man of means and energy sufficient to make a




[Page 15]

thorough test of the matter. The results so far by way of yields[?] of mica from this property have not been flattering. In face there has been but little if any marketable mica found in this part of the state, therefore the excitement is abating. The other lease is with J.R. Young & J.B. Davis on three hundred & twenty acres of land on Patents No 1061 & 250 for three years, they[?] agreeing to pay one tenth of all the silver or gold taken out under said lease. In the event they fail to open a mine and commence permanent work by the 20th of Feby 1874 the lease is to be forfeited. As yet they have made no discovery and I have but little hope of their doing so. If in either of there transactions I have done any thing that did not meet your approbation I shall resent it very much. If you so direct I will forward forth the leases for your approval. I have submitted your suggestion with refrence [sic] to additional claims to leases to my brother and will give you his views as soon as able__[?]
I suppose the a__ty [?] confered [sic] in the cevet[?] powers of Atto. the one now in my possession & the one you propose sending will be is sufficient for all practical purposes. I should have made a remittance before now but for the unsettled condition of the Banks. At your suggestion I will forward one as soon as I can procure the necessary Draft. The pressure in money matters is being felt very in the country and I fear that with all I can do there will[?] be a considerable falling off in the recps for this six month as compared with last[.] The price of cotton is down and that not only affects the amt of money in the country but also the price of every thing else[.]



[Page 16]
Farmers find it very hard to get money at present.
I am doing all I can to make collections without oppressing the people.

Nov 17 1873

Dear Sir,
Yours of the 13th inst is to hand. Likely it would be well enough if I had the power to make leases for mining purposes with your assent so as to be able to make them without the delay of having in each instance to consult the Proprietors[.]
The land spoken for by parties for mining purposes is situated about 17 miles west of this place, on the north side of Main Broad river and the Hickory nut road, and a short distance N.E. of the chimney rock. If I recollect right the land referred to by Mr Cooper lies on the other side of the river[.]
I price that the taxes are higher this year that they were last and will amt to about $1500.




[Page 19]
Decr 31 1873

Dear Sir,
I herewith inclose [sic] to you my semiannual Report and also statement of contracts made for the six months ending Jany 1st 1874 all of which I hope will be satisfactory. While the recpts for the last six months have fall short as compared with the proceeding six months, yet there has been an increase as compared with those of the corresponding six months of last year. Had it not been for the money Panic and the decline in the price of cotton, I am inclined to thin that they would have exceeded those of the last six months; These are both passing off and the future outlook is brighter. I shall remit the ballance on hand as soon as I can procure the necessary Drafts, which will be in a few days. During the past year I have been closing up a number of the old and insolvent contracts. Many of them had been transferred by the original purchasers to other parties who were cultivating the lands without making any effort to pay for them; where this was the case I thought it adviseable [sic] to revoke the contracts and put the lands in market. In this way I have succeeded in putting several tracts under what I consider solvent contract. I have also been trying to stimulate the people and get them to think that it was to their intrest [sic] to make payments as rapidly as possible and thereby stop the intrest and procure the title to their lands. A great many men need to be hurried up occasionally. I have tried to do this without injureing [sic] any one as every one thus




[Page 20]
injured must lessen the number of those that would be likely to purchase and pay for lands. Having in most caser to deal with poor men, it is to the intrest [sic] of the proprietors that they be treated with as much lenity as possible. Policy; to say noting of the sympathy we should feel for another, would suggest as much mercy and forbearance in the premises as the nature of the case would admit of [.] There has been no perceptable [sic] change in the states of our R. Roads since my last report[.] During the last six months I have insisted and had [??] Patents 1027, 1030, 1014, 1028, 1024, 1005, 1021 & 250 and Union County. I shall go to Union again in march as by that time farmers will have dispatched of their cotton and in all probability it will be a favorable time to make sales. I am inclined to think that the sales and recpts of the next six months will exceed those of the past considerably as it will be a season of the year in which money is generally more easy in this country than it is through the latter part of the summer and fall.




[Page 22]

Jany 20 1874
Dear Sir,
I herewith inclosed [sic] statement, contracted[?], of amts due on solvent contracts Jany 1st & July 1st 1873 as asked for in your of Dec 18 1873. In the first column opposite each name will be found the amt i.e. principal and intrest [sic] due in such contract Jany 1st 1873. In the second column will be found the amt paid from date of contract to July 1st 1873. In the third column will be found the amt of intrest due Jany 1st 1873 which being deducted from the amt due some date will give the amt of principal due and on intrest Jany 1st 1873. In the fourth column will be found the total amt due July 1st 1873. It had been more tedious that I expected and consequently I have not been able to forward it as soon as I thought. I am inclined to think the taxes will be reduced some for the incoming year before the last for several years in consequence of some of the Counties having issued Bonds for the benefit of R. Road Corporations and the bond holders are are pressing for the intrest [sic] due, which had been accruing for several years. Others were indebted before the late war, and have become more involved since under the nussule[?] and fuel management that has prevailed, and are now




[Page 23]

making an effort to liquidate those claims. But I hardly think the taxes will be so high again. I propose making the necessary investigation so as to assertain [sic] more deffintity [definitely?] the exact number of acres of land on which the Proprietors ought to pay taxes as I am inclined to think that the No returned for taxation is too large. I have not been able to discover any difference in the assessment or taxation of the property as compared with other lands of like value, in any of the Counties except Union, and there it had always been assessed higher that other lands of the same quality; notwithstanding repeated efforts have been made by my Fachet & my self assisted by some prominent citizens of that and Mecklinburg [sic] Counties. Still the increase in the taxes of last year had been equal on other lands in that as well as the other counties. The amt $1,650 charged in my report as refunded to A Newton is to be charged to the contract of A Newton marked "Revoked" on page 13 of the statement herewith inclosed [sic]. The Draft of McAbey for $25 need not be charged to any contract as it has been arranged and will appear charged to me in my next semiannual statement[.] The $230 refunded to J.P. Philbeck is to be charged to the S. Daves contract. The amt $11.10 charged as refunded to L.R. Bridges is to be charged to his __n[?] contract. The Deed of McIntire and wife to McNaughton is now in the office of the Register of Deeds and will be forwarded soon. Allow me to call your attention to the proposition of certain parties in this county[?] to lease



[Page 24]
200 acres of Mountain land for mining purposes as contained in my letter of Nov 5 1873 as the parties were to see me a few days ago and are anxious to have a different answer.

Jan 21 1874
Dear Sir,
I herewith include the Deed of Mr. McIntire and wife to Mr. McNaughton which I have had registered in the Register's office of this County. The fees for registration were $2.10 which if it will answer, you can place to any credit and retain and I will charge in my repnt.
Allow me to suggest to you the propriety of expending about $50 in building a small Piazza, on the back side of the house in this place for the purpose of protecting the foundation work. I simply call your attention to the matter, believing it would add materially to the durability of the house, as I notice some of the brick work is beginning to decay from continued exposure to the rain & c.




[Page 27]

Apr 13 1874
Dear Sir,
Yours of the 9th inst is recd and contents noted. The negotiations for the sale of the 2000 acres of land in Union County failed owing to the parties not being willing to pay more that one fifth of the purchase money in advance which I was not willing to accept, as they were only buying for the timber and would take it off the first year, I thought that enough ought to be paid in advance to be equivalent to the amt proposed to be taken off before the first annual payment became due. The lease with Mr T. Kirwin is ceated[?] June 6th 1873 and is drawn for two years at a cash rent of $500 per annum to be paid semiannually in advance, all of which is set forth in my letter of Nov 14th 1873, except the clause providing for a continuation of the lease for three years longer. I would remark that so far Mr Kirwin has paid his rents very punctually, but his prospects of success are not so good for the future as they have been as the mica is diminishing in size and seems to be giving out. It may be that his lease may be forfeited by the 1st of July[.]
The house and office have not been insured yet but will be soon.
I herewith send the Statement asked for. The Statement of the No of acres unsold is only an approximation, as it would be impossible for me to make a correct one from the papers in office. The aggregate amt of $1030 will I think be sufficient to defray all necessary a__ind[?] expenses of making the survey. This statement does not include the Union County lands, I have thought, and still think that this survey should be made. As the No of acres owned by the proprietors is not sufficiently known, nor can it be without a general survey, consequently as I remarked



[Page 28]
in my letter of Jany 20th I think the No now reuimed[?] for taxation is too great. The expense of the work will depend a great deal on the readyness [sic] with which the boundary lines and corners can be located[.] This in some instances will be very readily done, while in others more difficult.
The shakering and lumbering in Stone and Bald Mnt has abated. No commotion for three weeks.




[Page 29]

July 3 1874
Dear Sir,
I herewith submit of recpts and disbursements and also of contracts made for the six months ending June 30th 1874 all of which I hope will prove satisfactory.
Since of the parcels of land have not been surveyed and therefore there may be some difference in the amts of of the contracts, but this will not be material as the sales are made at so much per acre.
You will note that I give myself credit for one hundred dollars paid M.H. Justice also[?] I did this on the strenght [sic] of your letter to him in which you consented to an increase



[Page 31]

of his salary to that amt. In the absence of any different instructions from you, I supposed you instruct it to begin with the fiscal year but lest I might be in error I paid it with the understanding that if not satisfactory to you it was to be refunded. Please let me have your views on the subject. I have visited the lands in Union County since my last report and am hapy [sic] to say that the business there is in a very satisfactory condition[.] I do not know but what it would be well enough to sell those minering[?] land in Union, reserving the minerals with the the right to work or sell them as their is some uncertainty about their ever coming into market as mines, and if not they will be left lying there under a heavy tax and loss of intrest [sic], which might accation[?] considerable less, I merely call your attention to the subject, believing that the lands, that is the agricultural intrest [sic] might be sold to advantage.
I herewith include a letter which I recd form Mr. G. Camren[?] of Spartanburg S.C. The R.R. of which he speak would doubtless enhance the value of the property[.] I simply lay his letter before you without making any suggestions, but will lay before Mr Camren[?] any answer that you may give. The prospects of the road to this place are still flattering but may all fail in the end. I am hapy [sic] to say that their is being[?] manifest among out people a good degree of a spirit of improvement in School, Churches,



[Page 31]

Farms, Dwellings, and in the general state of the public mind.
Since the commencement of my agency I have paid to my father for services rendered in the business six hundred dollars which has not been changed in the current expences [sic] of the agency, but paid out of my salary, should you think that it would be proper for me to charge it in my acpt current I will do so, otherwise I will not. Please let me hear from you on the subject, I will only say that the services rendered by my father have in addition to my full time, and most of them could not have been done otherwise, for the want of time upon my part. I simply make a statement of the facts and will cheerfully abide your decission [sic] in the premises. With refrence [sic] to instructions relative to the general survey, I await your pleasure, and shall proceed with the work as fast as practable [sic] after receiving the same. The business generally is in very good condition at this time, and would afford as ample oppertunities [sic] for making the survey as at any time.

P.S. I recd a letter from Mr T. Kirwin a short time since notifying me that he had abandoned his lease on Pat 1027 as it did not yeald [sic] a suff_ing[?] of mica to justify working. I have



[Page 32]

succeeded in reducing the aggregate amt of the value of the property retained for taxation, since last year, twenty three thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight 44/100 dollars, which will reduce the amt of the taxes some three or four hundred dollars per year.



[Page 33]

July 21 1874
Dear Sir,
Yours of the 13th and 14th are to hand. The Insurence [sic] of the House & office are all adjusted, and the Insurance will be effected in a short time.
On taking charge of the agency Jany 1st 1873 I found a number of old contract that had been running from ten to twenty years many of them without any payments having been made since the war. I thought it advisable to assertain as deffinetly [sic] as possible the standing and condition of each contractor, to make collections on the contracts where it was possible, and where the had lain so long without any thing having been paid, and it was evident[?] that nothing would; to revoke the contract and put the land in market again. This required the issueing [sic] of notices, the hunting up of the different parties, and an investigation into the facts governing each case so as to avoid the possibility of opressing [sic] the purchasers and at the same time protect the intrest of the Proprietors[.] I also found on entering on my duties that there were many parties in the Country who would seek to take advantage just at the time the agency changed, thinking doubtless that by mistatements & c. they could advance their own intrests [sic] more successfully that at any other time. This required insessant [sic] watchfullness and care until until the new agency should be well established and understood.



[Page 34]
The books in the office had not been kept as definite as desirable, all the items of expense having been changes promiscuously in the general acpt. without keeping an additional acpt in which each item of expense was kept seperate [sic] and apart from the others. To get up this required an investigatioon and seperating [sic] of the entire acpts of the business for the last forty years. There had been no statement of Acpt kept that would show at a glance the amts pd [amounts paid] from time to time and the amts due at the end of each current year; which was very important in case of sudden and destructive fire as a book containing these statements might be saved while it might be impossible to save, in every case the other evidences of the facts. To prepare this statement required a great deal of labor and time. These added to the usual and regular departments and demands of the business generally, gave me more that I could do without assistance, and to neglect them was, as I thought, detrimental to the best intrest [sic] of the Proprietors. I have therefore had up to July 1st 1874the assistance of my father, in the section where he lives, who has taken charge of the business and managed it according to the rules adopted; and by an with consent and approval. In doing this he has put under contract eight hundred and eighty four acres at an aggregate value of eleven hundred and twenty six dollars, and has collected Fourteen




[Page 35]

hundred and twenty seven dollars, superintended the making of a number of surveys, beside an amt of miscellaneous business that neccessarily [sic] attaches to the management of this business, but can't be demised[?] owing to i[t]s miscellaneous character. These matters are all arranged now. The old contracts, with but few exception, are either arranged so that payments will be made on them from time to time, or revoked and the land put in market again. The business I am hapy [sic] to day, is so organized and understood as to leave no prospects of any serious trouble. The books and statements are all made up satisfactory, and in the future I will be able to manage the entire business without any assistance.
These are the facts in the case. If you think proper you can buy[?] them before the Proprietors and if after hearing them they think it right and proper to allow me to give myself credit for the amt paid my father, six hundred dollars I will do so, otherwise I will not I want them satisfied in the matter. I shall arrange for and proceed with the general survey as fast as possible, but with all proper efforts it will likely requite twelve months to complete it. I propose making all the maps[?] myself and shall use every possible precaution to keep the expense as low as possible. With reference to the Union County lands it would perhaps be best to defer the survey of them until after the others



[Page 36]

are finished. I think that then it would be well enough to have them surveyed.
I will forward you as soon as I can prepare it a statement of contracts revoked[.]
I need some time since a copy of the new Power of Atto; which I presume was sent that I might examine it as it is one assigned by A. Bronson and Goold Hoyt and is wanting the signatures of the Trustees. I have examined it myself and submitted it to my Lawyer, and find that it conveys all the power necessary to the efficient management of the business. I herewith return it to you that, if you think proper, it may be assigned by the Trustees.



[Page 37]

Dec 5 1874
Dear Sir,
Yours of the 2nd inst is to hand. You ask to know in what leas the home is insured. I have it insured in the Old North State Insurance Co it being the only Co represented hear [sic] and a very solvent one. I was unable to secure until recently the service of any Surveyors to aid in the general Survey, but have now got the arrangement made and the work fairly underway and will prosecute it with all possible dispatch[.]
Enclosed find exchange for $383,23 which you will please place to my credit and inform me of the Recpt of the same. I shall make another remittance as soon as I have an opportunity of getting the necessary Drafts from Charlotte, which will be in a few days: Owing to a severe prepure[?] in mony [sic] matters the severest I have ever known, the collections will not be so good for the present six months, but I will try to make them as large as possible



[Page 39]

Dec 31 1874
Dear Sir,
I herewith forward my semiannual statement of recpts and disbursements for the six months ending Dec 31 1874 and also statement of contracts made for the same period. The recpts have fallen short as compared with those of the corresponding six months of last year, owing to the severe money prepure prevalent here at present and more especially from the first of July up till about a month ago, but the prospects are higher[?] now than they have been as produce of all kinds is in demand at good prices. I hope to be able to make the collections of the next six months equal if not exceed those of the six months ending the 30th of June last. Owing to the protracted sickness of my family, I have not been able to visit as many of the Patents this fall as I expected, having has three tedious cases of Typhoid Fever, but have succeeded in seeing most, if not all, the parties necessary to be seen. There has been not change in the status of out Rail Road matters since my last report except the the location of the Road from Spartanburg to Asheville, which runs so far west as to affect but little of the property. There are some efforts being made in the Legislature at its present session with a view to completing the road to this place, but it is uncertain, as yet, what the results will be. The taxes of Rutherford, Henderson, & Cleveland Counties have not yet been called for by the Shff but will be I suppose in a few days, and as soon as they are I will give you the aggregate for the year[.] The work on the general survey is progressing very well so far, and I hope to be able to get a good deal of it done this winter unless the weather is too severe. I thought it best to retain the amt on hand so as to be able to meet the unpaid Taxes and the expenses of the general survey, but will make my remittances as



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as fast as I can make the collections.

Feby 4 1875
Dr Sir,
On Dec 30th 1874 I remitted Draft for $771, on the 31st remitted $850, and on the same day forwarded my semiannual cert of recpts and disbursements & statement of Contracts but up to the present time have recd no acknowledgement of their recpt by you. I feel some anxiety relative to their reception, I learned that some time about the first of Jany the Southern mail was burned[?] between here and Washington and it may be that they were destroyed with other matter, at that time[.]
Please inform me if they have been recd or not.



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Mar 23 1875
Dear Sir:
Yours of the 18th inst is to hand[.] Owing to the extreme inclemancy [sic] of the weather for nearly the entire winter, the work on the general survey hat progressed slowly. Until quite recently I was able to secure the service of but one surveyor, on the general work, but now have arrangements by which I will be able to keep two surveyors at it through the spring summer and fall. The work on Pat 1027 is about complete, and a part of the work on 1007 & 1024 is done, but with the best that can be done it will take not less than twelve months to complete the entire work.
Any suggestions with refrence [sic] to the survey will be thankfully recd.
I find a great deal of trouble in locating the lines of intersecting Patents, very many of the parties know nothing about their lines and corners, and frequently are not disposed to tell what they know all of which tends to make the work tedious[.]
I shall finish up the work as soon as possible, as it is important that if done at all, it should be perfected with as little belay as will be compatible with safety and correctness[.]



[Page 45]
June 30th 1875
Dear Sir
I herewith enclose my semi annual Report of receipts and disbursements and settlement of contracts made for the six months ending June 30th 1875. The collections have not been as good as I hoped they would be owing to the partial failure of the cotton crop last year and the reduced prices at which most of it was sold, and also the stringent usury law now in force in this state which repels instead of bringing in capital[.] The present cotton crop is looking very poorly and unless there should be an abundance of rain which is not now likely will fall as far short as that of last year. I did hope to be able to procure the necessary drafts to make a remittance before now but being so far from any bank, and meeting with no person from any bank, and meeting with no person from whom I could procure and I have not been able to de so as yet, but will make one as soon as I can procure the necessary Exchange, which will be in a few days[.]
The General Survey of Patents 1016 & 1027 are done and cost - the former $131.83 and the latter $50.00. The work on 1030, 1004, and 1025 are now under way. I find the work very tedious, and it is with a great deal of difficulty that some of the lines and courses can be established. A number of the contracts had not been surveyed and I thought it best to survey them at the same time which makes the work more tedious than it otherwise would have been. My time has mostly been employed in looking after the general survey which has prevented my visiting may of




[Page 46]
the Patents since my last report. I have visited Patents 1005, 1024, 1029 & 1010 and the Union County lands. There is but little prospects of the Rail Road being built to this place soon. Some work is being done on the Road from Spartanburg to Asheville, but as I remembered in a former letter it runs so far west that it effects the property but little, only passing through a portion of Patent 250. Allow one to again call your attention to the propriety of selling the farming interest of all the Union County lands. There is as present but about five Thousand Acres of Lands unsold in that County, about one half of which is attached to the two mines, and leaves about 2500 acres outside of that, that is not under contract and this will likely be sold in the course of the next year, leaving the other on which a heavy tax will have to be paid for an indefinite number of years, without yeilding [sic] any revenue. I am inclined to think that it would be good policy to sell the lands reserving the mineral interests and close up the entire business in that county as soon as possible owing to the heavy taxes usually levied and collected there.




[Page 47]
Dec. 18th 1875
Dear Sir
I find that the lines of Patent No. 1024, which in the grant calls for running with the dividing line between Burke and Rutherford Counties, instead of running with said line, crosses into Burke County and includes some 2000 Acres of Land in said County and then recrosses the line and leaves out about the same amount of Land in Rutherford County. Other parties own a large tract of Land lying immediately along the side of this Patent and also calling for the county line. Both of the Grants give the same meets and bounds and both call for running with the County line but neither of them run with it. The parties running the adjoining Patent propose to execute to your company a title to all the lands covered by their grant in Rutherford County provided your company will execute to them a like title to all the lands included in Patent 1024 which is situated in Burke County, and thus make the old county line the dividing boundary between the two patents which seems to have been the intention of the Original grantees as they both call for it. There is only a difference of Twenty Acres of Land in the boundaries they propose to exchange.
After consultation with my counsel as to the practicability of the arrangement and considering the uncertainty of holding lands over the line unless the grant calls for an older line[.] I have decided to submit the proposition to you [.] If you think it advisable to make the transfer of title, I will get the meets and bounds of the County line and forward to you with a full description, so as to enable you to execute the




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Deed to them. I will also have my counsel to draw up the Deed from them to you and have it assigned. My counsel is of the opinion that is is advisable to perfect the arrangement. I would remark further that the lands in question are all mountainous and very poor, and there will only be a difference of only 25 or 30 acres in the two bodies of land, theirs being that much less.
Let me hear from you soon on this subject, as Col. Gaither, the attorney for the other parties is very anxious to have the matter arranged.
I will make a remittance as soon as I can procure the necessary drafts, and will write you more fully on other matters in a few days.




[Page 49]

Dec. 31st 1875
Dear Sir
Yours of the 23d Instant did not reach me until the 29th owing to high waters. The statement asked for will be furnished, at my earliest convenience. It may take one several days to prepare it, as a number of the Contracts have been surveyed since I made up the amounts due to January 1st 1875, and as there is in most cases a difference between the number of Acres called for in the face of the Cont. and the number found by actual survey, it will be necessary for one to make the calculations on some of them, while a number of them can be taken from my book of contracts, Amt's. due.
I have been suffering a great deal with my teeth and face and will therefore not be able to finish up and forward my semi annual report before the 3d Prox.
Enclosed find Draft for $200.00 which place to my credit. I should have made a larger remittance before now, but have not been able to procure the necessary Draft there being no Bank at this place. I hope to have an opportunity of procuring the necessary check soon and shall make another remittance as soon as I do.




[Page 50]
January 4th 1876
Dear Sir
I herewith enclose a statement of receipts and disbursements and statement of contracts made from July 1st to Dec. 31st 1875 inclusive. The receipts have been less that they would have been, had it not been for the scarcity of money. This I hope will pass off in a short while. I regret not being able to make another remittance before submitting any Semi Annual report, but finding it impossible to get exchange in time I have been compelled to defer it for a few days. We have had a great deal of rain and consequently l__[?] little travel and therefore no chance to do any business away from home.
I also return herewith Lists "A" and Schedule "B" sent out by you on the 23d ult.[?] with the explanations asked for, which I hope will be satisfactory. I regret having omitted in my reports, some of the contracts. I sometimes find it necessary to send them out by mail in care of responsible parties, to be assigned and occasionally they are not returned until after my report for that Six Months, and consequently they are sometimes overlooked in the next. They will appear in the report asked for, the preparation of which I shall commence in the morning and forward at my earliest convenience. I hope by care to avoid anything of the sort in the future. The general survey of Patent No 1027, 1025, 1040, 1001, 1016, 1007, 1002, & 1012 and 1026 is complete, and a part of the work on 1024, 1041, & 250 is done. I hope to get well nigh if not quite done the work on




[Page 51]
the entire survey by my next report, unless the winter should be very rough, which I hope will not be the case.
There is nothing at all flattering in connection with our R.R. prospects at present[.] In fact they are more gloomy now than at any period within the last two years. I hope to be able to close up most of the business in Union County this winter and next spring unless some unforeseen casualty should prevent. I have succeeded in reducing the taxes in Union County materially and hope to be able to prevent any increase of them in the future.
I hope my reports and statements herewith submitted will prove satisfactory.




[Page 52]
January 22d 1876
Dear Sir
I herewith enclose statement of contracts thought to be solvent and the amounts due therein January 1st 1876 which is as correct as it is possible to make it. It frequently becomes necessary to change the amounts owing to the changes that are sometimes necessary to be made in the number of acres, which will frequently increase, and sometimes decrease. I did hope to be able to forward this sooner, but having to make all the calculations for the last Twelve Months, and a number of them from the sate of the contract owing to the fact that they had been surveyed during the last twelve months, which in most instances made a change in the number of acres, and consequently in the amounts due. And the hindrance of Parties continually coming in and making it necessary that it should be suspended while I looked after the other departments of the business has occasioned its delay until the present time but I hope this delay has occasioned you no inconvenience. The statement of Amts due on insolvent contracts will be forwarded as soon as I can get it up. By an oversight I omitted giving the dated of the contracts until the statement was complete, and then I found that there was not room on the margin to insert it, but if you still desire the dates they can be given by numbering the contracts in the order in which they stand, in the statement and giving the name of the contractor and the date of the contracts




[Page 53]

which I will do if you so desire.
Hoping this statement will be satisfactory I remain as ever
Very Truly Yours

Feby 23d 1876
Dear Sir
I herewith inclose [sic] statements of amts due on Insolvent Contracts, Jany 1st 1876, as asked for in yours of Dec. 23d 1875 which would have been forwarded sooner but for the pressure of business connected with the general Survey which has commanded much of my time for the last month. Where I became satisfied that parties will not pay for their lands I think it best to revoke the contracts and



[Page 54]
put the land in market, but so long as there is hope of their paying for them, I have thought it best to let them run rather than revoke them and thereby inquire the contractors who were trying to pay, as they would have to lease their improvements & c.

May 12th 1876
Dear Sir
Yours of the 4th Inst is at hand. I herewith inclose requisitions for Thirty two Deeds which please have been executed and forward to me as soon as convenient.
The work on the General Survey is progressing very well and will be finished in the course of the next Six Week. There is now but three small patents and parts of three others to finish. I hope to be




[Page 55]
able to have it all complete so as to give you the entire costs of the same and the amounts of unsold lands by July 1st.

June 30 1876
Dear Sir
I herewith inclose [sic] my semi annual statement of receipts and disbursements, and statement of contracts made from January 1st to June 30th 1876, and also costs of general survey so far as finished, together with the No. of acres in the several tracts surveyed.
The entire work on the General Survey would have been finished by this time only for the hindrance of a week's rain, which broke up with the most destructive Freshet[?]




[Page 56]
that we have had for Twenty five years, injuring the crops and farms to such an extent as to make it necessary that everything else be suspended until fences could be rebuilt, the harvest saved and the crops, many of them, planted in the new, as a great portion of what was in the low lands had been washed out. Should we have an early frost the corn crops will be cut short at least one third.
I have found the work on some of the Patents more tedious than I anticipated, owing to the fact that parties owning intersecting lands know but little about their location, which made it necessary that I make an actual survey of them so as to ascertain their exact location. This hunting out old lines and courses made it very tedious. In other instances, parties had taken out minor grants covering a part of the ands and in most of these cases they were hard to satisfy that they were inside the Patent Lines, after having to do a good deal of extra work to convince them so as to save the land, and if possible avoid a lawsuit. These facts will make the General Survey cost from one to two hundred dollars more than my original estimate. I am satisfied that the survey has been a saving to much more that the amt. it has cost, not only in effecting a number of sales that would not otherwise have been made, but also in saving several Thousand Acres of Land for which parties had taken out state Grants, either willfully or ignorantly, which under the laws of this state would have matured




[Page 57]
in a little while, and been beyond recovery in a year or two.
So far I have been able to take possession of these lands with but little trouble or costs outside of the surveying. In a number of instances I have found persons who I suppose did not know where their[?] lands were, who were trespassing outside of their lands, and by locating the lines the facts have been developed and the possession outside of their true line surrendered.
There remains now but a small portion of work to be done on Patents 1013 0128 and 250 when the survey will be finished, and this would have been done before now but for the present.
I have also had all the lands heretofore contracted, surveyed, which had not been heretofore surveyed, so that when the balance of the work on the remaining Patents is finished, all the lands contracted will have been surveyed, which will reduce the expense of surveying for the next several years to a small item.
Should I see that I will be able to make collections sufficient to meet the taxes and incidental expenses of the business, I will make another remittance, but think it best at present to retain the Amt. in hand lest collections should be short, which now seems very probable as money is exceeding scarce and hard to get.
The prospects of a R.R. to this place are perhaps more gloomy now that at any time within the last several yrars.
I will write again as




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soon as the remaining work on the General Survey is done, and give you a statement of the entire No. of acres of unsold lands, and the expenses of making the survey.




[Page 59]
Dec 15th 1876
Dear Sir:
Yours 6th Inst is recd & contents noted. I herewith return to you schedule "II" with such explanations as I hope will be satisfactory. Those names marked "A" I find are included in my statement of Jan 1st 1876. Those marked "B" are in my report of insolvent contracts, the same date. Those marked "C" are paid off and those marked "D" are revoked. The R.R. Ruff contract has for $150 on which there has been paid $150, leaving a balance of $13.54, due Jan 1st 1876. J Arledge contract titled in full as appears by recpt: in his hands, for amts pd prior to Nov 1872, duplicate endorsed on contract in office, these credits were dated before the report of 1872. The settlement on the Jno Newman was made by my father and on reviewing it I find a mistake on $28.99 the amt due Jan 1 1876. I will collect the amt. J.M. Edwards has paid in full for 100 acres, but there has been addition of 108 at $150 per acre, with interest from Sept 19th 1876 made to his contract; J.M. Owenby paid on contract for 100 acres to Jan 1 1874 $94.00 and since that time $93.35 total $187.35, in full. J.A. Hunt[?] paid on his contract for 100 acres as appears by credits on duplicate in his hands to Sept 9th 1872 $113.00 and since that time $55.92 total 168 92/100 in full. A Hamric 71 acres, the statement of Sept 9th 1872 gives $ 141.16 as




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amt due, which should be left $57.85 the amt paid to that time, and $82.05 from Nov 1872 to Jan 1876, and $10 since Jan last, making a total of $149.990 in full. The J.M. Speander[?] contract for 46 1/2 acres has omitted in report of Jan 1876 by mistake there is still due on it to Jan 1 1876 $13 76/100 -- there is still due on the D Honeycutt contract to Jan 1 "76 $11. 16/100. The two last named were on file with deed & in that way overlooked at time of making statement of Jan 1 1876. You will find two credit in the name of A.A. Laney one Apt 24 1873 for $80, and Apr 8 1874 for $57. 12/100 which were paid on the A Laney contract for 128 acres and titled it in full. The Copeland Helms contract originally called for 100 acres but there were 151 acres surveyed to him and when I saw him he was not willing to take the 519 acres at the original price, $3.33 per acres and it not being altogether as desirable as the 100 acres we agreed on the price $3 per acre Dec 5th 1873 at which time he paid in full for the same Dec 5th 1873. There should have been a credit of $25 on the Eli Jackson contract, which has been omitted. I make the entry today which pays off the contract. The A Owenby contract was for 100 acres, it was transferred to two parties jointly, [????], one of whom paid all that was paid till after his death after which his evidence[?]