Legal documents of John Dewberry Loftin including a Bill of Sale on a slave purchase. (9 items), 1836-1891
File — Box: 1, Folder: 6
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
These documents note the progression of land sales within one family from the time of the mid-1820s under the Mexican Government, to the Republic of Texas, the State of Texas, through to World War I. This collection provides an overview about the value and social status of owning land and the careful recording of the land sales in county records. Prominent Texas personages include Peter Ellis Bean, Henry Raguet, Thomas Rusk, Hayden H. Edwards, and Jose Mariana Acosta, governor of Coahuila and Tejas in 1826. The personal letters and notes provide a view of a close-knit family.
From the early colonization of Texas, land grants were issued by the Government of Coahuila and Tejas to the first entrepreneurs in the form of leagues with 4,068 acres within each league. The leagues described in these deeds were originally granted to William Bean; to his son, Colonel Peter Ellis Bean; John Walker, and David Page. The land grants were held by the named owner, but more often, divided and sold to persons wanting to settle in Texas and as time passed, land was sold or inherited and sub-divided into smaller parcels.
This collection dates from 1826 to the early 1900s. The deeds record the ownership of three different but adjoining leagues of land along the east bank of the Neches River and Saline Creek. When placed in chronological order, the deeds show the ownership of the real estate and the various partitions passed down through sales or inheritance. The collection also contains a Family Bible and a small, leather-bound book of accounts and notes that belonged to William Pitt Loftin.
Of particular interest is the progression and accumulation of documents that were collected, stored, and carefully passed down within the family from 1826 to 2018.
Materials of special interest to researchers may include: Original land grant documents (English and Spanish copies) for the family of Peter Ellis Bean; courtship letters and notes to Miss Anne Loftin; copies of application for membership to Daughters of the American Revolution for the Loftin family; letters from WWI cavalry officer, Captain Oden R. Brooks; and a land deed from Henry Raguet to Otis M. Wheeler. Two wills connected to the Loftin family provide a view into the itemized division of property—land, slaves, money, and personal possessions.
Dates
- Creation: 1836-1891
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: 1.10 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the East Texas Research Center Repository
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