LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 December Signature Texana Auction #661  / 

56276

Sam Houston Land Scrip Document Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:8,750.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
Sam Houston Land Scrip Document Signed
<B>Sam Houston Land Scrip Document Signed</B></I> "<I>Sam Houston</B></I>" as President of Texas and "<I>Henry Smith/Secy of </B></I>Treasury," one page, 9.5" x 15.5" (area visible). Columbia, December 12, 1836. Partly printed, completed in manuscript. Columbia, Telegraph Print. In part, "<I>Be it known That I, Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by an act of the general congress of this Republic, entitled an act establishing an agency in the city of Mobile, bearing date the tenth day of December, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, which act authorizes and requires me, to issue to DAVID WHITE, as the said agent, a sufficient quantity of Land Scrip, in conformity with the object of the bill establishing such agency. Therefore, I, Sam Houston, President as aforesaid, in compliance with the provisions of the above recited act, do declare that _____ Legal representatives, are entitled to Three hundred and twenty acres of the public domain of Texas...</B></I>" 320 acres had been the amount of land allocated to single men settlers. During the first weeks of Sam Houston's first term as President of the Republic, he had to find solutions to sustain its credit and to provide funds for its own support. One of the solutions was to sell Land Scrip certificates. These certificates, typically representing 320 or 640 acres, were sold for a minimum of 50 cents per acre and entitled the purchaser to claim available Texas lands. On December 10, 1836 an act was passed creating an agency in Mobile, Alabama, naming David White agent for the sale of land scrip. In part, "Be it further enacted, That David White of the city of Mobile, is hereby made the agent of the government of Texas. The said agent be and is hereby fully authorized to dispose of land scrip at not less than fifty cents per acre; the proceeds of which shall be applied exclusively to the benefit of this government." According to the act, he was to be issued $100,000 of scrip. In a letter from White, dated January 1837, he acknowledges receiving 169 certificates of 320 acres each and 247 certificates of 640 acres each. This made a total of 212,160 acres, and at 50 cents per acre this would be valued at $106,080. The act also provided that he should make monthly reports of all transactions touching the agency, and fixed his compensation at five per cent on all moneys received and two and one-half per cent on all disbursements. Partially cracked wax seal at lower right. "X" cut cancellations pass through both signatures, not materially affecting their appearance. The document was folded before the wax cooled resulting in a stain in a blank area in the upper right. Folds. On verso is a Manuscript Document Signed "<I>David White Texas Agent</B></I>." In full, "<I>For value received I hereby transfer assign and set over all the right title and interest which [this] scrip gives me to the Lands herein named to Edward Hall of Texas or his legal representatives. New Orleans March 25, 1837.</B></I>" The verso of the cracked seal affects some of the text. <B>Edward Hall</B></I> was Texas purchasing agent at New Orleans. He was also an artist. Folds, with tiny slits in the mid-horizontal fold. In apparent fine condition. Matted and framed under glass, on both sides, to 13" x 19.25". <I>From the collection of Darrel Brown.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Framed - with Glass, Medium (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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