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

56132

TEXAS. Abstract of Land Certificates, 1840

Currency:USD Category:Books / Antiquarian & Collectible Start Price:4,750.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,500.00 USD
TEXAS. Abstract of Land Certificates, 1840
<B>TEXAS (Republic). </B></I><B><I>Abstract of Land Certificates, Reported As Genuine and Legal by the Traveling Commissioners Appointed Under the Act to Detect Fraudulent Land Certificates, Passed January 1840.</B></I></B></I> (Austin: Cruger & Wing Printers, 1841.) Quarto. 356 pp. Additional names have been added on the last blank leaf in manuscript. This exhaustive official document is the most accurate and detailed record of the disposition of lands in the Republic of Texas. It is a systematic attempt to describe every land grant certified by the Texas land office. Established December 22, 1836 by the First Congress of the Republic of Texas, the General Land Office opened in Houston on October 1, 1837 with John P. Borden serving as its first commissioner. He was tasked by law to "superintend, execute, and perform all acts touching or respecting the public lands of Texas." <BR><BR>Because the Constitution of the Republic of Texas honored grants made by Spain and Mexico, the commissioner assembled a record of all valid land grants and translated them from the archives of the two governments. These valid Spanish and Mexican grants constituted 26,280,000 acres. Borden also surveyed and registered all new grants issued by the Republic. Published on Borden's order, this document lists each grant certified by the land office from its inception by county, noting the size of the grant, the date issued, and including remarks as warranted. Full gold-stamped leather contemporary case. Some minor water staining to later pages, otherwise in exceptional condition. Rare and highly sought. <I>From the collection of Darrel Brown.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Reference:</B></I> Streeter 453: "It is an invaluable source of data on individuals and it shows quite conclusively the extent to which land in the thirty counties listed had been taken up. Harris County leads with thirty-six pages of names under the various subdivisions followed by Red River County with twenty-seven pages. Two pages required for Refugio County." Streeter notes that only 200 compilations were printed. Sabin 95045. Not in Raines or Eberstadt 162.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Books & Catalogs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot