Blackland TX · ← All the original surveys
Sarah Finch Survey, Abstract 278
- Granted to
- Sarah Finch
- Kind of grant
- Headright, third classLand for later settlers, including the colonists of Mercer’s Colony.
- Land Office file
- Robertson 3rd class, file 1915
- Certificate
- No. 984
- Acres
- 320
- Patented to
- Alexander Benton
- Patent
- 29 Aug 1854 · No. 469, Vol. 10
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What the file shows
Sarah Finch received Mercer's Colony certificate No. 984 for 640 acres in June 1850 and sold it in July 1853 for $110 to Jacob Eliot, who resold it to Alexander Beaton for $130 in August. Deputy surveyor Wm. L. Browning laid out two 320-acre tracts in March 1854, one on Briar Creek about six miles southwest of Corsicana and one on the head of Cottonwood Creek about 13 miles west, and both were patented to Beaton on 29 August 1854.
The certificate
Mercer's Colony certificate (3rd class), No. 984, 640 (two surveys of 320 acres each located in this file), J. M. Crockett, Commissioner of Mercer's Colony, Buffalo, (printed form headed County of Henderson), 3 Jun 1850.
Entitles Sarah Finch to 640 acres to be located on vacant land within the limits of the colony of Charles Fenton Mercer and his Associates, she having taken the oath and made the proof required by law of her citizenship
Changes of hand
- 13 Jul 1853Sarah Finch (deed headed State of Texas, Dallas County) → Jacob Eliot, $110, Dallas County, Texas. Sells her head-right certificate No. 984 for 640 acres issued at Buffalo on 3 June 1850 by John M. Crockett, as a settler in Mercer's Colony
- 9 Aug 1853Jacob Eliot (Eliott), of Navarro County → Alexander Beaton (Benton), of Navarro County, $130, Navarro County, Texas. Assigns certificate No. 984 for 640 acres to Beaton; recorded in Book G(?) pages 89 and 90, Navarro County
The survey
1854-03-15 (declared 1854-03-17), Wm. L. Browning, Deputy Surveyor, Robertson Land District.
Navarro County, about 6 miles S 60 W of Corsicana ('60' added in red ink to 'S.W.'), on Briar Creek
Chain carriers: J. G. Willis(?), Thomas Wilson.
Book V, page 194
The survey
1854-03-17 (survey made 1854-03-10), Wm. L. Browning, Deputy Surveyor, Robertson Land District.
Navarro County, on the head of Cottonwood Creek, about 13 1/2 miles west of Corsicana
Chain carriers: James George, Henry George.
Book V, page 193
The patent
1854-08-29 (both surveys), No. 469 (abstract 278) and No. 470 (abstract 279), Vol. 10, to Alexander Beaton (index: Benton), assignee, delivered to not stated; jacket pencil 'Pats for'd Alex Benton Elgin(?) 7/54'.
Also in the file
- Index gives the patentee as Alexander Benton; the transfer, jacket and field notes spell the name Beaton (and Breaton on one wrapper).
- The certificate form is headed County of Henderson and was issued at Buffalo, yet the land is in Navarro County; Finch's sale to Eliot was executed under a Dallas County heading.
- Two surveys of 320 acres, about 13 miles apart (Briar Creek and Cottonwood Creek), were made on one 640-acre certificate and patented as Nos. 469 and 470 on the same day.
- The Cottonwood Creek survey was made 10 March 1854 but its field notes are dated 17 March and its closing oath names the 10th, while the Briar Creek notes name 15 March; these dates were evidently set in separate sittings.
- Distances from Corsicana: abstract 278 is about 6 miles S 60 W, abstract 279 about 13 1/2 miles west.
- The proof of Finch's signature was sworn by a witness (Arthur Ledbetter) before the clerk, and Eliot's by William Croft, not before notaries; the Eliot to Beaton transfer was not recorded until May 1854.
- Both tracts were first entered (24 Sept 1853, Entries 436 and 437) on A. F. Scott's(?) Mercer Colony certificate No. 488; Sarah Finch's certificate No. 984 was substituted by order of A. Beaton when the surveys were made.
Timeline
- 3 Jun 1850J. M. Crockett issues Mercer's Colony certificate No. 984 for 640 acres to Sarah Finch at Buffalo
- 13 Jul 1853Sarah Finch sells the certificate to Jacob Eliot for $110
- 25 Jul 1853Finch's signature proved before R. N. White
- 9 Aug 1853Eliot sells the certificate to Alexander Beaton for $130
- 24 Sep 1853Both tracts entered in the district surveyor's office (Entries 436 and 437) on A. F. Scott's(?) Mercer Colony certificate No. 488
- 21 Oct 1853Eliot's signature proved before R. N. White
- 10 Mar 1854Cottonwood Creek survey (abstract 279) made
- 15 Mar 1854Briar Creek survey (abstract 278) made
- 5 Apr 1854C. G. Chambers examines and records both surveys, Book V pp. 193 and 194
- 9 May 1854Eliot to Beaton transfer filed for record; recorded 10 May
- 15 May 1854Certificate, field notes and transfers filed in the General Land Office
- 29 Aug 1854Patents No. 469 and 470, Vol. 10, to Alexander Beaton, assignee
The papers in the file
Every page of the Land Office file, in the order the Land Office keeps them (12 pages). Tap a page to see it larger.
File jacketFile jacket for Sarah Finch's two 320-acre surveys, Abstracts 278 and 279, patented to Alexander Beaton on 29 August 1854.General Land Office, file 1915, page 1 · in the scan
CertificateMercer Colony certificate No. 984 issued at Buffalo on 3 June 1850 by Commissioner John M. Crockett to Sarah Finch for 640 acres.General Land Office, file 1915, page 2 · in the scan
Back of the certificateBack of the certificate, with the Land Office filing note of 15 May 1854 and an earlier endorsement crossed out.General Land Office, file 1915, page 3 · in the scan
Field notesField notes and plat for 320 acres on Briar Creek, surveyed for Sarah Finch by deputy surveyor William L. Browning, March 1854.General Land Office, file 1915, page 4 · in the scan
WrapperWrapper for the Briar Creek field notes, with district surveyor B. J. Chambers's certificate of April 1854 and the Land Office filing note of 15 May 1854.General Land Office, file 1915, page 5 · in the scan
TransferDeed of 13 July 1853 in which Sarah Finch sold her certificate No. 984 to Jacob Eliot for $110, proved at Corsicana on 25 July 1853.General Land Office, file 1915, page 6 · in the scan
WrapperWrapper for the transfer from Sarah Finch to Jacob Eliot.General Land Office, file 1915, page 7 · in the scan
TransferDeed of 9 August 1853 in which Jacob Eliot sold certificate No. 984 to Alexander Beaton for $130.General Land Office, file 1915, page 8 · in the scan
AffidavitProof of the Eliot deed by witness William Croft before Navarro County clerk R. N. White at Corsicana, 21 October 1853.General Land Office, file 1915, page 9 · in the scan
WrapperWrapper for the Eliot to Beaton transfer, recorded in Navarro County on 10 May 1854 and filed at the Land Office.General Land Office, file 1915, page 10 · in the scan
Field notesField notes and plat for 320 acres on the head of Cottonwood Creek, surveyed for Sarah Finch by William L. Browning in March 1854, with Chambers's certificate.General Land Office, file 1915, page 11 · in the scan
WrapperWrapper for the Cottonwood Creek field notes, with surveyor Chambers's entry certificate and the patent note of 29 August 1854.General Land Office, file 1915, page 12 · in the scan
Scans courtesy of the Texas General Land Office, Austin, from its Land Grant Database.
Neighbouring surveys
Sources
- Texas General Land Office, Land Grant Database: Navarro County, Abstract 278
- The Land Office file, scanned (PDF, at the General Land Office)
- 1924 map: courtesy of the Texas General Land Office, Austin, Map 73249, used under licence. Topo: U.S. Geological Survey, The National Map. Aerial photographs: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Imagery Program, 2012, 2018 and 2022. Survey outlines: Railroad Commission of Texas, Original Texas Land Survey. Grant records and files: Texas General Land Office.