Blackland TX · ← All the original surveys
N. H. Harris Survey, Abstract 357
- Granted to
- N. H. Harris
- Kind of grant
- Headright, third classLand for later settlers, including the colonists of Mercer’s Colony.
- Land Office file
- Robertson 3rd class, file 1120
- Certificate
- No. 173
- Acres
- 320
- Patented to
- Elias Carroll
- Patent
- 10 Jul 1856 · No. 1529, Vol. 12
Tap a survey to open its page.
What the file shows
Napoleon H. Harris received Mercer's Colony certificate No. 173 for 320 acres at Corsicana on 18 April 1850, on proof of his citizenship. Deputy surveyor David R. Mitchell located it that summer on the Cottonwood branch of Richland Creek, about 9 miles southwest of Corsicana, next to a William M. Harris tract. One of the chain carriers was Elias Carroll, and in May 1851 Harris sold the certificate to Carroll before a Limestone County notary at Springfield. The papers were filed in the Land Office in 1853, and the patent (No. 1529, Vol. 12) issued to Elias Carroll as assignee in July 1856.
The certificate
other (Mercer's Colony certificate, filed as Robertson 3rd class), No. 173, 320 acres, John M. Crockett, Commissioner of Mercer's Colony, Corsicana, Navarro County, 1850-04-18 (last digit of year hidden on the certificate; field notes give 18 April 1850).
Entitles Napoleon H. Harris to 320 acres 'to be located on any vacant land within the limits of the Colony of Charles Fenton Mercer and his Associates', he having taken the oath and made the proof required by law of his citizenship
Changes of hand
- 1851-05-07 (acknowledgment says the transfer bears date 17 May 1851)Napoleon H. Harris → Elias Carroll, 'for value received' — not stated, Limestone County, Texas (acknowledged at Springfield). Assigns all right and title in certificate No. 173 for 320 acres; signed with a scrawl for a seal.
The survey
1850-06-17(?) (month written over; certified 1850-07-15), David R. Mitchell, Deputy Surveyor, Robertson Land District.
Navarro County, on Cottonwood N. Branch of Richland Creek, about 9 miles South 75° West of Corsicana (red addition)
Chain carriers: E. Carroll, (?) Hawkins.
Book I page 253
The patent
1856-07 (jacket: 'Pat'd July 1(0?)th 1856'; field-note jacket: 'Patented July 5th(?) 1856'), No. 1529, Vol. 12, to Elias Carroll, assignee, delivered to 'Pat. fwd to Elias Carroll July 16th 1856'.
Also in the file
- The certificate is a Mercer's Colony certificate, issued at Corsicana for land 'within the limits' of Mercer's Colony, yet the GLO filed it as a Robertson 3rd class grant in the Robertson Land District.
- Elias Carroll, the man who bought the certificate in 1851, was one of the chain carriers on the 1850 survey, so he was on the ground for the survey before he owned it.
- The transfer says it was signed on the 7th of May 1851, but the notary says it bears the date of the 17th.
- The plat shows a William M. Harris 320-acre tract next door, probably a relative.
Timeline
- 18 Apr 1850Mercer's Colony certificate No. 173 issued to Napoleon H. Harris at Corsicana
- 17 Jun 1850Survey made by David R. Mitchell on Cottonwood branch of Richland Creek (month uncertain)
- 15 Jul 1850Field notes certified
- 13 Feb 1851Examined and recorded, Book I page 253
- 7 May 1851Harris assigns the certificate to Elias Carroll
- 17 May 1851Transfer acknowledged at Springfield, Limestone County
- 8 Aug 1853Papers filed in the GLO
- Jul 1856Patent No. 1529 Vol. 12 issued to Elias Carroll; forwarded 16 July 1856
The papers in the file
Every page of the Land Office file, in the order the Land Office keeps them (8 pages). Tap a page to see it larger.
File jacketFile jacket for the Robertson Third Class file of N. H. Harris, 320 acres, certificate No. 173, patented to Elias Carroll, assignee, in July 1856.General Land Office, file 1120, page 1 · in the scan
CertificateMercer's Colony certificate No. 173 for 320 acres, issued at Corsicana on 18 April 1850 by Commissioner John M. Crockett to Napoleon H. Harris.General Land Office, file 1120, page 2 · in the scan
TransferAssignment of 7 May 1851 in which Napoleon H. Harris transfers his colony certificate for 320 acres to Elias Carroll.General Land Office, file 1120, page 3 · in the scan
Back of the certificateBack of the colony certificate, with a docket marked certificate of Napoleon Harris, 320 acres.General Land Office, file 1120, page 4 · in the scan
AffidavitAcknowledgment of the Harris to Carroll transfer before notary John R. Henry at Springfield, Limestone County, 17 May 1851.General Land Office, file 1120, page 5 · in the scan
Field notesField notes for 320 acres on a branch of Richland Creek, surveyed for N. H. Harris by deputy surveyor David R. Mitchell and certified 15 July 1850.General Land Office, file 1120, page 6 · in the scan
Surveyor's certificateCertificate of the district surveyor, 13 February 1851, that he examined the Harris field notes and recorded them in Book I, page 253.General Land Office, file 1120, page 7 · in the scan
File jacketJacket for the plat and field notes of N. H. Harris, 320 acres, filed 8 August 1853.General Land Office, file 1120, page 8 · 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 357
- 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.