Blackland TX · ← All the original surveys
Jacob Hartzel Survey, Abstract 367
- Granted to
- Jacob Hartzel
- Kind of grant
- Headright, third classLand for later settlers, including the colonists of Mercer’s Colony.
- Land Office file
- Robertson 3rd class, file 542
- Certificate
- No. 96
- Acres
- 640
- Patented to
- Jacob Hartzel
- Patent
- 05 Mar 1853 · No. 159, Vol. 7
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What the file shows
Jacob Hartzel took the citizenship oath as a Mercer's Colony settler, and on 16 April 1850 Commissioner John M. Crockett issued him colony certificate No. 96 for 640 acres at Corsicana. Deputy Surveyor D. R. Mitchell located it on 3 December 1852 on Melton's Branch of Richland Creek, about 12 miles west-southwest of Corsicana, next to David Wood and a 960-acre John Smith survey. The district surveyor recorded it in Book V on 14 December 1852, and the Land Office patented it to Hartzel himself on 4 March 1853 (No. 159, Vol. 7). A pencil note suggests the patent was handed to D. R. Mitchell in April 1853.
The certificate
other (Mercer's Colony certificate; filed by the GLO as Robertson 3rd Class), No. 96, 640 acres, John M. Crockett, Commissioner of Mercer's Colony, Corsicana, Navarro County, 16 Apr 1850.
Printed colony certificate: entitles Jacob Hartzel to 640 acres 'to be located on any vacant land within the limits of the Colony of Charles Fenton Mercer and his Associates, not otherwise appropriated', he having taken the oath and made the proof required by law of his citizenship; he may locate, transfer or donate it
The survey
1852-12-03 (certified 7 Dec 1852), D. R. (David R.) Mitchell, Deputy Surveyor for Robertson Land District.
Navarro County, about 12 miles S 64 W from Corsicana (bearing corrected), on Melton's Branch of Richland Creek; begins at a stake and mound, the SW corner of David Wood's 640-acre survey, in the E boundary of a 960-acre survey in the name of N. A. Waterous (?), assignee of John Smith; crosses Melton's Branch
Chain carriers: David Beelo (?), James Kerr.
Book V, page 73, 14 Dec 1852
The patent
1853-03-04 (field-note wrapper; jacket figure overwritten, 4 or 5), No. 159, Vol. 7, to Jacob Hartzel, delivered to D. R. Mitchell (?), 16 April 1853 (faint pencil).
Also in the file
- The map check is dated 11 March 1852, nine months before the survey was run (3 December 1852); most likely a slip for March 1853, just after the patent.
- This is a Mercer's Colony certificate signed at Corsicana in 1850 - an empresario-colony grant - yet the Land Office filed it under Robertson 3rd Class.
- The surname is spelled at least four ways in one file: Hatzel, Haitzel, Hartzel, Hartzell.
- The deputy surveyor's own name (D. R. Mitchell) appears in pencil as the person the patent went to.
Timeline
- 16 Apr 1850John M. Crockett, Commissioner of Mercer's Colony, issues certificate No. 96 for 640 acres to Jacob Hartzel at Corsicana
- 3 Dec 1852Deputy Surveyor D. R. Mitchell surveys 640 acres on Melton's Branch of Richland Creek, about 12 miles WSW of Corsicana
- 14 Dec 1852District Surveyor examines and records the field notes, Book V, page 73
- 4 Mar 1853Patented to Jacob Hartzel, No. 159, Vol. 7
- 16 Apr 1853Patent apparently delivered to D. R. Mitchell (pencil, faint)
The papers in the file
Every page of the Land Office file, in the order the Land Office keeps them (6 pages). Tap a page to see it larger.
File jacketFile jacket for Jacob Hartzel's 640-acre Mercer Colony claim, with map checks and the patent entry of 4 March 1853.General Land Office, file 542, page 1 · in the scan
CertificateMercer's Colony certificate No. 96 for 640 acres issued to Jacob Hartzel by Commissioner John M. Crockett at Corsicana, 16 April 1850.General Land Office, file 542, page 2 · in the scan
Back of the certificateBack of the certificate, with the Land Office filing note for Jacob Hartzel's 640 acres.General Land Office, file 542, page 3 · in the scan
Field notesField notes and plat for 640 acres on Melton's Branch of Richland Creek, surveyed for Jacob Hartzel by deputy surveyor David R. Mitchell, 3 December 1852.General Land Office, file 542, page 4 · in the scan
Surveyor's certificateDistrict surveyor's certificate of 14 December 1852 that the Hartzel field notes are correct and recorded in Book V, page 73.General Land Office, file 542, page 5 · in the scan
WrapperWrapper for the Hartzel plat and field notes of 640 acres, noting the recording and the patent of 4 March 1853.General Land Office, file 542, page 6 · 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 367
- 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.