Blackland TX · ← All the original surveys
Robert B. Ray Survey, Abstract 701
- Granted to
- Robert B. Ray
- Kind of grant
- Headright, third classLand for later settlers, including the colonists of Mercer’s Colony.
- Land Office file
- Robertson 3rd class, file 670
- Certificate
- No. 121
- Acres
- 640
- Patented to
- William H. Beeman
- Patent
- 05 Oct 1852 · No. 720, Vol. 8
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What the file shows
Robert B. Ray received Mercer's Colony certificate No. 121 for 640 acres from Commissioner John M. Crockett at Corsicana on 17 April 1850. D. R. Mitchell surveyed it that May about four miles southwest of Corsicana beside John Richardson's tract. Ray sold it to William H. Beeman for $20 on 31 August 1850; the sale was proved before the county clerk in September 1852, and the patent went to Beeman as assignee on 5 October 1852.
The certificate
Mercer's Colony certificate (3rd class), No. 121, 640 acres, John M. Crockett, Commissioner of Mercer's Colony, Corsicana, Navarro County, 17 Apr 1850.
Printed form: Robert B. Ray, having taken the oath and made the proof required by law of his citizenship, is entitled to 640 acres to be located on vacant land within the colony of Charles Fenton Mercer and his associates; he may locate, transfer or donate the certificate
Changes of hand
- 31 Aug 1850Robert B. Ray → William H. Beeman, $20, Navarro County, Texas. Sells his headright certificate for 640 acres, Mercer's Colony No. 121 dated 17 April 1850. The deed is dated 31 August 1850; the witness's proof was not taken until two years later, 8 Sept 1852 (an '8th' is written in the margin by 'Attest').
The survey
18 May 1850, D. R. Mitchell, Deputy Surveyor, Robertson Land District.
Navarro County, north of Richland Creek, about four miles SW from Corsicana
Chain carriers: J. K. Highnott(?), J. B. Collins.
Colony Book I, page 39
The patent
5 Oct 1852, No. 720, Vol. 8 (jacket number reads 72?), to William H. Beeman, assignee, delivered to not stated.
Also in the file
- Ray's certificate and his neighbour John Richardson's (file 666) were issued the same day, surveyed the same day by the same surveyor, and both sold to William H. Beeman and patented to him within a day of one another (5 and 6 Oct 1852).
- Beeman paid $20 for this 640-acre certificate and $25 for Richardson's, i.e. about 3 to 4 cents an acre.
- Ray signed the transfer on 31 August 1850, three months after the survey, but it was not proved before the county clerk (R. N. White) until 8 September 1852, a month before the patent.
- Jacket number could be read 720 or 728; the index gives 720, Vol. 8, patented 5 Oct 1852.
Timeline
- 17 Apr 1850Mercer's Colony certificate No. 121 issued to Robert B. Ray at Corsicana
- 18 May 1850D. R. Mitchell surveys 640 acres southwest of Corsicana
- 31 Aug 1850Ray sells the certificate to William H. Beeman for $20
- 3 Sep 1850J. P. Philpott examines and records it, Colony Book I p. 39
- 8 Sep 1852County clerk R. N. White takes Wm. Hamilton's proof of the 1850 conveyance at Corsicana
- 27 Sep 1852Checked correct on map
- 5 Oct 1852Patent No. 720 Vol. 8 to W. H. Beeman, assignee
The papers in the file
Every page of the Land Office file, in the order the Land Office keeps them (9 pages). Tap a page to see it larger.
File jacketFile jacket for Robert B. Ray's 640 acres, certificate 121, patented to William H. Beeman 5 Oct 1852, No. 720 Vol. 8.General Land Office, file 670, page 1 · in the scan
CertificateMercer's Colony certificate No. 121 for 640 acres to Robert B. Ray, signed by Commissioner John M. Crockett at Corsicana.General Land Office, file 670, page 2 · in the scan
Back of the certificateBack of the certificate docketed 'No. 121, Robert B. Ray, 640 No. 1'.General Land Office, file 670, page 3 · in the scan
TransferRobert B. Ray sells Mercer's Colony certificate No. 121 to William H. Beeman for $20, 31 August 1850; Wm. Hamilton's oath taken 8 Sept 1852.General Land Office, file 670, page 4 · in the scan
WrapperWrapper for the conveyance: Mercer's Colony cert. 640 acres, Robert B. Ray to W. H. Beeman.General Land Office, file 670, page 5 · in the scan
Field notesField notes of 640 acres for Robert B. Ray about four miles SW of Corsicana, surveyed by D. R. Mitchell, with plat sketch.General Land Office, file 670, page 6 · in the scan
Surveyor's certificateMitchell certifies the survey of 18 May 1850 and J. P. Philpott records it in Colony Book I page 39.General Land Office, file 670, page 7 · in the scan
WrapperWrapper for the field notes of Robert B. Ray, recorded Colony Book I page 39, signed W. H. Beeman.General Land Office, file 670, page 8 · in the scan
WrapperSecond wrapper: file 670 Robertson 3rd Class, field notes 640 acres Robert B. Ray, patented October 5 1852.General Land Office, file 670, page 9 · in the scan
Scans courtesy of the Texas General Land Office, Austin, from its Land Grant Database.
On this ground today
- CemeteryResthaven Memorial Park
Places that stand inside this survey’s lines as the state’s survey map draws them.
Neighbouring surveys
Sources
- Texas General Land Office, Land Grant Database: Navarro County, Abstract 701
- 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.