[KENTUCKY]. Large grouping of early Kentucky documents including a plat of Craig's Station and signatures of prominent settlers, judges, and politicia

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American Historical Ephemera & Photography

By Cowan's Auctions

Jun 25, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-06-25 10:00:00 2021-06-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American Historical Ephemera & Photography https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-historical-ephemera-photography-7043
The June 25 American Historical Ephemera and Photography Auction features an exciting assemblage of 18th-early 20th century material, including Civil War archives, Early Photography, Western Americana, Autographs and Manuscripts, and more. Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com

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• Lot Description
  More than 80 documents spanning 1780s-1900 (bulk 1790s-early 1800s) including surveys, legal documents, business documents, receipts, and a small amount of mostly business-related correspondence. Signatures from Kentucky notables including: CLAY, Henry (1777-1852); GREENUP, Christopher (1750-1818); TODD, Levi (1756-1807); LEE, Henry (1756-1854); TODD, Robert (1757-1814); HART, Nathaniel II (1770-1844); BODLEY, Thomas (1772-1833); WICKLIFFE, Robert (1775-1859); ADAIR, John (1757-1840); OWSLEY, William (1782-1862); and STEVENSON John W. (1812-1886), along with signatures of lesser-known but important figures such as Revolutionary War veteran SLAUGHTER, George (1750-1818) and early surveyor and gunsmith SMITH, Enoch (1750-1825). Additional individuals identified by name in the collection constitute a significant cross-section of Kentucky settlers, and include, in part, the following: FISHER, Stephen (1736-1817); SHORT, Peyton (1761-1825); SHELBY, James (1784-1848); CALK, William (1740-1823); KENTON, Simon (1755-1836); and CLAY, Green (1757-1828). Collection constitutes a substantive grouping of early Kentucky material, highlighted by the following:
  
  Manuscript survey by THOMPSON, James (1750-1825), a Revolutionary War veteran and the first surveyor of Lincoln County. Drafted ca 1813 as part of the surveyor's report in the case of Samuel Baerd [sic] against descendants of the Craig & Russel families, the plat may designate a heretofore unknown location of the second Craig's settlement (as opposed to the Craig's Station which was established by the Rev. Lewis Craig ca 1780 and associated with the Travelling Church). According to Nancy O'Malley's reference book Stockading Up: A Study of Pioneer Stations in the Inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky, "Very little specific information was found on this station..." other than that it was believed to be two miles east of Danville, KY. Testimony was given in a land dispute case which indicated "that a William Craig had a settlement and preemption with an improvement along the Hanging Fork in present Lincoln County" and "Samuel Craig also had land on the Hanging Fork near its juncture with Knob Lick Creek." Significantly, the plat offered here locates at No. 4 "...that part of Samuel Craig's preemption of 1000 acres lying on the east side of the Hanging Fork" and at No. 5 "Represented by the black dotted lines and the Hanging Fork is William Craigs settlement of 400 acres with the improvement marked." "Knob Lick Fork," "Miller's Mill," and "Big Bend" are additional landmarks indicated. 15 1/4 x 18 in. (toned, creasing at folds). -- Group of 3 manuscript surveys (toned particularly along folds) with detailed descriptions and sketch maps created in compliance with court orders issued as part of land disputes on the Kentucky frontier, each signed by Revolutionary War soldier, pioneer, surveyor, and gunmaker SMITH, Enoch. Surveys date to 1790 (7 3/4 x 10 1/4 in.), 1797 (15 1/2 x 12 3/4 in.), and 1798 (7 3/4 x 11 1/4 in.). Smith was one of the earliest surveyors in Kentucky, a settler at Boonesborough, and a friend of Daniel Boone and General George Rogers Clark. -- Group of 3 manuscript surveys (toned, one with ink bleed) with detailed descriptions and sketch maps created in compliance with court orders issued as part of land disputes related to settlement at Boonesborough, each signed by CROOKE, John (1766-1849), a Virginian who settled in Kentucky in the late 1780s and served as a surveyor in present-day Madison County for forty years. One survey, 7 1/2 x 12 3/4 in., submitted as part of the case involving the Heirs of Nathaniel Hart vs. South & Calk, was signed on verso by CLAY, Henry ("H Clay").
  
  [With:] Document signed by Fayette County Clerk Levi Todd ("Levi Todd") and addressed to Mr. G.R. Tompkins, Sheriff of Fayette County, to be given to Mr. Fielding Lewis Turner, a lawyer practicing in Lexington. Document identifies "Number of tithes in Lewis E. Turners Commrs. Book" for the years 1799 and 1800, including numbers of enslaved individuals listed as "Blacks above 16" and "Total Blacks" for each year. -- A manuscript bill of sale, likely a true copy with proxy signature, dated 1807 and listing property sold by then US Senator John Adair including seven enslaved individuals: "...in consideration of the sum of thirteen hundred & sixty six dollars...do sell & convey unto John L. Bridges...the following property to wit one Negroe woman by the name of Lotty together with all her children that is Winny Archy Maria Peter & Lewis also a Negroe man named bob [sic]..."
  
  [Also with:] Three manuscripts from the "State of Kentucky" identifying allotments of judges to various districts in the state, dated 1797, 1798, and 1803, each signed by the judges appointed.
  
  Additional plats; warrants; letters illuminating tenant farming, business, and commerce in Kentucky; clippings from Kentucky newspapers accompanied by signed statements confirming publication of chancery orders; and miscellaneous receipts. 
  
  A RARE ASSEMBLAGE OF AUTOGRAPHS AND MANUSCRIPTS REPRESENTING EARLY KENTUCKY HISTORY.
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