APPENDIX B
TEXAS GENERAL LAND OFFICE ARCHIVES: DATA ON SELECTED LAND SURVEYS RELATED TO SETTLEMENT OF JOHNSON PARK AND VICINITY
by
Bob D. Skiles and Susan A. Lebo
The information in this appendix was abstracted from the original land record files preserved in the Archives of the Texas General Land Office, Stephen F. Austin State Office Building, Austin, Texas. Data in brackets are added from other appendices and references cited in this report, or as noted.
John Campbell A-1516, Denton County (Fannin-S-14834): application for survey of 16.3 acres of vacant land was made on 20 Jul 1880; Campbell paid the prescribed fee of fifty-cents per acre and the land was patented to him [Denton County Deed Record Q/77 dated 16 Apr 1881 calls this C. L. Sullivan's survey].
Consolidated El Paso Irrigation & Manufacturing Company A-1495, Denton County (Fannin-S-11196): a survey of 37 15/100 acres was made for Robert West on 24 May 1881 by Elijah Biggerstaff, Denton County Surveyor; Samuel [Richardson] and E. Biggerstaff served as chainmen. A correcting survey for 36 70/100 acres was made for the Heirs of Robert West on 16-17 September 1891; S. J. Richardson and J. D. Sullivan served as chainmen. The survey was patented to the Heirs of Robert West on 8 April 1892. The original patent, signed by Governor James Stephen Hogg, was never called for and is still in the GLO file.
Hiram W. Dailey A-1340, Denton County (Fannin-3-1395): affidavit of 29 Apr 1850 states that Dailey settled in Peters Colony with his wife and children prior to July 1848; he was granted Peters Colony Headright Certificate No. 437 for 640 acres; Dailey sold his certificate unlocated to Jefferson Miller on 1 Oct 1850 for $160 ; Jefferson Miller sold half interests (i.e. 320 acres each) to
Daniel Strickland and John Emberson for $100 each; an affidavit states that Daniel Strickland "claimed" his 320 acres [i.e., Denton County A-340] on 5 April 1853; Hiram W. Dailey lived in Collin County in 1850, a neighbor of Dr. James W. Throckmorton who was the first elected postbellum Governor of Texas (1850 Collin Co. Census, families nos. 38 & 40).
Charles Y. Douglass A-332, Denton County (Fannin-1-1233): the file for this survey was not examined; however, the heirs of Douglass had a survey in Collin County (A-250, Fannin 1-212, 212.38 acres) patented to them in 1859.
Peter Friend A-425, Denton County (Fannin-3-3581): Peter Friend made application for a 320-acre pre-emption survey on 28 June 1854, and the land was surveyed on the same date. Alexander Carter and Peter Friend served as chainmen. Friend's affidavit states he settled about 1 November 1851. Denton County Certificate of Occupancy No. 72 was issued 19 Feb 1858 upon the testimony of John Carter and Hiram Hobaugh stating that Peter Friend and his assignee, Elizabeth McInturf [his mother] had occupied the land for three years. Peter Friend transfered his claim to Elizabeth McInturf for $320 on 1 Nov 1858. Friend signed the transfer with his mark. The GLO file contains an affidavit from two residents of Montague County stating that Peter Friend had abandoned a 160-acre survey in Montague County made for him on 21 September 1860, and that there was no one living on the land on 16 September 1874.
Amanda C. Harris A-531, Denton County (Fannin-3-326): a headright certificate for 640 acres was issued to Harris on 30 Dec 1839 by the Washington County Board of Land Commissioners, she having then resided in Texas for three years; the land was surveyed 22 Sep 1847.
Hiram Hobaugh [also spelled Hobouy and Hautbouy] A-539 & 540, Denton County (Fannin-3-1417): affidavit of 15 Apr 1850 states that Hobaugh and his wife settled in Peters Colony prior to 1848; he was granted a certificate for 640 acres; two surveys of 320 acres each were made in Denton County in 1851, however it is not known which of these he was residing upon; Martin Langston and John Havens served as chainmen for the survey of A-539 on 13 Sep 1851; John Havens and Daniel Strickland served as chainmen for the survey of
A-540 which was made on 16 Mar 1851. [Hobaugh first appears on the 1853 Tax Rolls of Denton County, paying taxes on 160 acres of the H. Hobaugh Survey, but since the abstract number is not specified, it cannot be determined which one of the two 320-acre surveys is meant].
Hiram Hobaugh A-569, Denton County (Fannin-3-3583): Hobaugh and his wife settled a 160-acre pre-emption claim which adjoins the Denton- Cooke County line on 27 Jul 1855; the land was first surveyed on 1 Sep 1855; however, the original field notes were lost, and the land was resurveyed 1 Mar 1858; the archive file contains a deed of conveyance from Hobaugh and his wife Nancy A. to James A. Philips of Cooke County for their "homestead where said Hiram and Nancy A. Hobaugh now reside ... with ... improvements" dated 13 Sep 1858.
John Johnson A-670, Denton County (Fannin-3-2948): see John Johnson in Appendix C.
B. F. Jones A-545, Cooke County (Fannin-4-778): 245 acres surveyed 22 Feb 1877; C. F. Jones and [illegible] were chainmen.
David Jones A-646, Grayson County (Fannin-3-1268): [David Jones was a brother of John Jones of Denton County and George Washington Jones, Jr. of Grayson County] 640 acres were surveyed for David Jones on 20 Feb 1855 [the survey was made by the same surveyor, with the same chainmen and on the same date that the adjacent George W. Jones Survey was made, see below]; the survey was patented to David Jones on 9 Feb 1856.
George W. Jones A-644, Grayson County (Fannin-3-1267): George W. Jones was granted a land certificate on 19 April 1850 by Thomas William Ward, Commissioner of Peters Colony; the affidavit of Jones, attested by witnesses Reuben Allen [the Reuben Allen survey, Fannin-3-1012, adjoins this survey to the northwest] and Thomas E. Walker, states that he settled in Peters Colony prior to July 1848 and was then over seventeen years of age; 320 acres were surveyed on the certificate in Grayson County 20 Feb 1855; Reuben Alexander and G. W. Jones served as chainmen; the survey was patented to the heirs of George W. Jones on 30 Jan 1873; the survey is located adjacent to the 640-acre survey of David Jones on Big Mineral Creek, near the Red River, northwest of Sherman ... the David Jones Survey was made on the same date with the same chainmen [George W. and David Jones were brothers of John Jones].
James Jones A-546, Cooke County (Fannin-P-90): 155 acres surveyed 1 Jul 1871; P. Osbourn [Corsburn ?] and [G] Burns served as chainmen.
John Jones A-669, Denton County (Fannin-3-2947): see John Jones in Appendix C.
Reason Jones A-541, Cooke County (Fannin-3-3269): pre-emption affidavit of Reason Jones dated 25 Nov 1856 states that he settled on the land about June 1855; 160 acres "in the lower Cross timbers" was surveyed for Reason Jones on 25 Nov 1856; James Jones and A.C. Davis [his son-in-law] served as chainmen.
Robert Jones A-542, Cooke County (Fannin-3-2940): 320 acres surveyed 20 Dec 1853; John Johnson and John Shipley served as chainmen.
Nathaniel W. Laird [see David J. McDaniel Survey below], Denton County (Fannin-P-289): Nathaniel W. Laird made application for a 160 acre pre-emption survey on 28 August 1871; upon testimony of Jesse Jones and Stanley J. Foss, he was granted Certificate No. 87. The land was surveyed on 15 August 1872 with James Anderson and Louis Berry serving as chainmen. Notes on the file jacket indicate that the survey covered the survey of D. J. McDaniel (Fannin-S- 1924) and conflicted with J. Johnson (Fannin-3-2948) and J. T. Patterson (Fannin-3-3985). McDaniel quitclaimed his claim to Nathaniel W. Laird on 3 Oct 1879. The land was surveyed again for N. W. Laird on 8 & 9 May 1880 [to remove the conflicts with other surveys] with Samuel Hardin and W P Laird as chainmen. On 14 May 1880, N. W. Laird filed his "Certificate of Occupancy" stating that he was a married man settled on 160 acres of the vacant public land that had been surveyed for him. The certificate of occupancy was attested to by J. S. Everly and John Johnson [Johnson signing with his mark]. The 154 3/4 acre survey was patented in the name of David J. McDaniel to his assignee, Nathaniel W. Laird, on 9 June 1880.
Heirs of Martha Langston A-739, Denton County (Fannin-3-1448): formerly Martha Eldra; she settled in Peters Colony under that name before July 1848; she was unmarried [widow ?] and had three children under the age of seventeen at that time; John Havens (who had his own land surveyed a couple of miles upriver) was appointed
Guardian of the minor children and Administrator of the Estate of Martha Langston, Deceased, on 31 May 1852; on 20 April 1853, Havens filed a description of the land for the heirs, but the original survey notes were lost; the land was re-surveyed on 18 Sep 1859 when B. F. Cosner and Josiah Young served as chainmen; the 640-acre survey was patented to the heirs on 14 Oct 1859.
Minor Marsh A-880 & 881, Denton County (Fannin-3-1566): affidavit of 4 Nov 1850 states that Marsh and his wife had emigrated to Peters Colony prior to July 1848; he was granted a colony headright certificate for 640 acres of land from the commissioner of Peters Colony, Thomas William Ward; his land was surveyed in two adjoining tracts of 320 acres each astride the Elm Fork Trinity River on 14 Mar 1851; the A-880 survey was sold to William H. Downard on 19 Nov 1853 for $320 ($1 per acre).
Andrew Matthews A-837, Denton County (Fannin-3-3434): affidavit of 9 Feb 1858 states that Matthews had cultivated and resided three years upon the land surveyed for him on 28 Mar 1857 (i.e. he settled about 9 Feb 1855); however, the application for the survey states that he had settled eight months prior to the survey (i.e. about July 1856).
Heirs of Andrew Matthews A-839, Denton County (Fannin-3-3507): an application for a survey was filed on 18 Dec 1857, wherein Joseph Matthews claimed a pre-emption certificate for the heirs of Andrew Matthews, Deceased; Joseph Matthews and Madison Rolls attested that the deceased had settled, lived, and cultivated upon the land three years prior to his death; the land was first surveyed on 22 Jun 1854 and a corrected survey made on 13 Sep 1862.
David J. McDaniel A-1527, Denton County (Fannin-S-1924): an application for a survey was filed on 1 Oct 1860 (before John Shipley, J.P.) wherein John Jones [resident at site 41DN224] and J. C. Jones [resident at site 41DN250] "two respectable Householding Citizens of Denton County" attested that D. J. McDaniel was settled on vacant public domain. McDaniel quitclaimed his claim to Nathaniel W. Laird on 3 Oct 1879. The land was surveyed for N. W. Laird on 8 & 9 May 1880 with Samuel Hardin and W P Laird as chainmen. On 14 May 1880, N. W. Laird filed his "Certificate of Occupancy" stating that he was a married man settled on 160 acres of the vacant public land that had been surveyed for him. The
certificate of occupancy was attested to by J. S. Everly and John
Johnson [Johnson signing with his mark]. The 154 3/4 acre survey was patented to David J. McDaniel's assignee, Nathaniel W. Laird, on 9 June 1880 [also see N. W. Laird Survey above].
David R. McInturf A-862, Denton County (Fannin-3-2605): an application for a 320-acre pre-emption survey was made by David R. McInturf on 2 April 1854 and the land surveyed on the same date. Peter Friend [McInturf's step-son; see the Peter Friend Survey above] and Alexander Carter served as chainmen. On 23 Dec 1856, A.P. Lloyd, County Clerk of Denton County, issued Certificate of Occupancy No. 20 to D. R. McInturf, upon the testimony of John Havens and Alexander Carter, certifying that McInturf "and his assignee, Charles L. Sullivan, "had resided and cultivated" upon the land surveyed on 2 April 1854 for a period of three years. McInturf transfered his claim to Sullivan on 23 Dec 1856. The survey was patented to Charles L. Sullivan, Assignee of David R. McInturf, on 8 Mar 1889.
W. J. Pipkin A-1673, Denton County (Fannin-P-4330): affidavit and application for survey states that Pipkin settled 27 August 1892; the land was surveyed on 5 Jan 1893. A letter from E.Biggerstaff, Denton County Surveyor to A. J. Baker, Commissioner of the GLO, dated 25 January 1896, states that "before Pipkin made his file another party camped on the land a few days, but left it and said it was too poor for him, he left the country." On 12 August 1893, for $125, W.J. and S.L. Pipkin transfered their claim to J.D. Campbell. On 31 July 1894,for $65, J.D. and A.M. Campbell transfered the claim to R.C. Yarbrough. The 75-acre survey was patented in the name of W. J. Pipkin to R.C. Yarbrough, Assignee, on 21 February 1896.
James G. Plemmons A-1505, Denton County (Fannin-P-42): this file was not examined at GLO archives, but James G. Plemmons is buried at Tyson Cemetery; his grave marker indicates he was born in 1812, died 12 June 1880 and was a member of a Masonic Order.
Heirs of Ransom Prather A-1039, Denton County (Fannin-3-4030): a 320 acre certificate was issued to Thomas Lewellen, Administrator of the Estate of R. Prather, Deceased, on 30 Jan 1855; the land was surveyed "on the waters of Strickland Creek" 24 Sep 1863 with E. A. and John Orr serving as chainmen; a corrected survey was made on 5 Jul 1871 with J. N. Jones and J. S. Everly serving as chainmen.
Madison Rolls A-1099, Denton County (Fannin-3-2950): settled on a 160-acre tract of land 1 Jun 1854 and cultivated for three years; surveyed 1 Jun 1857 [also see A-1118 (Fannin-3-2295)], Madison Rolls is buried in the Rolls-McKinzey Cemetery [site 41DN225] located on this survey, his marker indicates he died 18 Oct 1875.
John Shipley A-1178, Denton County (Fannin-P-2708): pre-emption certificate granted 20 Dec 1853; affidavit of John Jones and John Johnson dated 16 Feb 1857 states that Shipley had resided upon and cultivated the land for three years; 320 acres were surveyed on 20 Dec 1853; Robert Jones and John Johnson served as chainmen for the survey.
Daniel Strickland A-1159, Denton County (Fannin-3-1515): received a certificate for 640 acres from the commissioner of the Peters Colony; affidavit states that he had entered the colony prior to July 1848 and was then over the age of seventeen, but that his land had not yet been surveyed.
David Strickland - In the Probate Records of Red River County in re Estate of David Strickland, there is a copy of the application made by Joseph Strickland [probably the father of David, John, and Daniel listed herein] before the Board of Land Commissioners of Red River County for a land grant certificate No. 11 for 320 acres; although the application is undated, it was made after 23 September 1837 and before March 1838 (based on dates of applications before and after No. 11); the application states that Joseph Strickland was born "within the present limits of Red River County," that he was single and over the age of 17 years, and had resided in the county since his birth [based on this information, Joseph Strickland was born before ca. 1820-21 in Red River County; thus, the Strickland family were among the earliest settlers in this area of Texas].
David Strickland A-748, Red River County (Red River-1-381): 2953.73 acres patented to David Strickland 31 August 1848 [outside area shown on Figure B-1].
David Strickland A-749, Red River County (Red River-1-393): 1661 acres patented to the Heirs of David Strickland 25 January 1849 [outside area shown on Figure B-1].
David C. Strickland A-982, Fannin County (Fannin-1-127): 1284.52 acres patented to John G. Jonett, 31 July 1845; in his application for a 1/3 league certificate made on 12 January 1840, Strickland states that he arrived in Texas prior to 1835 and was single; the survey field notes are not dated; the chainmen were John G. Jonett and J. F. Pace [outside area shown on Figure B-1].
John Strickland A-1157, Denton County (Fannin-3-1516): at McKinney on 4 April 1850, upon the testimony of J. M. McReynolds and Joseph (his X mark) Dixon, the Commissioner of Peters Colony issued a certificate to John Strickland entitling him to 640 acres as a settler in Peters Colony, emigrating prior to July 1848 with his wife and children; two surveys of 320 acres each were surveyed on 10 and 13 Mar 1850 with James Langston and Daniel Strickland [John's brother] serving as chainmen; one of the surveys [Denton Co. A-1157] was correct as surveyed and patented on 26 May 1854 to John Strickland; the other survey [see Fannin-3-1516, mostly in Cooke Co.] was patented to John Strickland on 5 Jun 1857.
John Strickland A-1172, Denton County (Fannin-3-3545): a 320-acre pre-emption claim; affidavit states John Strickland settled on the land about 1 Dec 1853; the land was surveyed on 12 Aug 1857 with Hiram Hobaugh and John Havens serving as chainmen; the survey was patented to John Strickland on 27 Nov 1870.
J. R. Sullivan A-1629, Denton County (Fannin-S-19805): see J. R. Sullivan in Appendix C.
David Vance A-1317, Denton County (Fannin-3-4029): David Vance was granted a certificate (No. 86) for 320 acres by order of the County Court of Grayson County on 9 August 1856 to which he was entitled "as a settler in Peters Colony ... as a colonist ... provided by the tenth section of An Act ... dated 10 Feb 1852" [Vance sold his certificate to Reason Jones for $100 on the same date it was issued in Grayson County; see Cooke County Deed Records 41/236]. The validity of this certificate was questioned, but it was validated by a judgement in the 1860 Spring Term of the Cooke County District Court [certified by Aaron Hill, District Clerk of Cooke County]. Notes on the file jacket indicate that this 160-acre survey in Denton County was located for John Jones on the certificate owned by Reason Jones. The land was surveyed on 9 April 1863 with Jackson [Carroll] Jones and Charles [Lee] Sullivan serving as chainmen. The field notes indicate that in 1863 the NEC of the present James Wilson Survey [A-1410, Denton County, Fannin-B-1066] was called Papins J Newton's NEC. Another survey of the land was made on 6 Jul 1871 to correct the earlier field notes. In the new survey, the land is said to be on "Strickland's Creek," a reference to either Isle du Bois Creek or an unnamed intermittent drainage that heads in the adjacent J. S. Everly Survey and transects the Vance survey. John Johnson and J. S. Everly served as chainmen for the correcting survey.
The Survey Records of Cooke County [Revised Survey Record 1/281] indicate that Reason Jones had the remaining 160 acres of the David Vance certificate surveyed on 1 Nov 1867 adjacent to the east boundary of his landholdings in Cooke County on "Zilaboy" [Isle du Bois] Creek [see GLO file Fannin-3-4065]. C. F. Jones and W. R. Anderson served as chainmen for the survey.
A survey of 320 acres was patented to William S. Reeves in Grayson County, southwest of Sherman, in 1856, on a different certificate [No. 409] issued to David Vance [see GLO file Fannin-3- 581].
P. S. Welch A-1374, Denton County (Fannin-P-2707): this survey of 320 acres was placed within an earlier abandoned survey of R. Northingham; affidavit of 23 Feb 1857 states Welch had resided and cultivated upon the land for three years; the land was surveyed 15 Aug 1854, and the application states that Welch had settled prior to 13 Feb 1854; Richard and Louis Welch served as chainmen for the survey.
Richard Welch A-1373, Denton County [the northern portion of this survey is in Cooke County] (Fannin-3-2706): a pre-emption survey of 320 acres; affidavit dated 23 Feb 1857 states that he had resided and cultivated upon the land for more than three years; affidavit dated 14 Aug 1854 states that he resided upon the land prior to 13 Feb 1853; W.M. & Lewis Welch served as chainmen [Cooke County Survey Records, Revised 1/4/69].
William Welch, Denton County (cancelled): this survey included the northern portion of the present John Strickland Survey (A-1172); the land was surveyed on 14 Aug 1854 (see P. S. Welch file Fannin P-2707) beginning at the NWC of the present D. R. McInturf Survey (A-862).
Samuel F. West A-1429, Denton County (Fannin-S-2065): the land was surveyed 6 Jan 1863; Thomas and Leonard West served as chainmen. The survey was patented to Samuel F. West on 18 Oct 1871.