DECEMBER 18, 1813
201 years ago in that part of Harrison County, Indiana
Territory that would soon become Washington County, four tracts of land were
transferred from the public domain to private ownership as part of the
expansion of the United States into the Northwest Territory. These new landowners were George Henton, Samuel
Herron, John Robertson and John Robinson.
GEORGE HENTON was living in Shelby County, Kentucky when he
decided to come to Indiana. George
Henton first purchased a land patent on Blue River east of the Vincennes Road
ford in 1812 before moving northwest to a tract that was in the Mitchell
Plain/Crawford Upland transitional terrain. He made land claim at this location in his own
name and bought out the adjoining registered claim of his brother in law
William Rigney. This 320 acres of land
was located in the south half of Section 5, T1N, R2E. Henton’s homestead is seen today in Stampers
Creek Township, Orange County, Indiana one half mile south of SR 56 just west
of the Washington County line. George
Henton was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia in 1759. Henton served in the Virginia Militia in the
Revolutionary War rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. He married Mary Rigney in 1785 before
crossing the Cumberland divide into Kentucky. George Henton, Evan Henton, James
Jeffery Murphy and William Rigney came to Indiana together in about 1810 and
were among the very first settlers of the Stampers Creek area. After the location of Salem as the county
seat was determined in February of 1814, Henton successfully lobbied to have a
public road running from the Lick Creek neighborhood to Salem established on
the edge of his intended farm.
SAMUEL HERRON selected for acquisition the northeast quarter
of Section 18, T2N, R5E, on the high ridge east of Royse’s Lick. This acreage is presently located in Franklin
Township on the west side of Elliot Road a half mile south of the New
Philadelphia Road. Richardson Hensley
sold this claim to Herron who made the balance of the installment payments to
the U. S. government. Samuel Herron was born in Pennsylvania in 1768. He came to Kentucky and married Alice Combs
in Nelson County, Ky in 1798. Samuel and
Alice Herron never moved from Nelson County, Kentucky even though they had
purchased the Indiana tract. Their son, William
Herron, came to Indiana and cleared his father’s land. William Herron had married Margaret Huston in
1810. They moved their family onto the
Washington County plantation and bought it from Samuel and Alice Herron on
September 3, 1817 for the sum of $1,000.
Apparently, deeds executed in Kentucky at this time required the
witnessing of two justices of the peace. Benjamin Grayson as the Clerk of
Nelson County, Kentucky certified on the deed that the two justices of the
peace, in fact, held that public capacity.
Proctor Ballard was the Judge of Nelson County, Kentucky that certified
that Grayson was the Clerk. This type of
formality is no longer required for the recording of deeds executed out of
state although it is still required to certify out of state court records
before they can be used in local legal proceedings.
JOHN ROBERTSON settled on the northwest quarter of Section
18, T2N, R5E, on real estate adjoining the Samuel Herron tract on the
west. Daniel Gray registered this claim with
Samuel Gwathmey at the Jeffersonville Land Office and then sold it to
Robertson. Robertson’s land is now in
Franklin Township on the east side of
Howell Road about a half mile south of the New Philadelphia
Road. John and Polly Robertson sold
their farm to John Mitchell for $1,040 on January 6, 1817. The deed to Mitchell was drafted and
witnessed by Justice of the Peace William Kelso. Although Indiana officially became a state on December
11, 1816, Justice of the Peace Kelso did not yet know that 26 days later as he
wrote that the deed had been witnessed in Washington County, Indiana Territory
(not State). Robertson was one of the
first trustees of the Franklin Church when it received donated land for its
meeting house and cemetery in 1822. After
sale of his first homestead, John Robertson registered a claim for the
southwest quarter of Section 9, T2N, R5E.
This is where Daniel Gray had squatted in 1810 as one of the early
residents of Franklin Township.
Robertson died in 1827. The deed
from the U.S. General Land Office was issued on August 20, 1827 to the heirs of
John Robertson as tenants in common and not as joint tenants.
JOHN ROBINSON obtained his deed from the Commissioner of the
General Land Office on this date for the southwest quarter of Section 13, T2N,
R4E. William Rodman from Shelby County,
Kentucky had made the claim for this site but sold it to Robinson. This
homestead is now in Washington Township south of Canton at the northwest corner
of Harristown Road and Canton-South Boston Road.
Robinson was born of Scoth-Irish heritage in 1775 with some
of his ancestors having lived near Pittcastle, Parthshire, Scotland. He first married Sarah Teague in Guilford
County North Carolina. She died after
the birth of their sixth child. Robinson
then married Sarah Woolem and moved to Surry County North Carolina. Fourteen children were born to Robinson’s
second marriage. The Robinson’s sold their Washington County land patent in two
tracts in less than a year after receiving title. An area described as100 acres and 80 poles
was sold to Samuel Price on August 22, 1814 for $555. The remaining 59 ½ acres was sold to James
McCraskey on October 22, 1814 for $200. John and Sarah Robinson moved to Vigo
County where they took out a land patent on Honey Creek for land that is now in
the southwest glide slope to the Terre Haute airport. The Robinsons continued to follow the opening
American frontier and bought land on the southeast edge of St. Joseph, Missouri
when it was established in 1843 as the “jumping off place” for the Oregon
Trail. John Robinson did not live to
enjoy this entrepot to the Wild West as he died there in 1845.
Old public records were often approximate in the spelling of
names. In the public records of Washington County, Indiana the names of John
Robertson and John Robinson are recorded as
Robertson/Robinson/Robison/Robeson. They
were two different persons as their grantor deeds listed different spouses. Over
the years there have been several John Robertson/Robinson/Robison (s) in Washington
County, Indian and in the many counties of Kentucky, Virginian and North
Carolina from whence their ancestors originated. This post is a good example of the challenges
presented in doing historical research.
GEORGE HENTON GRAVE MONUMENT
FRANKLIN CHURCH MEMORIAL
JOHN ROBERTSON TRUSTEE 1820
PITTCASTLE, PARTHSHIRE SCOTLAND
ANCESTRAL HOME OF JOHN ROBINSON
No comments:
Post a Comment