JONATHAN CARVER LAND GRANT-RELATED DEEDS AND PAPERS:
An Inventory of the Collection at the Minnesota Historical
Society
Manuscripts Collection
Part or all of this collection is restricted.
For
details, please see restrictions.
| | |
| Title: | Jonathan Carver land grant-related
deeds and papers. |
| Dates: | 1795-1887. |
| Language: | Materials in English. |
| Abstract: | Deeds and other legal papers relating to sales and purchases
of tracts of land located in present-day western Wisconsin that were once part of
some four million acres supposedly granted to Jonathan Carver by the Dakota chiefs
Hawnopawjatin and Otohtongoomlisheaw on May 1, 1767. |
| Quantity: | 0.4 cubic feet (3 oversize folders in 1
partial box and 2 items in Reserve). |
| Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf
locations. |
Jonathan Carver was an explorer, mapmaker, and author, and
was among the first white men to explore and map areas of what would become
Minnesota. The Jonathan Carver heirs claimed after his death that Dakota Indians had
granted Carver a tract of some four million acres of land on the east side of the
Mississippi River running from Saint Paul to the mouth of Wisconsin's Chippewa River
to points east and northeast. A grant document or deed signed by two chiefs at
Carver's Cave at present-day Saint Paul on May 1, 1767, is said to have subsequently
disappeared. Some question whether or not such a document ever existed.
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Access Restrictions:
Access to reserve material requires written permission of the curator.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here].
Jonathan Carver Land Grant-related Deeds and Papers. Minnesota Historical
Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.
Location of Originals:
The location of the originals of photocopies can be found in various
repositories.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 1725E; 1782A8; 2025B; 2623; 3037; 3089; 3667; 4614; 4956; 5852;
5943; 6373; 6598; 7131; 8072; 8665; 13,294; 14,265; 17,490; 17,491
Processing Information:
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
(NHPRC).
Catalog ID number: 990074751220104294
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Folder |
| 138.E.4.8 | 1 | Indenture, made... between Elijah Middlebrook Haines, of the town of
Hainesville, county of Lake, and State of Illinois..., and
_____, undated. 3 copies, each [1] leaf; 31.5 x 38.5 cm. |
| | | These unused, blank quit-claim deeds were printed for use in the sale of all
or part of an unspecified 5000 acres owned by Haines. The deed indicates
that the Haines land had once been owned by Martin King. These deeds each
cite the text of the May 1, 1767 grant. |
| | | 
Digital version
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Pencil drawings of the marks belonging to Hawnopawjatin and
Otohtongoomlisheaw, undated. [2] leaves, 22 x 17 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made... between Samuel Peters of the city of New York...
and Mary Wright of the same place, August 25, 1813. [8] leaves bound at the top with green ribbon; 20 x 31 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Rufus Carver's Deed to Leavens Carver, April 30, 1816. [3] pages; 20 x 31 cm. and [1] letter; 20 x 15 cm. |
| | | Includes handwritten note, dated July 22, 1887, that speculates that this
deed was the beginning of the real estate boom in that region. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Deed of conveyance from Zebulon Harmon to Isaac M. Chesbrough, September 16, 1817. [1] leaf: parchment; 32 x 46 cm. |
| | | Handwritten deed conveying 1000 acres located in Township 18N Range 21E in
present-day Manitowoc County, Wisconsin from Harmon, a Baltimore bookseller
to Chesbrough, a Baltimore innkeeper for the sum of $400.00. |
| | | 
Digital version
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Deed of conveyance from John Walls to Isaac M. Chesbrough, March 31, 1818. [2] pages: parchment; 39 x 50 cm. |
| | | Handwritten deed conveying an unspecified number of acres located in Township
12N Range 1W in present-day Richland County, Wisconsin from Walls, of
Baltimore County, Maryland to Chesbrough, of the city of Baltimore, for the
sum of $1000.00. The deed indicates that the Walls tract was once part of
the real estate inherited by Jonathan Carver's son Rufus. |
| | | 
Digital version
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made between Henry S. Cozens of the... county of
Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania and Maximilian Lefever, May 3, 1819. [1] leaf; 79 x 45 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Folder |
| 138.E.4.8 | 2 | Indenture made... between James Elliot Junior of the city of
Philadelphia... and Richard L. Lloyd, October 23, 1821. [2] leaves: photocopy; 38 x 29 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Letter from John Marsh to D. P. Campbell, April 17, 1831. [2] leaves: photocopy; 22 x 32 cm. |
| | | This letter discusses the territory involved in the Carver land grant. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Warranty deed from Azel Howard to Henry Morgan, April 16, 1836. 1 leaf; 32 x 40 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Bond executed by James Maxwell... a resident of Wisconsin
territory... to William L. Toole... of Iowa territory for 1,000 acres of
land in the Carver grant, March 1, 1838. [4] pages; 39 x 31 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made... between Martin King of the town of Lima, county of
Livingston and the state of New York... and David Shepard, April 20, 1838. [1] leaf; 40 x 32 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made... between Martin King of the town of Lima, county of
Livingston and the state of New York... and Ichabod A. Holden, June 13, 1838. [4] leaves: photocopy; 21 x 26 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made... between Thomas Edwards M.D. of Lancaster, Fairfield
County, State of Ohio... and George I. Hardy M.D. of Chillicothe Ross
County, July 5, 1838. [5] pages: photocopy; 27 x 37 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made... between Martin King of the town of Lima county of
Livingston and state of New York... and Benjamin Sly, February 2, 1839. [1] leaf; 18 x 42 cm. |
| | | This printed deed conveys 250 acres of the Carver grant from King to Sly for
the sum of $150.00. The deed indicates that Martin King was a descendant of
Jonathan Carver's daughter Mary and also cites the text of the May 1, 1767
Carver grant. |
| | | 
Digital version
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made... between William B. Peabody of the city of
Rochester, county of Monroe and state of New York... and Leonard Vanalstine
of the town of Victory, county of Cayuga and state of New York, October 4, 1839. [1] leaf; 20 x 31 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Folder |
| 138.E.4.8 | 3 | Letter from Thomas Prosser to his brother John, December 21, 1841. [2] leaves: photocopy; 22 x 27 cm. |
| | | Includes a photocopy of a deed of transfer from James Pennoyer to Thomas
Prosser for 11,520 acres of land (November 13, 1818, [3] leaves), a map
detailing land involved with the Carver grant with a written explanation
(undated, [1] leaf), and a typewritten list of the owners of the Carver
Grant, 1767-1818 (undated, [1] leaf). |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made between W. G. Mastin of the county of Cayuga and the
state of New York... and George J. Mastin [of Genoa, New York], April 5, 1845. [1] leaf: photocopy; 38 x 32 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Deed from Russell Gage and his wife... of the state of Michigan... to
William W. Arnold, July 13, 1846. [2] pages; 34 x 43 cm. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Indenture made... between Henry Anisanel of Canonsburgh, Washington
County, Pennsylvania and ______, February 10, 1860. [4] pages; 57 x 42 cm. |
| | | No recipient is listed as this is a fill-in form that was never
completed. |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Folder |
| Reserve 183 | 4 | Memorandum concerning copper mining and exploration in the Carver
land grant, March 13, 1795. [1] leaf; 16.5 x 20 cm. |
| | | Access Restricted. |
| | | Manuscript memorandum concerning a joint venture to investigate copper mines
in the Lake Superior region on the Carver land grant. Signed by several
important Revolutionary-era figures, including Benjamin Henfrey, William
Paterson, Henry Knox, William MacPherson, Anthony W. White and James
Chambers. Additional subscribing parties (but not signatories) include
William Bingham, Richard Howell, Alexander Hamilton, Peleg Wadsworth, and
Anthony Wayne. The memorandum is inside a brown half morocco and cloth
clamshell case with gilted spine. |
| | | Includes transcript created by the Minnesota Historical Society. |
| | | 
Digital version
|
| | | 
Transcript
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Folder |
| Reserve 183 | 5 | Letter from John Adams to Elkanah Watson, June 21, 1820. [2] pages; 19.5 x 24.5 cm. |
| | | Access Restricted. |
| | | Letter signed from John Adams to Elkanah Watson describing an encounter on
the streets of London with a woman claiming to be the wife of Jonathan
Carver. She wanted Adams to buy one of Carver's travelogues, which he did,
although he clearly distrusted the authenticity of both the travelogue and
the woman. |
| | | Includes transcript created by the Minnesota Historical Society. |
| | | 
Digital version
|
| | | 
Transcript
|
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics,
persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Carver Grant.
- Copper mines and mining.
- Dakota Indians -- Minnesota.
- Dakota Indians -- Wisconsin.
- Land grants -- Mississippi River Valley.
- Land speculation -- Mississippi River
Valley.
- Persons:
- Adams, John, 1735-1826,
author.
- Carver, Jonathan,
1710-1780.
- Carver, Rufus, 1755-1840,
author.
- Chambers, James, 1743-1805,
author.
- Chesbrough, Isaac M., active
1817.
- Haines, Elijah M. (Elijah
Middlebrook), 1822-1889.
- Hamilton, Alexander,
1757-1804.
- Harmon, Zebulon, active 1817,
author.
- Hawnopawjatin, active 1767.
- Henfrey, Benjamin, author.
- King, Martin, active 1839,
author.
- Knox, Henry, 1750-1806,
author.
- MacPherson, William, 1756-1813,
author.
- Otohtongoomlisheaw, active
1767.
- Paterson, William, 1745-1806,
author.
- Sly, Benjamin, active 1839.
- Walls, John, active 1818,
author.
- White, Anthony Walton, 1750-1803,
author.
- Document Types:
- Deeds.
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