Relay – A Family History Blog

On a spring day in April 1801 David Scott and his wife Rebecca created a set of 3 deeds – selling over 400 acres in 3 parcels to 3 different men.¹ James McLeland, Richard Wharton and Joseph Rulon bought 100, 177, 146 acre parcels adjoining each other.  They witnessed each other’s deeds alongside another witness George Vanbuskirk. The deeds is are utterly ordinary. Except for a rider to each deed, signed by David Scott alone, warranting any financial loss “if the within land is lost.” An odd statement.  As is the promise to pay interest from 5 August 1800 if the payment must be returned to the buyer. What was going on?

A clerical note in the left hand margin of the recorded copy of two of the deeds gives a clue. “Delivered to Green Clay per order 20 December 1812.”  Green Clay (1757-1828) was a slave owner, militia general and one of the richest men in Kentucky, owning vast tracts of land in the state. And Green Clay claimed huge amounts of land in Clark County under various surveys.  Surveying in early Kentucky was apparently a huge mess and large numbers of people bought land in good faith that was incorrectly surveyed or had other imperfections in the land title. There were numerous disputes and litigation concerning Kentucky lands and the state Court of Appeal eventually created its own set of land record books documenting decisions. David Scott had purchased the warrant for this 417 acres from Chesley Woodward in 1798 and registered the survey with Kentucky and in Clark County.² But roughly 10 years after James, Richard and Joseph began clearing, planting and building they were being sued by Green Clay in an “act of ejectment.” In other words he contended they were trespassing. There is no evidence that James, Richard or Joseph took their dispute to the State Court of Appeal.  But there is substantial evidence Richard, at least, attempted to defend the title in the local courts from roughly 1812 through 1816.³

While this was a major setback for these families, the deeds and the lawsuit they bred are a valuable for family historians.  There are many questions we can ask of these documents, as well as much information useful to guide additional research.

Some genealogically relevant questions and at least partial answers-

1. How are these 5 men connected, if at all?  James McLeland married Jane Rulon, sister of Joseph Rulon in Kentucky circa 1799.  Richard Wharton married Mary McLeland, sister of James McLeland in Kentucky 29 July 1793.⁴ George Vanbuskirk married Mary Rulon, sister of Joseph and Jane about 1788 possibly in Kentucky.⁵ This is clearly a kinship by marriage cluster – a very interconnected FAN club (Family/Friends, Associates, Neighbors.) And David Scott?  Well he is a bit more speculative.  McLeland family Lore, descending independently among the children of both James McLeland and Mary McLeland, says that the McLeland siblings were orphans raised by “a Scott uncle,” one of their mother’s brothers. David Scott is unlikely to be that uncle, but he could be a cousin.  He moved with the Richard Wharton family to Wayne County Indiana where he continued to associate with Richard’s family and the family of George Vanbuskirk. Very little is actually known about this David and his wife Rebecca but it seems clear there is a FAN connection.
2. Why did Richard Wharton become the focus of the lawsuit? Did James and Joseph just surrender their land and leave the area? After the first couple of entries in the order books James McLeland and Joseph Rulon are not mentioned. The commissioners report seems to involve only Richard Wharton’s land and improvements.  The other two names now on the suit appear to be attorneys as well as defendants but their land and improvements do not seem to be at issue and are not covered in the commissioners report.  What happened?  It seems apparent from other sources that James and Joseph had left Clark County, Indiana between 1810 – 1816.⁶ McLeland family lore says James moved to Ohio briefly before settling in Indiana.  James has not been found on the 1820 census. But, Joseph is found in the 1820 census of Clinton County Ohio⁷and Richard was in Wayne County, Indiana by 1820. ⁸ Richard was both older than James and Joseph and from a different cultural background – he hailed from the long settled colony of Virginia where there had been stress between large landholders and the smaller independent farmer for generations.⁹
3. What improvements had Richard Wharton made to his land that allowed him to get a roughly $ 600 settlement from Green Clay?  Perhaps the most fascinating part of the commissioner’s report is the detailed list of improvements and their value.  Richard’s property included – a dwelling “cabin”, kitchen, stable and corn crib, 124 fruit trees (apple, pear, cherry and peach) planted by Richard, seventeen and half cleared and fenced acres (including the orchard) with another 7 acres cleared but not fenced.  This information tells us a lot about Richard.  He was a very hard worker – that is a lot of land for 1 man, with no grown sons, to clear in roughly 10 years.  His improvements are not typical of the countryside – the Scotch-Irish settlers of Kentucky were not inclined to clear and fence pasture or plant an orchard – their usual pattern was to raise a kitchen garden and a small patch of corn and to run hogs on the unfenced land.¹⁰ Richard knew the value of his work and was willing to fight tenaciously for compensation once the actual ownership issue was lost.

Some questions that point to other records to research

1. Where was the land located? The land was located on the north bank of the Red River and the parcels were arranged so that James McLeland’s was in the middle with Joseph and Richard on either side. It is interesting, that in the meets and bounds description of the land of James reference is made to Richard Wharton’s line and in the description of Joseph’s land reference is made to James McLeland’s land – but neither man is referenced in Richard’s deed.  Does this mean that Richard’s deed was the first one drawn up on 8 April 1801? Also, the location along the Red River is not well defined. Perhaps early survey maps of the region could pinpoint the location of the land – how close was it to Jessamine or Fayette counties? Did they have regular contact with Estill County across the river and could there be relevant records there?
   
2. Were all the deeds executed at the same time? It is very likely that all three deeds were executed at the same time since they are all dated the 8th April 1801 and the 3 purchasers witnessed each other’s deeds.  This gives us a mental picture of David and Rebecca Scott, the 3 purchasers and their witness George VanBuskirk crowding into an attorney’s office and one by one completing, signing and witnessing these deeds.  Perhaps their wives and families were there as well.  Purchase of what was hopefully going to be the family farm would have been a momentous occasion.
   
3. Were all the deeds recorded at the same time? All three deeds were attested and recorded in the November 1801 term of the Clark County Court. In each case all of the witnesses – Richard, James, Joseph and George attested their signature.  Therefore once again 4 of the 5 members of this FAN club were present in the courtroom.  We cannot tell from the record if David Scott was present. His presence was not required. It is interesting to note that other deeds recorded at this time did not necessarily have all witnesses present to attest to their signatures.  Perhaps since all 3 purchasers had to record their deeds it was just easier for all to attest to each deed’s signatures.
   
4. How much did the men pay for the land?  This is very, very interesting and provides additional evidence for a blood relationship between James McLeland and Richard’s wife Mary McLeland and the seller of the land David Scott.  James paid David and Rebecca Scott 28 pounds for 100 acres.  Richard paid 63 pounds for 177 acres. But Joseph paid 1010 pounds for 140 acres. No mention is made of improvements, dwellings or anything that might account for the difference in price.  Other Clark County Kentucky deeds recorded around the same time seem to indicate that Joseph’s price was “normal” and that James and Richard paid significantly less. Further research into average land prices for the period and location might be useful to help solidify this hypothesis.

In summary, this set of deeds and the lawsuit that they sparked provides both a window into a specific local historical situation and a pathway for further research.  Research on the F.A.N. club of the 3 purchasers, the seller and the “extra” witness provided indirect evidence to support not just 1 but 3 sets of marital relationships and also illuminated a wider kinship network living near and supporting one another.