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Land grant for military service to William and James Taylor signed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, 1897
MS.559
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Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Land grant for military service to William and James Taylor signed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
Identifier/Call Number: MS.559
Physical Description:
1 folder
(1 document)
Date: 1807
Language of Material:
English
.
Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States of America,
TO ALL WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING:
Know ye, That, in consideration of military service performed by William Taylor (a Major for
the seventh year of his service)
to the United States, in the Virginia Line on Continental Establishment, and in pursuance of an Act of the Congress
of the United States, passed on the day of August in the year 1790, intituled "An Act to enable the Officers
and Soldiers of the Virginia Line on Continental Establishment, to obtain titles to certain lands lying north-west of the
River Ohio, between the Little Miami and Sciota;" and another Act of the said Congress
Passed on the 9th day of June, in the year 1794,__________amendatory
of the said Act, There is granted by the United States unto James Taylor assignee of the said William Taylor
a certain tract of land, containing Eight Hundred and Eighty nine acres_____
______situate between the Little Miami and Sciota Rivers, north-west of the River Ohio, as by survey,
bearing date the fifth day of December in the year one thousand Eight hundred and three.
and bounded and described as follows, to wit: Survey of Eight hundred and Eighty nine acres of land on a Military
Warrant No. 4947, for a like quantity in favor of the said William Taylor. On the Stonelick fork of Miami Beginning at
a Walnut buckeye and two ashes on the east bank of the creek where the most eastwardly line of John Linton's Survey No. 681
strikes
the bend of the creek, thence S34.E444 ½ poles to a white oak, and three beeches thence S56W320 poles crossing a small branch
to two beeches an ash and dogwood thence N34, W444 ½ poles to four ashes in Linton's line thence N56E320 poles with his line
to the Beginning.
With the appurtenances: To have and to hold the said tract of land, with the appurtenances, unto the said James
Taylor and his heirs and assigns forever.
In witness whereof, the said Thomas Jefferson President of the United States of
America, hath caused the Seal of the said United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with his
Hand, at the city of Washington, the fourteenth day of December in the year
of our Lord 1807 ; and of the Independence of the United States of America the thirty second.
By the President,
[signed by Jefferson]
[signed by James Madison] Secretary of State
On the reverse side:
William Taylor was originally
entitled to the bounty land granted
by the within patent to James
Taylor, who claims under the
said William
War Office III. Dec. 1807
[signed] W. Dearbourn
Scry of War
Recorded in the office of the Department of State
Vol IV page 464 of the records of patents granted to the
Virginia line on Continental Establishment.
Department of State
14 December 1807
[signed] J.W. King
Land grant for military service from the United States government to James Taylor, assignee of William Taylor, for seven years
of William Taylor's voluntary service in the U.S. Military. The document is dated 1807 and is signed by Thomas Jefferson and
his Secretary of State, James Madison.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Mrs. Mary Thomasset in 1957
Land grant for military service to William and James Taylor signed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, 1807, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.559.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
Biographical note prepared by Eloise Nelson, Braun Research Library intern, 2011 May 18. Initial processing performed by Holly
Rose Larson, Project Archivist, funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission in 2011.
Final finding aid completed by Anna Liza Posas 2011.
Virginia began to raise troops in 1775, raising 15 regiments in the Virginia Continental Line (referred to in the land grant
as the Virginia Line on Continental Establishment) by 1777. William Taylor joined the Second Virginia Regiment sometime in
1775 as a private and continued his service through the end of the war, at which time he had advanced to the rank of major
(see attached testimonials regarding his military service). Virginia awarded bounty lands to soldiers who had enlisted for
at least 3 years in the Continental Line, State Line, or State Navy. Heirs could apply if the soldier died. The amount of
the grant was dependent on rank and amount of time served. The process of applying and proving service was lengthy and required
proof of service. The documents supplied by soldiers to support their claims are held in the Virginia State Library. Facsimiles
of the documents relating to William Taylor are included here. After examining and approving documentation of Revolutionary
War military service, the governor issued a certificate on which the Land Office register subsequently issued a warrant for
bounty lands; these documents are also held by the Virginia State Library, and can be requested on microfilm via inter-library
loan. Once the bounty was approved, the land was surveyed and a grant was issued. All land grants were in Ohio and Kentucky;
records of the Ohio surveys and grants are held by the Ohio Historical Society.
Resources:
Ohio Historical Society
Papers of the War Department, The Library of Virginia. "Research Notes Number 8: Revolutionary War Records."
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Southern Methodist University Library, "Land grant, 1807 December 14, Washington City [to] Thomas Fox and James Taylor, as
tenants in common and not as joint tenants."
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Taylor, James
Taylor, William