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David Spence land claim letter, 1853.
MANUSCRIPTSMCII : Box 33 : Folder 17
Collection Overview

Title:

David Spence land claim letter, 1853
Spence

Creator/Contributor:

Spence, David., creator

Abstract:

Letter dated January 11, 1853 from David Spence to attorney James Wilson detaling Spence's claim to Rancho Encinal y Buena Esperanza.

Date:

1853 (issued)

Subject:

n-us-ca
Wilson, James
Correspondence
Land claims -- California

Note:

David Spence (1798-1875) was born in Scotland and came to Monterey from Lima, Peru in 1824 to work for William Hartnell. He was a grantee of Rancho Encinal y Buena Esperanza in 1834, Alcalde of Monterey in 1839, and a member of the State Legislature. In 1829 Spence married Jose Mariano Estrada's daughter Maria Adelaida Altagracia Estrada and thus acquired Rancho Buena Vista and Rancho Llano de Buena Vista. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo all land grant holders were required to verify their claims before the Board of California Land Commissioners, in which case verbal boundary descriptions were important since the original grants often did not clearly define them. Spence was successful in his claim, and the grant was patented to him in 1862.
General James Wilson was one of the main attorneys involved in presenting cases to the Public Land Commission, his most prominent being that of Joseph Limantour, whose claim to 200,000 acres in San Francisco and Marin County was eventually ruled fraudulent. Wilson had been State Representative for the town of Keene, New Hampshire, came to California in 1850, and eventually returned home.
Spence.
Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.

Physical Description:

print
1 file folder; 14 3/4 x 9 5/8 in.

Language:

English

Identifier:

Origin:

California

Copyright Note:

Unrestricted. Please credit California State Library.