Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
January 17, 1993
By David M. Buchanan
Vigo County Historical Society
Presidents’ signatures adorn land grants
President Abraham Lincoln’s hand-written Emancipation Proclamation recently went
on display at the National Archives, the first time it has been seen in many
years. It will remain on display only a short time and then will be stored
again.
It’s an important document many would like to see remain on display, but it must
be hidden from people’s view. To do otherwise would destroy the document,
primarily
through fading caused by light. The paper the document is written upon is poor
in grade, compounding the problems of preservation.
The Vigo County Historical Society also stores many of its documents and brings
them out only for selected exhibitions or for research. Though these don’t have
the national interest of the Emancipation Proclamation , they are of local
interest and need to be preserved.
Documents in the society’s collection include 23 land grants.
Land grants were deeds used to prove property had been transferred by the United
States to the person listed on the grant. Sometimes the land was purchased; at
other times it was given as a form of military compensation.
Some of the words on the land grants were standard. Phrases such as “To all to
whom these Presents call come. Greeting: . . .” could be found on all of the
grants and so were printed by on vellum. (Vellum is a type of parchment produced
from a fine grade of lamb or calf skin; it was used for centuries before the
mass production of paper.)
Specific information needed to complete the land grant was handwritten in the
appropriate blank spaces. The words that were press-printed on land grants have
remained very clear over the years, but it isn’t unusual to find the
hand-written portions beginning to fade.
Because the United States was, in effect, selling or giving away its land,
presidential signatures actually were required on all land grants. However,
Andrew Jackson stopped that practice in his second term.
Two of the land grants in the society’s collection appear to actually have been
signed by Andrew Jackson; the other eight were signed by A.J. Donelson,
Jackson’s secretary.
Three other land grants in the collection also appear to have been signed by
presidents. Two were signed by John Quincy Adams and the other was signed by
James Monroe. The two grants signed by President Adams were issued to Demas
Deming; Monroe’s was issued to James Farrington.
The Farrington grant was for a little more than 150 acres. Unfortunately, that
grant had been folded for many years and the actual description of the location
of the land is right in the center of the fold, making it hard to read.
The documents hold little true historical value, other than noting the fact the
land was sold or given by the government. But that information also may be found
on the thousands and thousands of abstracts held by property owners in the
county.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1
to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.