(It should be noted that in the previous post it was mentioned that John purchased about 22 and three quarters acres of land on 26 May 1841 in Section 31 due west from Morleyville. This section of Walker Township along with Section 31 where Morleyville was located became the home of most of the Carter family upon their move to Illinois.)
The period of 1843 through
1848 was a busy time for John as far as land transactions go. He bought and sold land several different
times. On 20 Apr 1843 John listed of
Adams County, purchased 40 acres of land from Alexander Hills and Eliza Ann his
wife, of Hancock County, for $150. The description
of the land was as follows: being in the
County of Adams in the state of Illinois viz: The North half of the East half
of the South East quarter of Section No. Five in Township No Two of Range No
Eight West.[1] As best as can be determined, this land is
due south of Tioga, Hancock County over the county line in Adams County. With this purchase John now owned two parcels
with a total of about 62 acres. Less
than a month later, John completed the sale of the land in Missouri and was now
strictly an Illinois landholder.
Next on 17 Feb 1846 John
Carter Jr. sold a piece of land to his father, John Sr. for $50. This must have occurred as the LDS members of
the Carter family were leaving Nauvoo to Iowa.
The land was described as beginning at a Stone at the South East Corner
of a certain piece of land conveyed by William C Wilson to Dominicus Carter
thence North Fifty two Rods thence west twelve rods and six feet thence south
fifty two rods then East to the place of beginning it being in the South West
quarter of the North East Quarter of Section thirty one in Township 3 North
Range eight West of the fourth principal meridian.[2]
This piece of land calculates out to
about 624 sq. rods or 3.9 acres. John
now had approximately 66 acres in three parcels.
John’s next purchase, on
30 Mar 1846, was from the same William C Wilson and wife Rose Ann, who had sold
William Carter the land that William later sold to John as his first purchase
in Section 31. This purchase for $175
was described as the North West quarter Section 31 Township 3 North Range 8
West of the principal meridian. The
legal description was to Commence Southwest corner of Adams Snyder’s tract;
South 21 Rods; East 26 Rods 12 Feet; South to South line of said quarter; East
to east line of said quarter; North to Southeast corner of land owned by
Charles Woodworth; west to the beginning point.[3] It can only be guessed at this time as to the
size of this parcel but based on other purchase prices it could be guessed that
$12.50 an acre seemed to be the going rate so this may have been for about 14
additional acres of land. This would
bring his ownership up to 78 or so acres in 4 parcels.
 |
| Assorted tax receipts for John Carter in Illinois |
The above deeds can be found in their original form in the films listed at the end of this post. We are indebted to Joe Irvin Conover, whose family preserved many early Carter documents, for the tax receipts posted here. It is very unusual to see documents of this kind preserved for over 150 years. They are presented here for your viewing. Those of us who own land can only wish that our tax bills were of this size.
(Our next entry will chronicle the mob violence in the Nauvoo area that lead to the final split of the family.)
[1] Adams
County, Illinois Deeds, Book W, p. 238 (Family History Library Film 967544).
[2] Hancock
County, Illinois Deeds, Book 93, p. 92 (Family History Library Film 954282).
[3] Hancock
County, Illinois Deeds, Book 19 (0), p. 505 (Family History Library Film
0954601).
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