Benjamin Earp ⁶⁵

  General Notes:

[work 23.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 43, Ed. 1, Tree #1510, Date of Import: Jun 5, 2002]

Excerpt from "Roots of Jesse: The Biography of Jesse Martin Glasco, 1818 - 1886," pp.3-4, by Jessie Faye Glasco Boucher:

"Under the Constitution of 1836, all heads of families living in Texas on March 4, 1836, except Africans and Indians, were granted first-class headrights, and single men 17 or older were granted 1/3 of a league. A first class headright was 4,428 acres (1 league) of land, and 177 acres (1 labor) for farming, a total of 4,605 acres (Webb, 20). Benjamin Earp received 1/3 of a leage of land (1476 acres) the allotment for a single man (Texas General Land Office, 11).

"Benjamin met an untimely death on January 24, 1837, along the Sabine River in Nacogdoches County, Texas (Blake Collection, 6). He was only about 30 years old at the time of his death, though his exact age is unknown. James Earp reported this occurred 'at the time of the outbreak among the Mexicans.' James petitioned the Court to be named Administrator of Ben's estate (Blake Collection, 6). A man by the name of John J. Simpson filed a suit on October 3, 1836, (John J. Simpson vs. Ben Earp). Subsequently the Alcalde's office ordered Constable Hugh Henderson to attach the property of Ben Earp. A note indicated that the defendant, Ben Earp, was not found, and another order to bring anything of value (Blake Collection, vol. 88, p. 2). Hugh Henderson reported on July 26, 1836, that he found one woman's saddle and one bedstead (Blake Collection, vol. 15, p. 71, from files of Charlotte A. Black). At one point James requested the Court allow him more time, saying 'one of the people he needed to communicate with was still living in Lawrence County, Alabama,' and as soon as he could ' communicate with her...' Who was this mystery woman? James continues in his letter to the Court, 'If I can't communicate I may have to advertise and divide in that way.' James reported he made three trips to Nacogdoches, 75 miles there and back, and sold the unlocated 1,009 acres of Benjamin's Land Certificate on 12 months' credit to the highest bidder, Ruel M. Earp, for the sum of $160.00 (Blake Collection, vol. 15, Book A, p. 6). (Ruel M. Earp was James' 22-year-old son.)
"James also reported 467 acres of Ben's headright was located in Red River County, and he had two men, Bennett Blake and John Sparks, put a cash valuation on the land. They reported a cash value of twenty cents per acre on the located land, and 12 1/2 cents per acre on 1,009 acres of unlocated land (Blake Collection, Book A, pg. 6). When a land grant was given, the grantee had to locate the land to which the grant applied. Ben died at such a young age, he must not have had time to locate all his land.
"We now have James' statement under oath that he was