An unusual old deed has been placed in the keeping of the Washington County Historical Society by Mrs. Olivia King of Longview Acres. The document was found in an old trunk in the Sue Walker house at 347 North Willow Avenue, Fayetteville.
The deed is too long to reproduce in full. It is written in excellent penmanship on both sides of six sheets of legal size paper. The sheets are bound at the top with a ribbon. The deed is dated April 21, 1856 and was recorded by P.R. Smith, clerk, on October 4, 1859.
The transaction was between Martin W. Thornbury and Walter T. Thornbury, both of Washington County. Martin Thornbury was a store-keeper in old Cincinnati. One of the Thornbury brothers, and a son, were Methodist preachers and the name survives in the Thornbury cemetery on the site of the old Thornbury camp ground, on Little Osage in the northwest part of the county. The name is sometimes spelled Thornberry and Thornsbury. However, the signatures of Marthin W. Thornbury and Talitha Thornbury, his wife, as they appear on this deed, show the correct spelling to be Thornbury.
The society's genealogical files contain very little information about this important old family. If anyone would like to do research on the Thornbury's we will give them what help we can.
By this deed, Martin Thornbury transferred all his property, real and personal, to Walter T. Thornbury, for the benefit of his creditors. The reasons for the transfer are given in the opening paragraphs of the deed, which reads as follows:
"That whereas owing to the unfavorable state of navigation of the Arkansas River for the last two seasons, the party of the first part has been unable to put in market a large amount of goods purchased in the eastern cities with borrowed money and upon credit whereby he has been unable to pay these and other debts which have accumulated until a part of his creditors have become importunate and have commenced suit to coerce payment which owing to the scarcity of money at present will as he believes result in a sacrifice of his property to pay a part of his debts leaving many of them wholly unpaid some of which owing to the peculiar circumstances under which they were contracted should have preference in payment.
Now therefore the purpose of protecting the rights of those who from equitable circumstances should have precedence in payment and for the purpose further of applying the whole of his property of every name and nature to the payment of all the debts he owes upon fair and just principles. The party of the first part for the purpose and intent herein expressed and for the consideration of one dollar lawful money to him in hand paid by the party of the second part the receipt whereof he doth hereby acknowledge had granted bargained and sold and doth hereby grant bargain and sell and deliver unto the party of the second part the following described property and estate."
The real estate transferred by this deed was as follows:
The southeast quarter of section 29 except four acres. The northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 25. The north half of the southeast quarter of section 28. The south half of the southwest quarter of section 27 and part of the north half of said quarter section.
All of the above in Township 16 north, Range 33 west. Also, the southeast half of Lot number 2 in Block number 5 in the town of Jacksonville.
Also, one other lot in said town fronting 30ft on Main street on the southwest side, running back to the line between Thomas Jackson's land and the entry made by Jeremiah Odle, being 30 ft wide, and running parallel with a lot of 100 ft, be the same more or less. The said 100 ft lot being south of lot number 3 in the block number 5 in said down called Cincinnati, situate on the east half of the south west quarter of section 29, township 16 North, of Range 33 West, the above described lot being the same one on which the store house of the part of the first part is situate.
Also, another lot in said Town lying immediately west and north of the lot above last described, brought by the part of the first part of William H. Rhea, fronting 25 ft on Main Street.
Also, one other lot of land in said Town lying adjoining the lot of number 3 in block number 5, fronting 100ft on Main street, it being the same lot conveyed by Thomas Jackson and wife by deed of 4th of January 1854.
Also, the east half of Block number 35 in Fayetteville in said county and also the following tract of land to-wit: the north half of the northeast quarter of section 31, the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 29, all in Township 18 North of Range 31 West.
Also the following tract of land, beginning at the southeast corner of the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 29, township 16 north of range 33 west, to a corner on a ridge west of the Bounds Branch and a little west of the top of the ridge between a white hickory and a red oak and a flint rock near a stump between said trees, so as to include the spring that runs north of the corner by at least one rod, thence north 12 poles and 14 links, thence south to a corner on the line bounding the east side of the above described 40 acres, thence south 12 poles and 14 links to the beginning, containing by estimation four acres.
The northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 31 and the northwest quarter of section 34 in Township 16 North Range 33 West, all of which tracts of land and lots are situate in the county of Washington and state of Arkansas.
The person property transferred by this unusual deed was as follows:
- One negro man named Wesley about 30 years of age
- One negro woman named Becky about 30 years of age
- One negro girl named Jane about 8 years of age
- One negro girl named Annie about 3 years of age
- One negro boy named Henry about 10 months old - all slaves for life.
Three head of horses, two mules, one yoke of oxen, 20 head of cattle and about 50 head of stock hogs. And a stock of good, wares, and merchandise. And all household furniture and farming utensils and other chattels except such only as are required for daily and immediate use of the family of the part of the first part and are exempt from sale by statute."
The reason for the transfer of Martin Thornbury's property to his brother, as stated in the deed, was to liquidate his estate and repay his creditors. His debts amounted to $24, 220. He owed $14,162 to 23 business firms, many of them in New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis , Van Buren and elsewhere. The deed lists the business creditors as follows:
- L. Edgerton & Doane . . . . . . . . . . $3761
- Martin & Smith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1130
- Truit & Truit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
- Caless Cope & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
- A.T. Lane & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
- Goff & Peterson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
- Wilson Stabord & Smith. . . . . . . . . 406
- Paul Tulane & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
- Burt & Brothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1649
- Plume, Parmelee & Smith. . . . . . . . 390
- Hotchkiss, Burner & Bennett. . . . . 489
- Pennock, King & Co. . . . . . . . . . . 283
- Curling & Robertson. . . . . . . . . . . 60
- James Vaughan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
- Shoffer, Roberts & Johnson. . . . . 265
- Chronian, Huxthrall & Sears. . . . 887
- Young & Van Kleick. . . . . . . . . . 246
- Lee Murphy & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . 160
- Henry & Turner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1470
- Ruggles, Morse & Co. . . . . . . . . 154
- Baxter & Davis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834
- Lipincott, Grambo & Co. . . . . . 59
- Wright, Pike & Co. . . . . . . . . . . 55
It will be thus seen that Martin W. Thornbury, pioneer merchant of Cincinnati, Ark., owed $14,162 to 23 creditors from whom he had purchased merchandise for his store. In addition to these commercial obligations, Thornbury had borrowed or had on deposit in his store, the total of $10,058 belonging to 29 Washington County creditors. The list of Washington County citizens who loaned Martin Thornbury money or who deposited funds with him reads as follows:
- Shadrack Cantrell. . . . . . . . . . $ 8
- John Guttery (Guthary). . . . . . 8
- John Cantrell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
- Joel Harrell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1030
- Nathan West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
- William Guttery. . . . . . . . . . . 75
- James Wees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
- T. R. West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
- Eliza Carter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
- Daniel Coplin. . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
- P. R. West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
- W. P. Uphan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
- F. M. Woodruff. . . . . . . . . . . 100
- Lewis Collins. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
- Peter Mankins Sr. . . . . . . . . . 100
- Elizabeth Gage. . . . . . . . . . . . 100
- John Phagan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
- William Crawford. . . . . . . . . . 150
- Mrs. Eliza Derrick. . . . . . . . . . 625
- William S. Walker. . . . . . . . . . 2000
- Wm. P. Barclay. . . . . . . . . . . . 1000
- D. B. Mason.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
- William Gibson. . . . . . . . . . . . 125
- W. C. Trent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
- Joseph R. Parks. . . . . . . . . . . . 75
- Moses Alberty. . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
- Elijah Carter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
- Johnson Thomason. . . . . . . . . . 700
- Richard Robers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
This old deed of 1856 reveals some of the difficulties of merchandising in northwest Arkansas when all goods had to be shipped by steam boat up the Arkansas River and hauled over the mountains by wagon to Cincinnati. When the river was at low stage, the merchandise remained at the Mississippi River port of Napoleon and gathered storage charges.
Cincinnati was an important pioneer trading post, along with Evansville, Cane Hill and Maysville. Much of the trade along the border was with the Cherokee Indians, who were large spenders of the money they received from the Federal government. This was probably the lure that drew Thornbury into the trading business. There were many other merchants along the Indian Territory border, who must have offered stiff competition to Thornbury. Some were old established traders, like Evans and McClure at Evansville, half a dozen firms at Cane Hill, and especially W.H. Rhea who had stores at Rhea's Mill and Cincinnati.
Our old deed does not reveal how many of Martin Thornbury's creditors were paid off, from the sale of his lands, slaves and other personal property. Somewhere, in the court records of Washington County, this information is available.
This old deed makes an important contribution to Washington County history -- the fact that the original name of Cincinnati was Jacksonville and was built on Thomas Jackson's land. I have not seen this fact recorded anywhere else. Also the fact that Jeremiah Odle was an original settler of the area. It is always surprising that early names of pioneers are forgotten, yet names of outlaws like Proctor and Christie survive. We have opened a file on Thomas Jackson and will welcome any information about this first-comer to the Cincinnati area.
*** Taken from pages 21-24 of the Washington County Historical Society's publication FLASHBACK Vol. XI, No. 4 November, 1961
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