DeWitt Clinton Harris Papers

Résumé du livre

Correspondence, financial and legal documents and surveyor's field notes record the life of DeWitt Clinton Harris. Correspondence from Lewis B. Harris concerns the early California government in Sacramento. An April 14, [1850] letter refers to a pending bill in the California Legislature concerning slaves brought to the state before it was admitted to the Union. Other correspondents are J.K. Brown and J. De Cordova. Tax receipts of family members and others for whom Harris served as agent comprise the bulk of the financial documents. Promissory notes, checks, and statements of account record Harris' financial affairs. Of particular interest are the documents concerning the sale of slaves including a receipt for $1000 for an 18 year-old slave girl and several bills of sale from 1840 between brothers DeWitt Clinton Harris and Lewis B. Harris. In addition to bills of sale, deeds, powers of attorney, and articles of agreement comprise the legal documents series. An article of agreement between Charles W. Adams and DeWitt Clinton Harris marks the formation of Adams & Harris on May 22, 1839. Two surveyor's notes describe land in Harris County, with the 1856 document delineating lots near Bray's Bayou.