The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961 Page: 345
574 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Texas Land Grants
As noted above, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, or
their widows, were eligible for donation grants under the 1879
and 1881 acts. Of the fifty-seven Signers only four of them and
ten of their widows received Veteran Donation land grants. In
the case of the 1879 act one might conclude that many of the
Signers or their widows were not in indigent circumstances. The
1881 act, however, dropped the requirements of indigency and
it is surprising that so few received grants.8
The fourteen Signers and widows who received Veteran Dona-
tion certificates upon which patents were issued are as follows:
1. BLOUNT, STEPHEN W. He received certificate No. 252 for 128o
acres on July 15, 1881.
2. BRISCOE, MARY, widow of Andrew Briscoe. Mrs. Briscoe re-
ceived certificate No. 297 for 1280 acres on July 18, 1881.
3. BUNTON, HERMINE, widow of J. W. Bunton received certificate
No. 249 for 1280 acres on July 15, 1881. In Voucher File No.
249 is a certificate from Secretary of State T. H. Bowman attest-
ing to the fact that J. W. Bunton was a Signer of the Declara-
tion of Independence. Also in the file is Mrs. Bunton's statement
that her husband died on August 24, 1879.
4. CLARK, ELIZABETH, widow of William Clark Jr. She received
certificate No. 1181 for 1280 acres on August 18, 1885. Mrs.
Clark based her application on her husband's military service
only.
5. CRAWFORD, WILLIAM C. Crawford received certificate No. 256
for 1280 acres on July 15, 1881. On July 2, 1881, Mr. Crawford
appeared before County Judge John D. Polk of Camp County
and presented proof that he was a Signer.
6. GAZLEY, ELIZA, widow of Thomas J. Gazley. She received cer-
tificate No. 814 for 1280 acres on October 28, 1881. In her ap-
plication (Voucher File No. 814) she declared her husband
was a Signer.
7. GOODRICH, SERENA, widow of Benjamin B. Goodrich. She made
application before County Judge T. C. Buffington of Grimes
County on the basis of her husband's signing of the Declaration
of Independence. She received certificate No. 360 for 1280 acres
on July 26, 1881.
8. HARDIN, MARTHA JANE, widow of A. B. Hardin. She applied on
sActually a few more signers may have received certificates, but if so, surveys on
the certificates were not returned to the Land Office. The writer has an alphabetical
card file of all Veteran Donation certificates upon which surveys were returned
and patents granted. It was this list rather than the certificate list with which the
names of the signers were checked.345
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961, periodical, 1961; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101190/m1/380/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.