Series I: Estate Document

The document is an instrument entered in the records of Houston County, Texas, authorizing that all the personal property belonging to one Samuel A. Burton and all the property real and personal owned jointly by David L. and Samuel A. Burton be sold to the highest bidder at a public sale to take place on June 3, 1851, at the courthouse door in Crockett, Texas. Content on the first of the two pages ends with a statement that John I. Burton did sell, at the specified time and place, to the highest bidder, “the following described property belonging to said estate: viz.”

The second of the two pages lists property, including 430 acres of land, eleven enslaved persons (identified by name, age, and gender), fifty head of hogs, and various pieces of equipment. The document concludes with the statement that the listed property was bought by David L. Burton for $3500.