USA > Kentucky > Henderson County > History of Henderson County, Kentucky > Part 24
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
220, 258, 238, 239, 240, 237, 193, 194, 195 and 196, making thirteen lots of one acre each. Also, of out lot No. 26, his portion the quan- tity of three and three-quarters of an acre, and determined that he be entitled to receive and recoger of the other partners the sum of ten dollars sixty-two and a half cents as a balance due him in this al- lotment.
In his deed to the citizens Buck relinquishes his claim alone to such lots as had been donated and sold by General Hopkins.
The following is a copy of Buck's deed :
" This indenture made this first day of July, 1825, between Charles Buck and Mary, his wife, of the County of Henderson and State of Kentucky of the one part. and George Morris, Nathaniel F. Ruggles, Daniel McBride and all other holders of lots in the town of Henderson, county aforesaid, of the other part.
" Witnesseth, that whereas the said town was laid off at a place called the " Red Banks" on the Ohio River, and the lots have been generally sold out or disposed of by the late General Samuel Hopkins in the character of an agent for Richard Henderson & Co., proprietors of the land on which the land is situated, and whereas the said Charles Buck hath commenced suits and asserts claim to, and interest in said town lots. In order to the quiet and final ter- mination of said Buck's claim to the lots in said town hereafter expressed and set down, they, the said Charles Buck and Mary, his wife, of the first part, for the consideration aforesaid and the further consideration of thirteen hun- dred and fifty dollars in specie in hand paid by the said Morris, Ruggles. Mc- Bride and others, the holders and claimants of lots in the said town. of the second part, the said Charles Buck and Mary, his wife doth hereby relinquish, make over, assign and convey, and by these present hath relinquished, made over, assigned and transferred unto the several lot holders, claimants or occu - pants of lots or parts of lots in said town, according to the several portions or proportions they now hold or claim. and to their heirs and assigns forever all the right, tittle, interest, claim. and demand of them, the said Charles Buck and Mary, his wife, in and unto the said lots or parts of lots or parcels of ground in said town of Henderson, with all and singular their appurtinances thereunto belonging, or in anywise appertaining, together with all their inter- est in the fraction of ground in the center of the town called the "Public Square," and of all the several cross streets and streets above fourth cross street below the " Public Square," all of which together with the lots hereby intended to be conveyed, will be better explained or designated by the plan or plat of said town recorded in the office of Henderson County in Deed Book " A," the only exception to the plan or plat aforesaid is that the street nearest the River Ohio, commonly called Water Street, is agreed upon by all parties, shall be reduced to the width of one hundred and twenty-five feet instead of two hundred feet as marked out in said plat, to have and to hold, etc., etc."
Hardly had this deed been signed and acknowledged and the lot owners permitted to take one long breath, before other Rich-
.
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
monds appeared on the field of judicial controversy and asserted a claim to even more of the town than Buck had claimed.
In the year 1825, Amelia Alves, widow of Walter Alves, de- ceased, one of the signers of the ordinance of 1797, and William J. Alves, James Alves, Robert Alves, Haywood Alves, Walter Alves, Ann Henderson, late Ann Alves, Thomas Towles and his wife, late Elizabeth Alves, heirs of the said decedent, and Richard J. Hart, heirs of Richard Henderson & Co., asserted claim to five-sixteenths of the town, including lots, streets, alleys and public grounds. They were about instituting suit when the Trustees and citizens of the town, all more or less personally interested, became alarmed and held a great public meeting at the Court House, at which they borned a proposi- tion remarkable for its liberality, especially as it did not cost anyone of them a single farthing. This meeting did not appoint a committee to confer with the new claimants, nor did they offer to take out of their own pockets a sufficiency of silver and gold to release their town lo s, but with modest liberality fell upon the following proposi- tion :
PROPOSITION OF CITIZENS.
" We will give to Amelia Alves. the heirs of Walter Alves, deceased, and Richard G. Hart the following described property, to-wit : To Richard G. Hart the upper half of lot No. 3, agreeably to an amended plat gotten up by themselves. (Lot No. 3 is the square bounded by Main and Water and Up- per First and Lower First or Washington Streets, the same one on which the Barret House is located, and was a part of the Public Square donated for public uses ) To the Alves' heirs, Ann Henderson, Thomas Towles and wife, the re- maining half of the aforesaid lot No. 3 conveyed to Hart, and all that portion of the Public Square contained between Upper First and Lower First or Washington, and Elm and Green Streets, and numbered on their amended płat one and two. We will also petition the Legislature to reduce the width of Water Street from two hundred feet to one hundred and twenty-five, and will convey to Richard G. Hart and the above named heirs of Walter Alves. deceased, and Amelia Alves, heir of William Johnson, all of our right title and interest in and to that portion of Water Street, which remains after reduc- ing said street to one hundred and twenty-five feet. We will also convey all of our interest in and to the streets below fourth cross street below the Public Square. for a relinquishment to us of all claims upon our lots. purchased fron General Samuel Hopkins, agent of the company."
It is represented that the meeting held at the Court House was attended by a large majority of the citizens and lot holders of the town, and that a petition was prepared and and then signed by each man in the meeting, praying the Legislature to pass an act authoriz- ing the sale of that portion of the Public Square between Elm and
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
Green, and Upper First and Lower First Streets, the square between Main and Water and Upper and Lower First, and reducing Water Street from two hundred feet to one hundred and twenty-five feet in width. This proposition was then made to the claimants and by them accepted.
Nothwithstanding the ordinance of Richard Henderson & Co., made and signed, August 9, 1797, and the sale of lots thereunder, from 1800 to 1819, not one of the lot holders offered to contest the claim of Alves and Hart, nor did the Trustees of the town-who were interested parties. But they were willing to convey property which had been given for public uses and no other. Alves and Hart accepted the proposition of the citizens' meeting, and thereupon on the first day of July, 1825, the following indenture was entered into by the citizens :
CITIZENS TO ALVES AND OTHERS.
" This indenture made and entered into this first day of July, 1825, be- tween the citizens and present lot holders of the town of Henderson of the one part, and Amelia Alves, William J. Alves, Janies Alves, Robert Alves, Haywood Alves, Walter Alves, Ann Henderson, late Ann Alves, Thomas Towles and his wife, late Elizabeth Alves, and Richard G. Hart of the other part, witnesseth that for and in consideration of certain rights relinquished by the parties of the second part to the parties of the first part by deed of this date, also the further consideration of one dollar, the receipt of which is here- by acknowledged, the parties of the first part have this day bargained and sold, and by these presents doth bargain, sell, alien and convey unto the parties of the second part, the following described lots of land in the following manner, to-wit :
" That is the parties of the first part alien and convey unto Richard G. Hart of the second part, the upper half of lot No. 3, agreeable to an amended plat of said town. herewith filed and made a part of this deed, being the upper half of that part of the Public Square contained between the first and second streets from the river, and parallel thereto, and the parties of the first further alien and convey unto the Alves's, Ann Henderson, Thomas Towles and wife the remaining half of the aforesaid lot conyeyed to said Hart, and all that portion of the Public Square contained between the third and fourth streets of said town from the river, and numbered on the said amended plat by the num- bers two and three, and the said parties of the first part relinquish and convey un o the said Richard G. Hart and the above named heirs of Walter Alves, de- ceased. and the above named Amelia Alves, the heir of William Johnson, all their right title and interest in and to all that portion of Water Street which remains after reducing said street to one hundred and twenty five feet, which they have derived under the ordinance of Richard Henderson & Co., in estab- lishing said town, reserving to Nicholas Berthoud the land leased to Thomas Pears & Co., during the term of that lease, and it is understood that the par-
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
ties of the first part convey no interest which they have in and to any of the streets in said town, except Water Street aud the streets below fourth cross street be- low the Public Square.
" In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals the day before mentioned, and it is further understood that all the cross streets run through to the river.
ROBERT TERRY, [SEAL.] D. McBRIDE, [SEAL.] GEORE MORRIS, [SEAL.] WILLIAM D. ALLISON, [SEAL ] JOHN W. MOSELY, [SEAL.] YOUNG E. ALLISON, [SEAL.]
RICHARD WALDEN, [SEAL.]
W. SOAPER, [SEAL.] JOHN SPEIDEL, [SEAL.]
BENNETT MARSHALL, [SEAL. ] JAMES GOBIN, [SEAL ]
JOEL LAMBERT, [SEAL.]
WM. R. BOWEN, [SEAL. ]
JOHN H. SUBLETT, [SEAL.]
W. H. INGRAM, [SEAL,]
SAMUEL STITES, [SEAL.]
CALEB FELLOWS, [SEAL.]
JOHN J. TRUMPETER, [SEAL.] HORACE GAITER. [SEAL ]
JAMES HILLYER, [SEAL ] GEORGE ATKINSON, [SEAL.]
NATH'L F. RUGGLES, [SEAL.]
WILLIAM ANTHONY, [SEAL.]
SUSAN R. SHACKELFORD. [SEAL ]
WESTON ANDERSON, [SEAL. ]
OWEN GLASS, [SEAL. ] DANIEL B. TAYLOR, [SEAL ]
N C HORSLEY, [SEAL ]
JOHN LOGAN, [SEAL. ]
JOHN ANTHONY, [SEAL ] J. B. POLLITT, [SEAL.]
" COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, HENDERSON COUNTY. S SS:
" This instrument of writing was produced to me in my office on the ninth day of July, 1825, and acknowledged by the grantors therein to be their act and deed for the purposes therein expressed. Whereupon this deed is duly recorded in my office.
" Attest : WILL D. ALLISON, Clerk.
' By Y. E. ALLISON, D. C."
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
In return for this kind act, on the part of the citizens, Messrs. Alves and Hart, and those associated with them, conveyed on the same day to the citizens certain lots, being with a few omissions and additions, the same lots conveyed a short time previous by Buck, and the same lots sold and donated to the lot holders by General Hop- kins. In addition to this, they relinquished all claim to the streets lying above fourth cross street lelow the "Public Square," but not below that street. Water Street was excepted, beyond one hundred and twenty-five feet in width. In this deed, was also included " Park " and " Court House " Square, as now located.
Subsequent to this, to-wit : on the twentieth day of April, 1826, James Alves, who claimed by inheritance and purchase, that he was entitled to five-sixteenths of the river front, applied to the County Court for an allotment of his proportion of the land. The order was granted, and Edmond Talbott and George Ormsby, two of the Com- missioners appointed by the County Court of Henderson County to divide lands and make conveyance therefor, agreeably to the act of the General Assembly, proceeded to make the allotment, and by inden- ture conveyed the following described property :
COMMISSIONERS TO JAMES ALVES.
" All those several tracts, parcels and lots of land situated in said Town of Henderson, as reduced by the Legislature in November, 1825, between the Ohio River and Water Street, lot of ground beginning at Mill Street, (now Second Street), and extending up to fourth cross street ; also lot lying at the upper end of the town opposite lots Nos. 41 and 44, also one lot lying at the lower end of the town, and lying opposite lots Nos, 141 and 144.
NOW THEN,
In order to clinch this trade, and give to it a legal recognition, the Legislature was induced to pass the following act, which was ap- proved January 18, 1827.
"SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc, That the front, or Water Street, in the Town of Henderson be, and the same is hereby reduced to the width of one hundred and twenty-five feet.
"SEC. 2. That the arrangement made and entered into betwixt the cit- izens and lot owners. in the Town of Henderson, and Richard G. Hart. James Alves and others, whereby the citizens and lot owners aforesaid, relinquished portion of the Public Square and Front Street to said Hart, Alves and others. be, and the same is hereby ratified and legalized, so far as it effects the interests of the parties to the arrangement or compromise aforesaid."
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
The closing sentence of the act shows conclusively that the Leg- islature doubted the legality of the compromise, and ratified it only as to the parties interested, and not as to the public.
By the terms, stipulations and agreements in the compromise, the limits of the town were reduced by act of the Legislature, approved November 21, 1825, and all that portion of the town below Fourth Street, below the Public Square, including the river front, streets and all, berame vested in James Alves and other parties to the compromise, and has been held in peaceable and adverse possession from that clate.
Thus, it will be seen that the Trustees and citizens of the town, in 1825, saved their own town lots, which had been donated, or pur- chused for a nominal sum by bartering away property donated for pub- lic uses, and in which each one of them had no more interest than any citizen now has in the Public Square, yet left in the town. Equally as unheard of, the subsequent Trustees acquiesed in the compromise until the supposed statute of limitation estopped the town from asserting title or claim to any part except the river front. Not satisfied with giving up two-thirds or more of the public ground do- nated by Richard Henderson & Co., the citizen lot holders gave up so far as it was in their power the river front. They bought Buck off by paying him thirteen hundred and fifty dollars, because he would not compromise for land, which did not belong to them. They com- promised with Alves and Hart because they were willing to take this land-and were perhaps glad to do so-and because they did not de- mand money, and again, it was an easier matter for the lot holders to pay in something which did not belong to them than something which did.
In 1850, the Trustees of the Town of Henderson contracted with William B. Vandzandt for widening or enlarging the wharf or passage- way down the bank at the foot of second cross street. At that time Water Street was under the agreement between the citizens and lot owners, and Alves and Hart, recognized to be only one hundred and twenty-five feet in width, and the strip of land seventy-five feet or more in width, extending out beyond the street, was claimed by James Alves. When Vandzandt began excavating this strip of land for the purpose of carrying out his contract, he was enjoined by James Alves, and that brought up the full question of title. The Trustees of the town, to-wit : Dr. Thomas J. Johnson, John McBride, David Clark, William S. Holloway, William B. Vandzandt and George M. Priest, in answer to the cross bill filed against them by Vandzandt, denied
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COTNTY, KY.
the title claimed by Alves, and made their answer a cross bill ag inst him, and prayed that he be made a defendant thereto. and compelled to exhibit his title to said strip of land. They asked that the respect- ive rights of Alves and the town be adjudicated, and that a decree be granted forever quieting the title of the town, and that he be enjoined and restrained from asserting claims or interfering with the use and quiet possession of the same by the public, and the said Town of Henderson. A number of depositions were taken on both sides and of course, the " old sell out" or compromise, made by the citizens and lot owners in 1825, was thoroughly ventilated.
The following interrogatory and answer, bearing upon this sub- ject is found in the deposition of Rev. Joel Lambert :
"Question. - What reason had you for paying off Buck with your individ- ual money, and buying off Alves' claim by conveying to him land dedicated to public uses-why did you make the difference?
"Answer .- The reason I consented to pay Buck money to extinguish his claim was, he would only take money of me, and the reason I consented to make distinction between them, Mr. Alves would take that claim and release me "
Also, in a deposition of Samuel Stites, who was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Town, the following interrogatory and an- swer is found :
"Question by James Alves .- Did you not own some property in 1825, when the compromise was made with Charles Buck, and did you not pay your pro- portionable part of the money raised to pay Buck for his relinquishment of claim upon the lots in the Town of Henderson ?
.A .- In 1825 I had but little property in town! I contributed some money to get Charles Buck to relinquish his claim upon the town lots. I signed the deed of compromise (as it is called), which was entered into in 1825, between the citizens and lot holders of the Town of Henderson, and Alves and Hart. I signed said deed merely to quiet matters, I did not consider my signing the deed of any value, having no claim to convey and so stated at the time."
Dr. Owen Glass testified in answer to the question :
" At whose instance and by what authority did you sign that deed?
" I declare I do not recollect now. I signed it as a favor to whoevar asked it, as men usually sign petitions, without feeling any personal interest or reflection of any kind. I felt willing to do anything in my power to settle the disputes of the town."
William D. Allison testified :
" There were several actions of ejectment depending in the court at the date of the deed to Charles Buck, and I understood that the object of the ar- rangement was mentioned as a compromise of Buck's claim to the town lots. I felt no personal interest in the matter at the time, and signed the deed merely as a favor to whoever requested me, just as men sign petitions without consider-
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
ing the effect, I remember hearing of some objection made, that the citizens had no power to convey the streets and Public Square. I did not know that Alves claimed any part of the town lots, until the deed was presented. but had heard it spoken of as a compromise of Buck's claim. Heard Buck say that he (Buck) had car- ried the " black log," and others got all the town property. That he bore the odium of disturbing the titles, and got nothing for it."
Y. E. Allison testified :
" Deponent would state that he moved to this place in September, 1824, at that time one Charles Buck had sundry suits in ejectment pending in the Henderson Circuit Court against persons in the country to recover an interest which he claimed in Henderson & Co.'s Giant, derived from one Luttrell Deponent recollects well of hearing George Morris and many other citizens of the town talk about Buck's suits ruining the prospects of the town and county ; that unless Buck's claims could be quieted the place never would improve, that no man would buy property here, with the almost positive certainty of be ing sued for it. Things went on that way until some time the next summer, then the said George Morris and Nathaniel F. Ruggles, hit upon a plan, as the thought, to quiet Buck's claims against the town. The plan was for the cit- izens and lot holders of the town to sell and convey to Buck, ten acres of the Public Square, and all that part of the river front. which lay between the first range of lots and the river, after reducing Water Street to one hundred and twenty-five feet, and Buck to convey to the citizens and lot holders all the in - terest which he claimed to any lot or lots in said town, lying above fourth cross street, below the Public Square. After discussing this plan some time, the said Morris, Ruggles and others set about carrying their plan into operation; they talked with the most extensive land holders about town, and entreated them to come forward and assist in quieting Buck's claims. Justat this point, I first learned that Alves and Hart had claims against the town, as well as Buck, and it was said, they were waiting to see how Buck would come out; that if he succeeded, they would sue for their interests, said to be much larger than Buck's. The plan of compromise was then changed, in this, that the ten acres of the original Public Square, and that portion of the river front before spoken of, was to be conveyed to Alves and Hart, and a sum of money raised by the citizens and lot holders, to be paid to Buck to extinguish his claim. De- ponent was then deputy clerk of the Henderson County Court, and when the deed of compromise was drawn up and ready for execution, he (in com- pany with the late Captain Daniel McBride, who went with him, and collected what money was to be raised for Buck, or to make such arrangements in tak - ing notes as satisfied Buck), went round and waited on most of the signers to said deed at their residences and places of business. They all signed it cheer- fully. The said compromise was entered into in good faith, for the purpose of quieting the titles to town property, and everybody seemed to be not only sat- isfied, but delighted with the arrangement.
" James Alves has regularly listed said property for taxation, ever since 1840, and has as regularly paid the tax on the same up to, and including the year 1852."
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
These gentlemen were among the citizens who signed the deed to Alves and Hart, and no doubt all of the other signers were gov- erned as they were, except those largely interested, and they were looking out for self-interest, of course. A short time after the com- promise, Mr. Alves caused the two squares between Upper First and Lower First, and Green and Elm Streets, to be fenced in with rails, and for one or two years cultivated the two in tobacco or corn.
From 1832, he sold and leased lots, and annually assessed the property for taxation. While it was generally believed that his claim against the town really amounted to nothing, yet he and Hart were permitted to hold the three squares, the two back of Elm and the one between Main and Water, without molestation by the town authori- ties or any cltizen.
On the tenth day of February, 1827, Richard G. Hart sold to John Spidel one-half of the square now occupied by the Barrett House, and during that year Spidel built two stories of the main house now standing. The house was originally two stories. In the suit concerning the river front, the court held that the deed from the citizens to James Alves did not pass title, but that the property be- longed to the public. The case was taken to the Court of Appeals, and in July, 1855, Judge Marshall affirmed the decree. Thus ended a hotly contested controversy, resulting in breaking up one of the most amusing, if not unheard of, bargains and sale ever entered upon the records of a county deed book. No blame can attach to James Alves and Richard G. Hart, however, for they were fortunate in get- ting what they claimed without much persuasion or threatening, and it would have been no more than natural for them to have accepted the whole town if the Trustees and citizens had so deeded it.
On the fourteenth day of October, 1854, the Trustees of the town instituted suit against the executors of James Alves, and other per- sons who held title under him, by purchase, for that portion of the Public Square deeded to him by the citizens in 1825. This suit was tried, and the claim of the defendants established by right of posses- sion. It was thought now that all disputes concerning the title to our public grounds were finally and forever settled, but in 1859, as will be seen in the preceding history, the County of Henderson laid claim to the strip of land running from Center Street to first upper cross street, and lying immediately in rear of the Court House. There was a long and hotly contested suit between the county and the town, but the latter was successful. The city now claims, and has left of
18
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HISTORY OF HENDERSON COUNTY, KY.
the five beautiful squares and streets, the Public Square between Main and Elm and Center and first lower cross streets, and the little strip of ground in rear of the Court House, and may safely congratu- late herself she has that much.
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