WPA History of the Spanish Land Grants
The following is the original Introduction
to the Spanish Land Grants in Florida, a five-volume transcription
and abstraction of the Spanish land grants created and published in
1942 by the WPA’s Florida Historical Records Survey, under supervision
of the State Library Board. While historian Louise Biles Hill wrote
the Introduction specifically as a guide for readers of that original
publication, it is still useful as an extensive history of the creation,
use and preservation of the Spanish land grants. Until the State Archives
of Florida made them available online, the WPA’s publication
was the main source for researchers on the Spanish land grants and
the Second Spanish Period Florida (1783-1821). For more recent research
on these materials and the Second Spanish Period, see Published
Works.
Introduction
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The Unconfirmed Claims which form Volume 1 of Spanish Land Grants
in Florida are the records of those claims which, after the cession of Florida,
the United States authorities found invalid. Confirmed Claims make up
the remaining volumes of the series.
The work of translation and transcription
of the Spanish land grants was done under the supervision of Professor
E. V. Gage, former head of the Department
of Modern Languages at Florida State College for Women, who was assisted by
two workers of Spanish descent.
The original documents of foolscap size comprise
a linear footage of eleven feet and five inches. The work of translation
and transcription required about
three years. Every scrap of writing was examined and included and every name
was mentioned – whether governor, grantee, attorney, witness register,
notary, surveyor, or chain bearer. The spelling in the original manuscripts
has been preserved. The form in which the claims appear in the present volume
is that adopted by the translator and follows somewhat closely the form in
which the manuscripts are now filed. Each separate document is numbered and
is followed by S or E to indicate whether the language is Spanish or English.
Notations of governors, registers, and notaries on margins are indicated, and
the decrees of the United States Boards of Commissioners who examined and passed
upon the validity of the claims are included whenever the decrees were found
in the original documents. The missing decrees may be found in
p. ii
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American State Papers, Public Lands, references to which are
given in this publication in all but a very few instances. (1)
While practically
every claim appears in some form in American State Papers,
the great majority are shown as mere abstracts in tabular form, without
the
supporting evidence which gives to the present volumes its interest and value.
For example, James Darley (2) applies for a land grant, promising to import
50 slaves from Africa. He sends a schooner and sloop for them. The sloop
is caught in a storm off the coast of Santo Domingo, the slaves revolt,
murder
some of the crew, and flee into the interior. Darley is under the necessity
of going after them, retrieving his property, and proving it before the courts,
which requires two years. Such stories appear in print for the first time
in this series.
Whenever a full transcription of a claim is given in American
State Papers, the translator has made that claim correspondingly
brief, that there may
be no undue repetition.
The value of the translation of the Spanish land grants
and their supporting documents is also enhanced by the inclusion of geographical
data, such as the
names and location of creeks, roads, and Indian trails, as well as basic
information on the size, location, and basis of each claim, all of which,
it is hoped,
will be found to be important social and economic data on both the English
occupation of Florida (1763-83) and the Second Spanish occupation (1783-1821).
_________
1. Claims which do not appear in American State Papers were substantiated
neither by documents nor by witnesses.
2. Infra, UNC. D 4.
p. iii
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For convenience the Gales & Seaton and the Duff Green editions
of American State Papers, Public Lands, are indicated by the initials
G&S and DG, respectively.
A list of the governors of East and West Florida from 1763 to 1821 and the
names of the surveyors and their deputies for the same period are included.
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