What appears to be Sam Houstons pocket ledger

[TheInspector]

What appears to be Sam Houston's pocket ledger

My treasure story starts February 22nd 2013 when my Mother and I are discussing removing from her home some of the items left by her deceased husband. During this conversation she mentions she had tried to get him to have his Sam Houston book looked at to see if it was valuable, but by that time he was in his 90’s and really didn’t care. I said Sam Houston book? They had been together over 35 years and I had never heard of the Sam Houston book. I had been told his Great Grand Father fought at the Battle of San Jacinto under Sam Houston. My Mother said she thought he had received it from his father and it is in a drawer, so my response was lets’ see it. I describe what she brought out to me as a leather bound pocket ledger. Contained within are notations that appear to be records of currency and scrip trading. These notations mostly say something along the lines of - received of NAME, $50.00 bill old star, followed by the # on the bill, signed Sam Houston. There appears to be five places where these signatures were made, but one appears to be gone due to water damage and one is faded. My mother and I took a ride to the San Jacinto Museum located just outside of Houston to see if there were any experts to look at it, but the curator was not in. In the next couple of weeks my mother contacted a local forensic document expert who took custody for a little over a week and concluded the leather bound ledger and paper was consistent with the time period and the ledger contained writings and signatures of Sam Houston, although all writing was not in his hand. There is a note on the last page written upside down that is mostly unintelligible but has the date 25 Sept 1888 which is several years after Sam Houston’s death.
The photos I have attached were taken with my camera phone the first time I saw this item. I have only recently seen the ledger again, when delivering it into the hands of Heritage Auction House for a free appraisal. At this time I chose not to spread the pages for photos since Heritage was about to examine it, and I was concerned about excess wear and tear. The ledger may be a part of Heritages March 2016 Texana auction, assuming the ledger passes their examination and we agree to terms of the auction.
I have looked at many letters and documents attributed to Sam Houston and see many similarities and dissimilarities in writings and signatures. Usually you see the ceremonial type of signature with a lot of flourish, but in this case the signatures were made in a small ledger, possibly while handheld. I have a lot more questions than answers at this point, such as why Sam Houston would sign the ledger if he was receiving items in trade from these different people.
I have tried to decipher the names contained within and believe I have identified three of the individuals and have established a connection to Sam Houston with two of them.
Among them are: John Allen Veatch, William Slaughter, A.M. Grinage.
If the military scrip #s recorded as received from Veatch could be found in an archives to have been issued to Captain J.A. Veatch, it would prove his identity.
If the old star Texas currency with matching # could be located, I believe it would be more valuable as proven to have once been in Sam Houston’s possession.
I am supposed to hear back from Heritage on the Monday the 22nd.

 

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[TheInspector]

John Allen Veatch was a notable figure in Texas and elsewhere.

John A. Veatch took me a while to figure out. He is a very notable figure. The fact that he is trading military script could mean it was done after he served in the Indian wars.
Information can be found here. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fve02

J.A.Veatch was nominated by Sam Houston to be Notary of Liberty County,Texas. He also participated in the protection of the frontier from Indian attack.

After leaving this ledger with Heritage, I found this description of an item they sold at auction.

2009 Texana auction. Lot 45009


[Sam Houston] Contemporary English Translation of a Mexican Land Grant Petition and Title Issued to Sam Houston. Two pages, two sided, written on pale-blue lined paper, 9" x 11.25". The original title was issued in "Nacogdochez" on "May 5th, 1835." Offered here is a contemporary English translation in an unknown hand of the petition originally issued in Spanish by George Nixon to Sam Houston, and witnessed by John Allen Veatch. It begins: "To the Special Commissioner of David G. Burnet's Colony, Samuel Houston, A native of the United States before you, with due respect presenteth himself and sayeth that; attracted by the generous dispositions of the Colonization laws of the state that he has come without a family to settle therein, if in virtue of the enclosed certificate you think proper to admit him as a Settler of said Colony, and allow him the quantity of land he is entitled to in the vacant tracts of the said Colony. . . . The land surveyed for the colonist Samuel Houston, is situated on the West Bank of San Bayou, called Arrenoso." There follows a lengthy description of the boundaries of the land using the notes of surveyor Arthur Henrie. The document continues: "The Survey of the 4th of a League of Land of the colonist Samuel Houston being concluded let the title be issued."

George Antonio Nixon was the land commissioner for the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company, which sold land on the empresario grants of David G. Burnet, Joseph Vehlein, and Lorenzo de Zavala. He served in this capacity from July 1834 to November 1835, when the land office was closed by the provisional government of Texas.

Houston had arrived in Texas in 1832, and quickly became involved in the political struggles between Anglo-Texians and the Mexican authorities. By the date of this land petition, Houston had already served as a delegate from Nacogdoches at the 1833 Convention in San Felipe. In September of 1835, a short four months after the writing of this document, Houston chaired a meeting in Nacogdoches to discuss the possibility of convening a consultation. By October, Houston was making public his beliefs that nothing short of a military confrontation with Mexico was inevitable. He was quickly chosen as commander in chief for the forces in Nacogdoches, and served as a delegate to the 1835 Consultation. An historic manuscript from a critical time in Texas history that also serves as an important association between Texas founding fathers David Burnet and Sam Houston. Faint age toning at folds, with minor separation thereat and wax seal remnants. A unique item in generally fine condition.

 

[TheInspector]

Here is some more info about one of the names, WM. Slaughter found at this location.
Please excuse the length, but I have the text in BOLD for the most relevant parts, but it is an interesting story throughout.

It appears the name mentioned in ledger, WM. Slaughter is the father, but it looks like his son had extensive contact with Sam Houston before and during the conflict.

http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/freestone/bios/slaughter2.txt





Freestone County, Texas
Biographies



Biography of Rev. George Webb Slaughter
(May 10, 1811-Mar. 19, 1895, buried Palo Pinto Cemetery in Palo Pinto, TX.)

Source - Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the
Cattlemen of Texas. By James Cox. 1895. Published by Woodward & Tiernan
Printing Co. of St. Louis.

REV. G. W. SLAUGHTER.

THOUGH sixty years have passed since the occurrence of the stirring scenes
which ushered in the Lone Star Republic, there yet remains, scattered over the
plains and among the hills of this great State, quite a number of the daring
spirits whose bravery and fortitude interposed, like a granite wall, against
the destructive wave of Mexican oppression. Each year the sadly thinned ranks
of the veterans grow thinner still under the relentless touch of death, but
those who remain are honored with the love and respectof their fellow-citizens
as worthy representatives of the true aristocracy of Texas. Surviving the
danger of Santa Anna's lead and steel, and the vicissitudes and hardships of
the years following a successful revolution, they have labored as earnestly in
erecting the superstucture of the new government as in cementing the foundation
stones in the stormy days of '36, and their efforts have won due recognition
and, that best of all rewards, public approval.

The name which appears at the head of this page is well known in every
neighborhood from the Sabine to the Rio Grande, and its possessor may be
accepted as a true type of the class referred to above. He has lived in Texas
under the three forms of government which it has known in the present century,
and as a citizen of a Mexican State, an independent republic, or a part of the
American Union, his life has been an active one and above reproach.

George W. Slaughter is a native of LawMice County, Mississippi, his birth
occurring May 10, 181l. William Slaughter, his father
, was a Virginian, born in 1781; his death occurring in Sabine
County, Texas, in 1851. The elder Mr. Slaughter was a fanner, and had seen
service in the war of 1812, fighting under Jackson at New Orleans. He married
Miss Nancy Moore, of 8outh Carolina, and was the father of eight children,
four of them boys. In 1821 the family moved to Copiah County, Mississippi, and
four years later started to Texas, but stopped for a time in Louisiana, and it
was while living in the latter State that «• W. Slaughter received the only
schooling—three weeks in all-which he ever had an opportunity to obtain. In
1830 the Slaughter family crossed the Sabine River and settled in what was then
the Mexican State of Coahuila. At that time the country east of Austin was
divided into municipalities governed

[graphic]

REV. G W. SLAUGHTER.

principally by military laws. Petty officers were in charge at the different
points, and alcaldes or magistrates were appointed by them, while all matters
of importance were referred to the District Commandant. Colonel Piedras was in
charge of the country along the Sabine, with headquarters at Nacogdoches, and
he was a man of narrow and decided views, but poorly qualified to wield
authority over a people reared in the enjoyment of American liberty. There was
no tolerance of religious belief beyond a blind adherence to the Catholic
Church, and the arrest by Colonel Piedras of several Protestant clergymen, who
had attempted to hold services in the colony, precipitated one of the first
conflicts between the colonists and the Mexican Government. G.W. Slaughter,
then a boy of nineteen or twenty, took an active part in the armed resistance
to this act of tyranny, and his relation of the events which followed is vivid
and interesting. A commissioner sent to Col. Piedras to intercede for the
prisoners' release was treated with contempt, and Col. Bean Andrews, who
repaired to the City of Mexico on the same errand, was thrown into prison at
once. Despairing of obtaining recognition and relief through pacific methods,
the colonists held a mass meeting at San Augustine about June 1, 1832, and
resolved to take matters in their own hands and release the prisoners, if
needs be, by force of arms. Preparations for this decisive step went quietly
on, and in a short time five hundred armed men assembled within two miles of
Nacogdoches, and sent to Col. Piedras, under a flag of truce, a demand for the
prisoners' liberation. In reply, a company of cavalry came forth with a
counter demand for the surrender of the entire party. Immediate hostilities
followed, the Mexicans were driven back to the town, after one or two
ineffectual stands, and eventually forced to evacuate the fort and seek safety
in flight. Quite a number of Mexicans were killed, but only three Americans,
one of whom was G. P. Smith, an uncle of G. W. Slaughter. At that time the
Angelina River was swollen with recent rains, its bottom lands flooded, and
impassible except at one point, some eighteen miles from the fort, where a
bridge had been built. Here, all the men who were provided with horses were
directed to hasten and stop the retreat of the panic-stricken Mexicans, while
the remainder of the force followed on, thus bringing the enemy between two
fires and compelling the entire command to surrender. After several weeks of
captivity, Col. Piedras was allowed to return to Mexico, under promise of
excusing the colonists' acts and interceding for their pardon, but he proved
false to his trust, and his report of the affair at Nacogdoches only incensed
the Government more than ever.

Mr. Slaughter was under fire for the first time in this skirmish or battle.
During the temporary lull which followed, previous to the general outbreak of
war, he was occupied in freighting between Louisiana and Texas points, and one
of his loads—perhaps the most valuable of them all—consisted of the legal
library of Sam Houston, which he hauled to Nacogdoches in 1833. He had
previously met Houston while attending court at Natchitoches, Louisiana, and
he mentions the fact that, upon this occasion, the future President of the
Texan Republic was dressed in Indian garments, and decked out in all the glory
of scalp-lock feathers and silver ornaments. Mr. Slaughter was an earnest
admirer of Houston, and was more than pleased when the latter assumed control
of the Texan forces. The company in which he enlisted reported to Houston for
duty at San Antonio, and was in several of the engagements which immediately
followed, among others the famous "Grass Fight," one of the hottest of the
war. Houston then advanced toward Mexico, but halted near Goliad upon
intelligence that Santa Anna was approaching with an army of 15,000 men. Col.
Fannin, with the forces under his command, was encamped in a strong position
in a bend of the river below Goliad. Travis was in the Alamo with those gallant
spirits who were to remain with him, faithful and uncomplaining, until death.
Houston, safe in the consciousness that on the open prairie lay perfect safety
from beleaguerment, watched the approach of the Mexican army, and pleaded with
Fannin and Travis to abandon their fortifications and join him. Mr. Slaughter
served as a courier, making several trips to Fannin and to the Alamo, and while
making a hazardous trip to the latter place—then known to be invested by Santa
Anna's army—he encountered Mrs. Uickerson and her negro slave, the only
survivors of the massacre, who had been released by the Mexican Commandant and
instructed to proceed to General Houston with tidings of Travis' fate. The
butchery of Fannin and his men followed shortly after, and Santa Anna pressed
on after Houston, who had retreated to the east side of the Brazos. Meantime,
Mr. Slaughter was employed in carrying messages and in procuring subsistence
for the army, accepting many dangerous missions and performing them all to the
satisfaction of his commanding officer. History relates how Houston retreated,
and how the Mexican army followed until they were neatly led into the trap at
San Jacinto, where the tables were turned and Santa Anna captured, while his
army was swept out of existence.

The victory at San Jacinto was not the end of hostilities, but following it
there came a "breathing spell," of which Mr. Slaughter hastened to take
advantage. Gaining a leave of absence, under promise of returning at once in
case he was needed, he hastened to his home, and on the 12th day of the
[graphic]

MRS. G. W. SLAUGHTER.

following October was married to Miss Sarah Mason, to whom he had been for
some time engaged. The ceremony was only deferred to this date because, under
the disorganized state of the country, there was no officer with legal
authority to perform it. The marriage of Mr. Slaughter was the first ceremony
of the kind under the sanction of the republic which he had been instrumental
in establishing. The newly wedded couple settled in Sabine County, and Mr.
Slaughter resumed freighting for a livelihood, engaging in the employ of the
new Government. At the time of the Cherokee troubles, in 1839, the eastern
counties organized companies in pursuance to President Houston's order, and
Mr. Slaughter was elected Captain of the company organized in Sabine. The
newly recruited forces assembled at Nacogdoches, and, in a body, marched to
reinforce General Rusk, who was stationed with a small force on the Neches
River, near where Chief Bowles was encamped with 1,600 Cherokees. Two days
were spent in an ineffectual attempt to arrange a treaty, and then the Indians
dropped back from their position,

but were followed, and a fight ensued, in which the Cherokees lost eleven
killed, and the whites only three, though fourteen of their number were
wounded. The Indians again retreated, though very reluctantly, and the
following day there was a general battle; Chief Bowles was killed, with several
hundred of his followers, while the remainder of the Cherokees fled to the
westward, being followed to the Bois D'Arc fork of the Trinity, three or four
days' march, by the companies of Captains Slaughter and Todd.

The need which had prompted the organization of an armed force now existing no
longer, the men disbanded, and Mr. Slaughter returned to the labors and
attendant comforts of home life. In 1852 he moved to Freestone County,
intending to turn his attention principally to stock raising. He brought with
him ninety-two head of cattle, and established a ranch near the old town of
Butler, and in the five years that he resided at this place increased his herd
to 600 head. There were possibilities of a prosperous future in the cattle
business in Freestone County, but Mr. Slaughtfr believed that there were still
better opportunities to be gained by a removal to a point farther west, and in
1857 he drove his herds to Palo Pinto County, locating five miles north of the
town of that name, at that time known as Golconda. He bought here 2,000 acres
of land, and located, by certificate, 960 more, and the ranch located at that
time is still his home, though, as will be noticed elsewhere, his residence at
this point has not been continuous. In 1858-59 Mr. Slaughter was occupied in
raising stock and running a small farm, but the following year he moved his
stock to Young County, at a point near the Ross Indian Reservation. He had
then 1,200 head of cattle and a small bunch of horses, but lost forty head of
the latter through theft by the Indians, in 1860, and for these, and for other
property stolen, he has now claims against the Government aggregating $6,500.

Mr. Slaughter's holding of cattle had increased in 1867-68 to such extent that
he decided to sell the greater portion of them, and he accordingly disposed of
12.000 to James Loving and Charles Rivers at a uniform price of $6. Rivers was
afterward killed by the Indians while in camp in Jack County. This killing
occurred in June, 1871. Following the sale of his cattle, Mr. Slaughter formed
a partnership with his son, C. C. Slaughter, whose biography appears elsewhere
in this book, and began driving cattle through to Kansas. The first drove only
consisted of 800 head, but they brought the neat little sum of $32,000, a
sufficient guarantee of the profit that might accrue from the business of
cattle dealing if carried on with judgment and on a large scale. For the seven
years following, up to and including 1875, the herds of Slaughter & Son were
driven from Texas to Kansas points, and from thence shipped to St. Louis and
Chicago. The drive in 1870 was probably the largest, numbering 3,000 head, and
the returns from this herd footed up $105,000.

In 1870 Mr. Slaughter moved his family to Emporia, Kansas, that his children
might have the advantage of the superior educational facilities at that point,
but in 1875 he returned to Texas, and resumed operations on his old ranch in
Palo Pinto County. The number of cattle handled and the money received from
their sale in the years that he spent on the trail can be expressed in round
figures, as follows: 1868 , 800 head, $32,000; 1869 , 2,000 head, $90,000;
1870, 3,000 head, $105,000; 1871, 2.000 head, $66,000; 1873 , 2,000 head,
$66,000; 1874, 2,000 head, $60,000; 1875, 1,000 head, $45,000. Such figures as
these go a long way toward impressing the reader with the importance of the
cattle business twenty years ago. The industry was then, practically, in its
infancy, but it proved an infant of rapid growth.

In 1876 Mr. Slaughter dissolved partnership with his son, C. C, taking into
business with him another son, Peter; and in 1878 they sold and shipped 4,000
cattle. Six years later, on account of declining health, Mr. Slaughter disposed
of his cattle interests, and has since devoted his time to the care of his
farm and other property. He has, at his Palo Pinto ranch, 1,280 acres of land
and owns 1,300 acres in other portions of the State, besides town property in
Mineral Wells. Securing his land when nearly the entire country was open for
his selection, Mr. 8laughter has one of the most desirable locations in the
county, and prizes it the more highly in remembrance of the hardships and
dangers attendant upon its settlement. During the first few years of his
residence in Palo Pinto County the Indians were very troublesome, and Mr.
Slaughter can relate many incidents of border warfare from the standpoint of
an eye-witness and participant.

In 1861 he had a skirmish with seven Indians on Cedar Creek, in Palo Pinto,
several shots were exchanged, but the Indians were finally frightened away.
Three years later, the Indians made a raid on the ranch and stole all of the
horses, and John Slaughter, a son, received a bullet wound in the breast.
Skirmishes with redskins were then of too common occurrence to attract much
notice beyond the immediate neighborhood. The entire Texan border was a
battlefield, and those who lived on the upper Brazos had to guard themselves
as best they might. In 1866 Mr. Slaughter was driving a small bunch of cattle
on Dry Creek, near Graham, when he was attacked by thirteen Indians, but his
carbine and revolver proved too much for their courage, and they

retreated after he had wounded one of their number. In the month of April,
1869, a band of Indians surrounded and massacred thirteen Government teamsters
near Flat Top Mountain, in Young County. Mr. Slaughter was within two miles of
this place, camped, with fourteen men holding 500 head of cattle which he had
gathered. The Indians attacked them, and they only escaped through strategy.
Six of the men were sent with the cattle in the direction of Sand Creek and
the remainder of them, including Mr. Slaughter and his son, C. C., made a
breastwork of his horses and awaited an attack. Profiting by a deep ravine at
hand, some of the men crept cautiously away, and suddenly appearing at another
point, made a charge upon the Indians, who supposed that reinforcements were
coming, and accordingly beat a retreat.

Mr. Slaughter has been an earnest worker all his life, and few men have proved
themselves so useful in as many and varied capacities. He is, and has been for
many years, a minister of the Baptist Church. During his ministry he has
baptized over 3,000 persons, and has helped to organize more churches and
ordain more preachers than any other person in the State of Texas. When Rev.
Mr. Slaughter first came to Palo Pinto County, in starting out to fill his
appointments as minister, he would saddle his horse, fill his saddle bags with
provisions, take along his picket rope, and arm himself with two six-shooters
and his trusty carbine. The distance between the places where he preached
being sometimes as great as sixty miles, it was often necessary for him to
camp over at night by himself. Twice he was attacked by Indians, but escaped
uninjured. On one occasion, while he was preaching in the village of Palo
Pinto, the county was so filled with hostile Indians and wrought up to such a
pitch that Mr. Slaughter kept his six-shooter and his carbine at his side
during the sermon, and every member of his congregation was likewise armed.
He never permitted business or fear of the Indians to interfere with his
pastoral work, and always made it a point to keep his engagements. He first
united with the Methodist Church in 1831, but in 1842 joined the Baptist
Church, and was ordained to preach in 1844. He has studied and practiced
medicine, and was, for a number of years, the only physician in Palo Pinto
County. It would be impossible to overrate his usefulness during those long
years, when the citizens of the northwestern counties were practically
isolated from the world and dependent upon each other for comfort and aid in
times of extremity and need. Ever thoughtful and kind, Mr. Slaughter has given
freely of his time and money in behalf of the poor of his community, and has
shared as liberally in the respect and love of all who know him, personally or
through report.

Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Slaughter; six boys and five girls.
Seven of them are still living, as follows: C. C., Peter E., J. B., W. B.,
Fannie, Sarah Jane and Millie.

Mrs. Slaughter died on the 6th of January, 1894. Her life had been a long and
eventful one, and she passed away from the scene of her earthly labors and
triumphs mourned and regretted by hundreds of earnest friends who had learned
to thoroughly appreciate her sterling worth and kindliness of heart.

Since the above sketch of Mr. Slaughter was prepared for this volume, this
good citizen and Christian gentleman has crossed the mystic river to that
bourn from whence no traveler returns, leaving many to mourn his loss and miss
him from the paths of usefulness and social life. He died at his home, six
miles north of Palo Pinto, Texas, at 11 P. m., March 19, 1895. His life was
an eventful one, and he died in the full triumphs of the Gospel that he loved
and preached for more than a half century.

 

[TheInspector]

Well, I am supposed to hear from the auction house tomorrow with their thoughts about the ledger. Sam Houston letters have sold for around $6,000 to $20,000.
My guess value wise is a minimum selling price of $50,000 at auction.
I thought I would generate a little discussion and maybe someone would know where to look for additional info on the names I identified.
This was probably the wrong location to post this, but I couldn't find one that seemed to be more relevant.

 

[mcb66]

Awesome item! I think one of the reasons for the shortage of comments is that it is one of a kind. It is hard to assign value because of its historical relevance in the state of Texas. It will certainly bring more there. Good luck.

 

[TheInspector]

Awesome item! I think one of the reasons for the shortage of comments is that it is one of a kind. It is hard to assign value because of its historical relevance in the state of Texas. It will certainly bring more there. Good luck.

Thanks mcb66, I'm still waiting to hear Heritages thought about the ledger.
I would be leery of this being real, if I were on the outside looking in, but with at least a couple of the names contained within being tied to Sam Houston, I am sure there are more connections to be discovered with good detective work.

 

[mcb66]

In all honesty it would be extremely difficult to fake this. Iron sulfate ink, old paper, family history. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[gigispop7]

cool story, anything with Sam Houston is a interesting story.

 

[austin]

Make sure UT is at that auction. They will pay top dollar. They once outbid the country of Germany for a Gutenberg bible. It is on display at the Ransom Center on the UT campus, along with the first photograph ever taken and the Col. Jose Enrique de la Pena diary which detailed Crockett's death at the Alamo.

 

[TheInspector]

Unfortunately, the auction houses opinion is everything checks out, except for Sam Houston’s signature. From what I have been told this came from a conversation with a currency collector who told them the old star bills being traded were signed by Sam Houston, hence the signed by Sam Houston notation after the serial # was noted. They may be right, I’m not an expert, but an independent document expert said it was Sam Houston’s signatures and writing. I was there when the document guy took the ledger to examine, and the deal was he got paid if it was real, fake or non-conclusive.
I knew the signatures didn’t look much like the one you see on official documents or even letters, but these were written in a small ledger for his purposes, not to be viewed by the public. There are many similarities I see in the writing, when compared to examples of his writings, but you need to look at a lot of them because many were secretarially written or signed.
Texas’s first currency issued in 1837 was the known as a star note, and these were signed by Sam Houston and Henry Smith, but if you were receiving the same type of bill (Old Star)from different people, would you continue to record the name of who signed the bill? All star notes were signed by Sam Houston. Also look at the next to last picture’s notation that seems to say, Received of Jno A. Veatch U$ 50 bill treasury note No 2100 Signed Sam Houston.
Sam Houston did not sign a US treasury bill.
I do not have an answer why Sam Houston would sign a ledger after receiving currency, but one possibility is the ledger was held by a third party, and Sam’s signature was in effect certifying the receipt.
If any of the items mentioned in the ledger were located, and were endorsed by Sam Houston as they were turned into the Treasury, it would seal the deal.
Google John A. Veatch and you will be amazed in that it will take you from him being a witness for Sam Houston getting a land grant from the Mexican Government, to surveying the area of Spindle Top where oil was first discovered in Texas. Sam Houston nominated his as notary of Liberty County. In later years John Allen Veatch was a Captain in a couple of different companies of mounted soldiers for the defense of the Texas frontier and much, much more.
I am currently trying to find where records of payment for these years are held.
The ledger will be on its way back to me.

 

[david680]

Well, you didn't lose anything, and appear to still have a chance at authenticating this item. Keep searching, sometimes it takes a long time.

 

[TheInspector]

Well, you didn't lose anything, and appear to still have a chance at authenticating this item. Keep searching, sometimes it takes a long time.

Thanks, The ledger has been returned. When I have time I will take some high resolution photos and go back to researching.

 

[bigblockjohn454]

Good luck in your search. Either way you look at it, you still have a great piece of Texas history. Stay diligent in your search. It will all work out for you in the end.

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

Phil Collins (formerly from Genesis) is one of the largest collectors of Texana in the World. He just donated a massive collection to the Alamo on the agreement that they would build a suitable museum to house the collection. He knows the best experts at documenting Texana era items. You might also contact The History Shop in San Antonio. They are across the street from the Alamo and may have good research contacts. I know a couple of guys that sold items in the past to Phil for his collection.

That is amazing history there. Feel free to contact me and I can put you in contact with some local historians that may have some insight.

Wayne

Metal Detector Sales Rental | Treasure Hunting | Metal Detecting Stuff

 

[TheInspector]

Thanks Wayne.

I have an incredible amount of respect for what Phil Collins has done for Texas.
I have been continuing my research, and today for the first time I took some new pictures.
These new pictures are in a new photo album located here http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/members/40155-albums4325.html

I have looked at hundreds and hundreds of documents (digital) in search of answers and I welcome any help.

John Allen Veatch connections to Sam Houston -
1833 names his son Samuel Houston Veatch.
1835 listed as a witness when Sam Houston received a land grant from Mexico.
1835 listed as a delegate to the 3rd Texian Consultation, San Felipe de Austin, 1 November 1835. Sam Houston also attended.
1844 Nominated by Sam Houston to be the Notary Public for Liberty County.

I have located John A. Veatchs Mexican War service records, but not the pay records.
My step dads great,great grandfather at who fought at San Jacinto and is a possible source of the ledger also served in Captain John Allen Veatch's Company guarding the frontier , as did Samuel Houston Veatch.

I have examined copies of Veatch's and My step dads great,great grandfather's hand writing and it does not match the ledger.

 

[OldSowBreath]

For what it is worth, I'm a Texas history buff and have seen the signature of Sam Houston many times. I even live in Houston! The signature for the receipt of the $50.00 treasury note matches Sam's signature very closely, but it could be an intentional forgery, which seems strange under the circumstances. Just go to Google Images and google Sam Houston autograph. Sam's signature changed over the years to where it appeared to say "I am Houston". Just one of many little digs he made at his many political opponents.

 

[TheInspector]

For what it is worth, I'm a Texas history buff and have seen the signature of Sam Houston many times. I even live in Houston! The signature for the receipt of the $50.00 treasury note matches Sam's signature very closely, but it could be an intentional forgery, which seems strange under the circumstances. Just go to Google Images and google Sam Houston autograph. Sam's signature changed over the years to where it appeared to say "I am Houston". Just one of many little digs he made at his many political opponents.

Thanks for the info.
I have looked at likely close to a hundred digital images of Sam Houston's writing. Most of these from Sam Houston State University, and The University of Houston both have quite a few digitized copies of documents they possess. I am convinced, as was the forensic handwriting expert that these notes in the ledger were from Sam Houston.
I am making an attempt to reach out to some State of Texas affiliated experts in Republic Of Texas era articles.
Thanks again.

 

[TheInspector]

I had always assumed the water damage was the result of what ever path the ledger has taken in the last 150 - 180 years, but yesterday I stumbled upon this story.

Houston was baptized November 19, 1854, in Brushy
Creek. Word of his baptism spread throughout the country
and over 250 people came to witness it.
Dr. Burleson had a sense of history, so he tried to think
of something significant to say when he brought Sam Houston
up out of the water. He said, “Now, Sam, your sins are
all washed away.”
Replied Houston: “God help all the fishes.”
Just before Burleson baptized Houston he said,
“General, I suggest you take off that watch and chain.
You’ll ruin it if you get it wet.”
“Thank you, I will,” Houston said, handing the piece to
a friend.
“And, General, perhaps you’d better hand him your
wallet, too.”
“No, I believe not, pastor. I’m afraid it needs baptizing,
too.”
And, indeed it was, for thereafter Sam Houston paid
one-half the pastor’s salary at his church. And, he faithfully
gave financial assistance to ministerial students at Baylor
University as long as he lived.
Sam Houston’s wet wallet, his baptized billfold, became a
part of the witness to Sam’s new dedication to God. It testified
to the fact that when God touched his heart, he touched
his money also.


I found here from the Baylor University website - https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEUQFjAHahUKEwjN64q16PHHAhWM5oAKHdEMAH4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baylor.edu%2Fcontent%2Fservices%2Fdocument.php%3Fid%3D146521&usg=AFQjCNHhVtxsCtoZI6FXOcVVtuXDXbUypA&sig2=Q-kNmACkWvD7DPOnEJErTA&bvm=bv.102537793,d.eXY

The search for expert analysis appears to be going well.

 

[TheInspector]

Please excuse my posting to my own thread as I document possible links to this wallet / ledger.

Something I failed to mention in the previous post about Sam Houston's wet wallet was that he was being baptized by the President of Baylor University.
If you look at the water stains on the paper, the pattern seems to come from both ends. Its kind of like I could imagine if it were closed and in the breast pocket of someone being momentarily dipped backwards under water.

Here is a very vivid documented instance of Sam Houston writing in what is termed his pocketbook in 1834. The following text is from a Texas A&M website seen here - Memoirs of David L. Kokernot

My first acquaintance with Sam Houston was in the year 1834. My friend, George M. Patrick, employed me to go to Nacogdoches for him in order to get land titles from the Empressario for different persons and myself, for whom he had surveyed. At that time a trip through the wilderness from the Trinity River to the above place was considered a long and perilous journey, being without settlers or roads, nothing but a small Indian trail through an Indian country. On the 15th of May I arrived at the town, and as I walked up the street I noticed the finest looking man I ever saw, seated on the steps of Col. Thorn's storehouse. He was dressed in a complete Indian costume made of buckskin and ornamented with a profuse variety of beads, and his massive head was covered with a line broad beaver hat. When he arose I stopped and looked at him with both surprise and admiration and bid him good morning. He asked me whence I had come. I told him from Galveston Bay, Middle Texas. Then he invited me to sit down and have a chat with him in reference to land matters, which I did for a considerable time. Our conversation ended, he invited me into the store to take a glass of wine with him, which I readily accepted. He then told me he owned some land on Cedar Point, Galveston Bay, as also on Goose Creek. I remarked that the Goose Creek land was located by one Dr. Wight, and that I had the field notes with me with a view to getting a patent on the land. He said: "All right, if you can get it." But, sure enough, I never did, as a patent had already been issued to the General. "Now, my friend," said the General, "tell me the news." I replied the news is war; that it was rumored that Santa Anna was gathering troops to send into Texas to disarm the inhabitants. "But," said I, "we are determined not to surrender our arms". "Well, my friend," said he, "how will you act in that case?" I replied: "We will fight them to the last, or die in the attempt." "That is right," said he; "they shall never drive us out so long as we can fight them." As he made this remark his eyes sparkled with lightning, and another bottle of wine was ordered on the strength of it.

"Now," said he, "the people ought to organize and get ready to meet him." I told him I was of the same opinion. "Who will command the army?" he asked. I replied: "My dear sir, if I had the authority to make the appointment you are the man; for you are the finest looking man I ever laid eyes on." He immediately replied, "Well, my dear sir, if I get the appointment of commander I will give you a commission." Then he pulled out a small pocketbook and asked my name, which he wrote in his book, and then wrote his own name and handed it to me. After talking a while longer we shook hands and bade each other farewell. From that day I loved Sam Houston. He proved a friend indeed in times of need, as many letters in my possession will show.

I am still searching for answers.

 

[Red James Cash]

Look at a common sense approach.Any man that could write in Houstons time undoubtedly took pride in that fact.I dont think a man would take the chance of losing,ruining,any important writings that happened to be in his wallet,names,dates,etc intentionally.I'm not saying its real,not saying its fake.I'm looking at it from Houstons point of view,i wouldnt take the chance if i were him.Info was hard to replace back then,today its easy,back then not so.