Resurrecting the First American West

Pages That Mention Byrd

Letter from John May to Samuel Beall, 29 April 1780

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almost the whole of the good Land on that River wch was reserved for the Officers & soldiers, in No. Carolina. There were formerly a number of settlements made in that Country wch I imagine might now be got for very little, as there is no money yet amongst the Inhabitants; I therefore intend to visit them when I go down the Ohio to superintend the surveying of our Land in that Quarter; and if I find any thing clever can be done there, my having a credit [in?] N. Orleans to a small amount, might enabe me to secure a Quantity of Land as good as the Land here, five hundred miles more convenient to navigation, convenient to the Missippi about the Mouth; and excedingly well watered; which is not the case in many Places: The spirit of Emigration rages very high at present, and as there is a Plan settled for establishing a Post still lower down the River, the old settlers will probly sell very Cheap, and there appers to be no danger of any competition, nor of the Carolina Assembly's conforming the Titles of such settles or their Assees- so difficult is it to locate Land here that as soon as soon as any Tract is located it, will commnd four or five Pounds per Acre ^on Credit and I am convinced, that such Land as may now be pur-chased for less than two Pounds, on Credit, will sell for three or four Times that sum before we should be obliged to pay for it; you inform me there is a Pro-bability of Depeciation's continuing, if so the more Pur-chases I can make on Credit, of good land, the better, as by those we cannot lose; indeed it is the Opinion of some good Judges here that about the Falls, land is now as cheap as it would be, were our money to become equal to specie. Col. Peachey's & Col. Byrds lands are all very valuable, as are two surveys surveys for Capt John Ware on Bear Grass Creek near the Falls, Henry Harrison's on the same Creek for one

Last edit about 2 years ago by Lucio Alvarez
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