20 January 1857: John Edmondson Deed to James Hedrick, Murray County, Georgia

Murray County, Georgia

Deed Record Book J, page 421-422

Summary: On 20 January 1857, John L. Edmondson of Murray County, Georgia, deeds to James Hedrick of the same place, for [sum of $920? or $320?, (written out)], for 60 acres of land on the west side of land lot no. 50 in the 10th District, 3rd Section, of Murray County. This was land formerly owned by Alvin Logan, which was seized from him by Sheriff James Buchanan, former sheriff, by virtue of a writ of firi facius against Alvin Logan and James Edmondson in favor of SS ?Larson/Lanier? and Brothers, and sold at the courthouse door at Spring Place, to John L. Edmondson, in January 1854, for [illegible sum].

[Transcript begins]:

__________________________

John L Edmondson

Deed To

James Hedrick

To lot¹ No.50.10.3

State of Georgia }

Murray County   }

This Indenture made this twentieth day of January in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and fifty seven between John L Edmondson of the county aforesaid of the one part and James Hedrick of the same place of the other part witnesseth that whereas the said John L Edmondson did buy at sheriffs sale sixty acres of land more or less it being on the west side of lot of land number fifty ,50, in the tenth ,10th, district and third ,3^d, section of said county as the property of Alvin Logan by virtue of a writ of firi facius issued from the Inferior court of said county in favor of SS [Larson? (or) Lanier?] & Brothers against said Alvin Logan & James Edmondson and after publicly advertising said sixty acres of land from James Buchanan former sheriff of said county agreeable to law did put up and expose the same to sale at public outcry in the first Tuesday in January in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and fifty four at the door of the court House at Spring Place in said county within the legal hours of sale when said land was knocked off to said John L. Edmondson at & for the sum of [illegible]² he bing the highest did for and in consideration of the sum of [Nine? (or) Three?]³ Hundred and twenty dollars in hand paid to him the said John L. Edmondson as aforesaid by him the said⁴ James Hedrick at and before the sealing and delivery of these presents the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged the said John L Edmondson as aforesaid hath granted bargained and sold and by these presents doth grant bargain and sell⁵ unto him the said James Hedrick his heirs Executors administrators and assigns all that the rights title and interest of the said sixty acres as above described sold to him by James Buchanan sheriff as aforesaid so [illegible]⁶ on and sold of which Alvin Logan was seized and possessed in and to the same [auction]⁷ to said James Buchanan as sheriff aforesaid the same with all the rights members and appurtanances thereto belonging or in any wise appertaining to his the said James Hedrick his heirs and their own benefit and behoof forever in fee simple In witness whereof the said John L Edmondson as aforesaid hath hereunto set his hand and affixed his seal the day and year above written signed sealed and delivered in presence of

W Bell Camy?                                                  J L Edmondson {seal}

E S Bird J,I,C

Recorded and certified for this 21st January 1857

Ralph Ellison C,S,C

_________________

[Transcript ends]:

[Transcription notes]:

1. The mark that crosses the “t” is so long, it crosses the “l,” too; it also gets thin as it ends, which didn’t copy well; so in the copy, this looks  like “To tol” instead of “To lot.”

2. Line 13, illegible: looks like “huutun,” which makes no sense; read in context, it could be a sum, such as “hundred” or “nineteen.”

3. At first, this looked like “Three.” The first letter does not look like the clerk’s other “T’s” and does look more like “N,” so it may be “Nine.”.

4. Line 14: in some previously published transcripts of this deed, I left out nine words, i.e. “John L. Edmondson as aforesaid by him the said” before continuing, “James Headrick…”; this changed the meaning of the document, and I apologize.

5. Line 17: in some previously published transcripts, I left out nine words: “and by these presents doth grant bargain and sell” before continuing “unto him…”

6. Line 19, illegible: looks like “liened” or “lived”; could be either.

7. Line 20, illegible: I think the word here is “auction,” but it could even be “action” or “audit.”

Note: This clerk’s handwriting is very compressed and hard to read in places. The lower-case letter “d” looks more like a “u” or “n.” In some places, “Hedrick” looks like “Hearick,” but judging by the appearance of the letter “d” in all other instances (e.g., “hundred” and “did”), I have transcribed it as “Hedrick.” Some terms had to be transcribed by their context, such as “in fee simple” or “delivered.” This was one of the hardest deeds to read and I'm still not confident I've transcribed it accurately. Unfortunately, the sums were some of the hardest things to read, so I've finally had to admit that the sums are illegible, to me.