Thought some of you might find this of interest. Lynda ------------------------------------------------------------------- According to Dan Pierce, a Southern history expert and UNCA professor, "Among historians of early America there is an important and hotly debated set of questions about how people got land, who controlled the land and what that means. And among Appalachian historians there's been a recent debate about land ownership. There's a notion, which helped to build beliefs about Appalachian heritage, that everybody owned their own land, but in recent years that notion has been challenged." His comment was in reference to a recent discovery in Hendersonville, NC. Some 800 historic documents that had been locked in a safe for decades relating to land ownership in Western North Carolina have been purchased with donated funds by UNCA from a private individual. The documents dating to the early 1800s represent work by a family who were land surveyors and agents fo the Speculation Lands, 400,000 acres that were bought for resale by native Philadelphian Tench Coxe in 1795-96. He was one of the wealthy and politically powerful land speculators operating after the Revolutionary War. The records will help analyze land acquisition/distribution, gold mining, and international banking practices. The find includes maps, land surveys and notes, deeds, ledgers, and letters of correspondence with foreign investors. Among signatures in the collection are those of Samuel Ashe, who was the NC governor in 1795-98; Pierre Estienne DuPonceau, who fought with Washington at Valley Forge; and Smith Thompson, the US Supreme Court judge who presided in the Amistad Case. I am thrilled to know of the discovery since my direct line paternal ancestor was also a surveyor in the area at that time. Ramsey Library Special Collections 828-251-6645 hwykle@unca.edu Adapted from: The Transylvania Times, Brevard, NC Issue of Monday, February 24, 2003, Page 10A