HISTORY BY HAND

original historic handwritten manuscripts, documents and letters

a division of Jonathan Sheppard Books

Item Number: DM4045

The Deed: Completely handwritten deed, dated 5 March 1847, from former Congressman Lewis Maxwell of Lewis County Virginia to Anda Nutter of the state of Ohio.  The land being transferred consists of lots on the Auglaize River, each identified by section and range.

The deed is signed by Lewis Maxwell, and witnessed by Weeden Hoffman and Minter Bailey, both Lewis County, Virginia justices of the peace.

In very good condition overall, save for a slight nick on one of the folds. 9 1/2" high x 7 3/8" wide.

Background Information: Lewis Maxwell was born either in Colrain Township, Lancaster County or in Chester County, Pennsylvania on April 17, 1790, and was the son of Thomas Maxwell and Jane Lewis . As a child, he moved with his mother to Lewis County, Virginia. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and became a member of the State House of Delegates 1821-1824. He was served in Congress from 1827 to 1833, after which he resumed the practice of law, was a surveyor and land speculator. He married Sophronia Wilson in 1844, and later, in 1859, Jane Pritchard, who survived him. He was one of the largest landholders in the region, a founder of Weston, (West) Virginia and the founder of Jane Lew, a town named after his mother. He died in West Union, Doddridge County, (West) Virginia on February 13, 1862 and was buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery. Childless, his fortune ultimately descended to his nephew Franklin Maxwell, son of his older brother Abner.

One of the justices of the peace who witnessed the deed, Weeden Hoffman (1788 – 1853), was the son of James Hoffman and Margaret Arnold. He married Matilda Newlon on December 8, 1822. Hoffman settled in Lewis County near Westfield (West) Virginia sometime before 1820. He was appointed as justice of the peace and served in the Virginia House of Delegates. He settled in Weston before 1830.

In “Border Settlers of Northwestern Virginia”, Judge Lucullus Virgil McWhorter described Weeden Hoffman and Minter Bailey, the other justice who witnessed the deed, as “men of unquestionable repute”.

Although we find an Anda Nutter in the Doddridge County, (West) Virginia census in 1860 and 1870, we cannot positively identify him as the party of the “other part” in this deed.
 

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