[Manuscript Texas Land Grant Issued During the Texas Revolution by Radford Berry, Alcalde of Nacogdoches, to John S. Roberts, a Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, with Two Manuscript Plat Maps by Pioneering Texas Surveyor George Aldrich] by [Texas]. [Robert, John]. Berry, Radford and George Aldrich - 1845

Nacogdoches, Tx, 1845. Very good.. [8]pp. of text, plus two manuscript plat maps on separate folded leaves, second leaf docketed on verso. Folio. Sewn. Expected wear, toning, and foxing, a few small losses on last leaf along fold line. An original Spanish-language land grant for ten leagues of land in Red River County, Texas issued in 1835 to John S. Roberts, a pioneer of Nacogdoches and an important figure during the Texas Revolution. The document is executed on official sealed paper of the Treasury of Coahuila y Tejas, and was issued by Radford Berry, an American resident and alcalde of Nacogdoches, Texas. The grant is further enhanced by two manuscript plat maps drawn by George Aldrich, a noted early Texas surveyor.

According to some sources, Radford Berry came to Texas around 1832, but certainly no later than 1833. The Handbook of Texas online notes that Berry Creek, in Burleson County, was named for Radford Berry, who was living at Fort Tenoxtitlán in 1832. In 1835 Berry was acting as "constitutional alcalde" of Nacogdoches. That same year President Santa Anna had revoked the Mexican Constitution of 1824, abolishing all state governments. Notably, at the time of the present land grant, which is dated December 5, 1835, American settlers in Texas were beginning to revolt against the Mexican central government in what would become known as the Texas Revolution. By April 1836, Texas had become the independent Republic of Texas.

The present land grant of ten leagues in Red River County (diez sitios de terrenos en los baldios de Tejas) was issued to John S. Roberts, a noted early Texas settler and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Roberts was born in Virginia in 1796, enlisted in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812 and participated in the Battle of New Orleans as a member of Col. John Coffee's regiment. He took part in the Fredonian rebellion led by Haden and Benjamin Edwards against the Mexican government in Texas. Roberts eventually settled in Nacogdoches, where he engaged in a mercantile business. In 1832 he joined the rebel forces in the Battle of Nacogdoches, while also enlarging his fortune later during the Texas Revolution by purchasing land grants. Roberts joined the Nacogdoches Independent Volunteers and saw action during the Siege of Bexar (November 25 - December 5, 1835). After the close of fighting, Roberts was elected a delegate to the Convention of 1836 and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. In 1837 he was appointed quartermaster of the Texas Militia. Roberts initially prospered in business, forming a partnership with John Durst and George Allen. However, a series of lawsuits led to his financial ruin in 1838. He later made a living as a grocer and by running a saloon in Nacogdoches.

The text of the present land grant opens with a certification that John S. Roberts had volunteered to serve as a soldier in the service of the State of Coahuila y Tejas for a period of one year -- the basis for the grant of ten sitios of land. A single sitio de ganado mayor was a tract of land roughly equivalent to 4,400 acres. The grant is noted as a true and accurate copy of the text recorded in the local archive, and was signed on December 5, 1835 by Radford Berry, and two witnesses, Stephen Collins and John Noblitt. George S. Lauten, as clerk of the County Court and Recorder, has certified and recorded the Spanish language Mexican land grant, as indicated on the appended English language document executed in 1848.

The text is accompanied by two basic manuscript plat maps by George Aldrich, a pioneer Texas land surveyor, marking out Roberts' tract. The document's Spanish text even makes reference to Aldrich: "...por presentado y admitido en cuanto hay a lugar en derecho pasa este expidiente al Agrimensor Ciudo. Geo. Aldrich para que practique la mensura de los diez sitios de tierra que indica el interesado [...presented and admitted according to law, the application passes to citizen Surveyor Geo. Aldrich so that he may undertake the measurement of the ten sitios of land indicated by the interested party...]." Aldrich was the first County Surveyor of Houston County, serving in that capacity from 1839 to 1843. His brother was Collin Aldrich, first Chief Justice of Houston County, who fought at San Jacinto.  The brothers Aldrich came to Red River County, Texas in 1828. For a short time, around 1834, George Aldrich lived in Nacogdoches and was associated with Robert Anderson Irion as a land trader and surveyor. The present land grant and survey maps date from this period in Aldrich's career, and Irion's name also appears on the verso of one of the maps. The early era of pre-Republic surveying in Texas was truly a dangerous frontier endeavor. According to a fascinating article by Virginia H. Taylor Houston on early surveying in Texas (who includes George Aldrich in her list of early Texas surveyors): "It was nothing unusual for a surveyor to be killed by the Indians; often an entire party was murdered; and many expeditions started out never to be heard of again. Long since, the Indians had called the compass 'the thing that steals the land.'"

A fascinating and remarkable Texas land document of historical interest for having been issued by an early Texas alcalde during the Texas Revolution for John S. Roberts, a fighter for Texas independence, and with plat maps drawn by George Aldrich, an early Texas surveyor.