Name/Title
1843 Land Lottery Deed Number 260 Segment AEntry/Object ID
2022.4.1Scope and Content
Top segment of land grant deed to John Watts signed in 1843. Land lot number 260. Surveyed in August 3, 1832. At the time of the land grant, the parcel was part of Cherokee county. This deed (Lot 260) is pictured in multiple accessions as segments A through E.Context
The land that was to become Milton County in 1857 was originally within the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee lived in harmony with the white settlers, and with the founding of Georgia in 1733, became active trading partners with them. Over time, as European settlements increased, friction arose over competition for desirable land. In the late 1700's and early 1800's, the State of Georgia undertook efforts to remove Cherokees from the state via several Land Acts offering parcels to white Georgians by lottery. The discovery of gold in 1828 in Cherokee territory accelerated the process, ushering in the Trail of Tears. Between 1805 and 1833, eight lotteries were conducted.
The most famous of the lotteries was held in 1832, which offered most of what remained of Cherokee land. Two types of land lots were offered: 40-acre Gold Lots and 160-acre Land Lots. The area that would become Milton County was thought to be where gold was or might be found, so all lots were 40 acres. Some 133,000 people competed for 35,000 of the 40 acre lots. The lottery was complex, with 20 categories of eligible participants including families, bachelors, widows, veterans of the Revolutionary War, even "idiots", insane or lunatics, deaf, dumb, or blind, over 10 years, with 3-year residence in Georgia. Each category was entitled to one or two draws. Names were written on a piece of paper and placed in a wooden drum and lot numbers placed in another.Collection
Byron Foster, Shirley Morgan, Helen GillelandAcquisition
Accession
2022.4Source or Donor
Byron Foster, Shirley Foster Morgan, Helen Gilleland