Jolly Mill is located on forty acres known as the SWNE of Section 11-T25N-R29W in Newton County, Missouri. Capps Creek flows through the property. The above photo looks west from the top of the mill pond dam behind the mill. This page summarizes the legal instruments involving the mill tract as recorded in Newton County to approximately 1900. All instruments are warranty deeds except as noted.
THE PRINCIPAL MILL TRACT (JOHN ISBELL)
7 July 1845. Frederick Crackel to Anthony Bledsoe for $300. No Crackel spouse shown on deed. Recorded 7/8/1845 at A367.
13 July 1845. Anthony & Catherine H. Bledsoe to Frederick Hisaw for $200. Witnessed by two persons named Oldham. Recorded at A372.
18 May 1846. Mortgage from Frederick Hisaw to Jones Weems for $113.29 �, payable in 12 months at 10% interest. Recorded 9/26/1846 at A442.
4 September 1848. Frederick Hisaw to John Isbell and Thomas D. Isbell for $300. Witnessed by Jones Weems and Martin Thornberry. Recorded 10/30/1848 at B166.
15 March 1852. Thomas & Rebecca Isbell to John Isbell for $2,000. Witnessed by Thomas Wright and Samuel Sanders. Recorded 7/5/1852 at C78. Although Thomas Isbel later shows up in the real estate records as the owner of 1 � acres carved from the original 40 acres, there is no reservation of an interest in this recorded instrument and no deed back from John creating the 1 � acre tract that I could find.
8 April 1853. Mortgage from John Isbell to Noah W. Boone for $800, payable in 12 months at an unspecified rate of interest. Witnessed by John Osborn and John Hayden. Recorded 4/12/1853 at C203. Marginal release 3/16/1860.
16 January 1860. Mortgage from John Isbell to George Isbell for $300 covering the SENW of Section 11-T25N-R29W, payable in 12 months at 10%. This was the 40 acres just west of the mill property. Recorded 1/17/1860 at E666.
16 January 1860. Mortgage from John Isbell to George Isbell for $4,700 covering his 8 slaves, payable in 12 months at 10%. Attest J. C. Marshall. Recorded 1/17/1860 at E668.
14 March 1860. Mortgage from John Isbell to George Isbell for $2600 covering the 40 acre mill property less small lots previously sold to A. J. Wright, Thomas D. Isbell and John P. Osborn. Payable in 3 years at 10% interest. Recorded 3/16/1860 at E759.
22 September 1860. Mortgage from John Isbell to James M. Wilson covering the mill property, other real estate in Newton and Barry County and John�s interest in his father�s slaves. Secures payment of (1) three notes to Wilson dated 9/22/1860 and totaling $2,683.52 payable in 6 to 30 months at 10% interest; (2) a $1000 note dated 7/11/1857 and payable to Thomas White, guaranteed by Wilson; and (3) a $2000 bill of exchange dated 2/10/1860 and sold to the Bank of the State of Missouri, endorsed by Wilson. Recorded 12/3/1860 at F174.
4 December 1865. Lease of the distillery from George Isbell to James M. Kellogg, who was to make repairs and place it in running order. The lease, which was court approved due to a pending foreclosure action, was to continue 5 years from the time the mill was in running condition. Recorded 12/5/1865 at F538.
5 April 1866. Sheriff�s Deed selling the mill property to George Isbell for $200. George foreclosed on the March 1860 mortgage above and obtained a judgment against John on 9/2/1865 in the Newton County Circuit Court. Recorded 4/25/1866 at G74.
1 January 1867. Five-year lease of the distillery from George Isbell to Thomas P. Guthrie & John A. Brown, who were to put the mill in good running order. Recorded 9/25/1867 at H304.
25 January 1872. Quit claim deed of the mill property (SWNE) and the adjoining 40 acres (SENW) in section 11 from John & Nancy Isbell to George Isbell. These are the properties that George foreclosed in 1865/1866. Recorded 2/5/1872 at P79.
26 January 1872. Contract whereby George Isbell agreed to sell the mill property to John Isbell for $7,000. The legal description of the mill property sets out three exceptions for the Thomas D. Isbell, Wright and Osborn tracts and includes book-and-page deed references for the Wright and Osborn tracts but not the Thomas D. Isbell tract. Apparently whoever drafted the document wasn�t sure of the legal origins of this tract either. Recorded 12/23/1874 at T117.
30 December 1873. Quit claim deed from Anthony & Catherine Bledsoe to George Isbell covering the SWNE of section 11-T25N-R29W. Amount not given. Recorded 5/26/1881 at bk. 4, p. 563.
12 November 1894. George Isbell, a single man, to George I. Brown, the 40-acre mill property (SWNE) less "1/2 acre heretofore deeded by grantor." $1200. Recorded 11/12/1894 at bk. 37, p. 572.
24 May 1895. Circuit Court decree granting George Brown�s petition to erect and maintain a mill dam on Capps Creek 7 feet above the average level of water in the creek. The decree recited that Capps Creek runs through the middle of the SWNE with the tract covering land on both sides of the stream. A jury was summoned and determined that the only adjoining landowner who would be injured by the dam was William Hisaw. He was awarded damages of $50. Recorded 5/24/1895 at bk. 38, p. 593.
1 April 1895. George I. & S. A. Brown to Firman A. Lucas and Fred Chandler. The mill property less the � acre exception. $2180. Recorded 5/24/1895 at bk. 39, p. 233.
25 June 1896. Quit claim deed from Edward P. Allis Company to F. A. & wife N. L. Lucas and to Fred & wife Marcia Chandler. The mill property less the � acre exception. $602. Recorded 7/23/1896 at bk. 42, p. 13.
29 May 1899. Fred Chandler to A. C. Lucas, his interest in the mill property. Recorded 6/14/1899 at bk. 48, p. 99. [A. C. Lucas was the father of Firman Lucas.]
There are two title mysteries in the above material. (1) What happened to the John Isbell interest created by the recorded January, 1872, contract of sale, which should have been released if the sale was never consummated? John was listed as the miller at Jolly in the 1880 census, but a newspaper note in December, 1880, said he was planning to move to California. Cousin George later sold the property. (2) What was the � acre exception noted in the November 1894 deed to George Brown and in subsequent deeds? Instruments recorded after 1900 might clarify these questions.
THOMAS D. ISBELL TRACT
There is no recorded instrument that I could find carving this tract out of the main tract.
3 October 1860. Sheriff�s Deed selling the 1 � acre Thomas Isbell tract to Thomas Wright for $51. Thomas D. Isbell had died, and the probate court of Newton County had ordered the sale of this tract as part of the process of partitioning the assets among the heirs. The metes and bounds description places this tract just south of the mill pond to the east of the mill. Recorded 10/3/1860 at F119.
10 December 1868. Sheriff�s Deed selling the Thomas Isbell tract to C. W. Thresher & J. E. Vickery for $10.25 pursuant to an attachment order to satisfy a civil court judgment against Thomas Wright. Recorded 6/2/1869 at K427.
17 December 1872. Quit claim deed from Charles W. & Wila Thresher and James E. & Alma Vickery to John Isbell. Thomas Isbell tract. The next instrument below suggests John Isbell actually bought this tract about March 1870. He was just perfecting his title with this instrument. Recorded 5/16/1881 at bk. 4, p. 562.
25 March 1881. John & Nancy Isbell to George Isbell. The 1 � acre Thomas Isbell tract. Recites that John had purchased this tract at a Thresher & Vickery sheriff�s sale 3/17/1870. I have not found a recorded deed from the sheriff�s sale. Recorded 5/16/1881 at bk. 4, p. 564.
WRIGHT TRACT
28 July 1853. John & Nancy Isbell to A. J. & J. W. Wright, the tract of land "where Wrights Store Stands on Capps Creek" by metes and bounds. This was a very small tract, 6 rods by 4 rods (99 feet x 66 feet). The deed stipulated that the Wrights would forfeit this tract "if they Should Cause or allow card playing in their Grocery provided the Second parties Should put up a Grocery house on said land " At the time, "grocery" referred to a drinking establishment. No purchase price was stated. Witnessed by James Hayden and John W. White. Recorded 2/15/1854 at C340. The metes-and-bounds legal description in this deed as recorded is incomplete. The full description shows up in subsequent instruments.
22 September 1856. J. W. & Margaret Wright and Andrew Jackson Wright & Elizabeth Parella Wright to James Hambleton. $350. Recorded 9/23/1856 at D183.
30 September 1858. James & Oney Gravit Hambleton (or "Hamilton") to A. J. Wright. Description refers to "where Hambleton�s store or business house stands on Capps Creek . . ." $350. Recorded 10/10/1858 at E131.
27 July 1877. Quit claim deed from A. J. & Margaret Wright to George Isbell on the Wright tract. Recorded at W88.
OSBORN TRACT
26 March 1860. John & Nancy Isbell to John P. Osborn a 1 � acre tract described by metes and bounds for $100. The March 1860 mortgage from John to George Isbell said that Osborn already had a store house and residence on this property. Recorded 9/24/1860 at F104.
26 May 1873. J. P. & Agnes Osborn to H. H. Bushnell. $275. Osborn tract. Recorded 6/2/1873 at R38.
22 May 1874. H. H. & Julia Bushnell to Moses Banks. $280. Osborn tract. Recorded 5/6/1875 at T412.
21 February 1879. Moses & Martha E. Banks of Butler County KS to James P. Isbell. $150. Osborn tract. Recorded 4/7/1879 at X126.
3 December 1880. James P. Isbell to George Isbell. Osborn tract. Recorded 5/26/1881 at bk. 4, p. 565.
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