Fulbright  Family  Association  NewsLetter  Articles

FULBRIGHT
Madison County, MO

Dr. Bill Eddleman

I had occasion to travel to Oklahoma this past weekend and decided to come back via Fredericktown, county seat of Madison Co, MO, and look up William Fulbright deeds I had seen reference to in a book.

Both deeds are dated 1 Sep 1818, and as it turned out, represent land in Washington Co., MO. I have no idea why these deeds were registered in Madison Co., unless Washington Co. did not administer its own affairs for a time. ---- I found references to Strother, Love, and Goodwin in deeds and the old court records, all names found near the Fulbrights when they left Haywood Co., NC.

The implications of these deeds: we have old John Fulbright's family selling their land in Haywood Co., NC, in the late summer and early fall of 1817, and then William (son of old John) buying land one year later in Washington Co., MO. I still have to try and find the location of the land, although it was not on Courtois Creek, but was listed as on "the waters of St. Francis River". William later received government land near Courtois Creek.

Below are abstracts of the two William Fulbright deeds I mentioned.

Bellview Township is in the SE corner of Washington Co., MO, and the St. Francis River does flow through this area. "On the waters of" usually means the land was in the watershed, not actually lying on the river. This land was settled by the Davenports prior to the U. S. Land Commission confirming their rights to the land. I will search land commission records to see if I can find more:

Madison Co., Missouri, Deed Book A

Page 66. Sept. 1, 1818.

Reuben Davenport to Wm. Fulbright, both of Bellview Township, Washington County. For the sum of $250, his improvement on the waters of St. Francis made in 1811, provided that a donation of land should be granted to him by the United States in consequence of his settlement.
Signed Reuben (x) Davenport.
Witness Saml. Morrison.
Attest F. Strothers, Clerk.
Recorded January 8, 1820.


Page 67. Sept. 1, 1818.

Charles Davenport to Wm. Fulbright, both of Bellview Township, Washington County. For the sum of $80, his improvement on the waters of St. Francis made i1813, provided that a donation of land should be granted to him by the United States in consequence of his settlement.
Signed Charles (x) Davenport.
Witness Saml. Morrison.
Attest F. Strothers, Clerk.
Recorded January 8, 1820.

I was also able to find a couple of interesting court cases, purely by accident. The deeds were recorded at one end of the ledger, and early court records at the other. I picked up the book "upside down" and turned right to another mention of William Fulbright, as well as another case that mentions Haywood Co., NC names:

Circuit Court Records, Madison Co., Missouri

Page 2. Tuesday, July 13, 1819. Robert Love vs. Ephraim Goodwin. Action of debt founded on a writing obligatory. Defendant moved for dismissal for want of security. Motion overruled. (There is more on this case, but the names just caught my eye.)

Page 35. November 10, 1819. William Fulbright vs. John Smith for debt. Filed and continued to next court.

Page 64-65. March 6, 1821. William Fulbright vs. John Smith for debt. Court ordered that the plaintiff receive $200 for his debt, $5 in damages, and costs.

This (or possibly another) John Smith also sold land to one Daniel Shook in Madison Co. in 1814. There are numerous other mentions of Shooks in the deed records, although I do not know if this is the same Shook family that was related to the Fulbrights.