Over the course of nearly seventy-five years parts of three families would migrate together from central to western Indiana, through Illinois, Missouri and Kansas, and eventually end up in central Oklahoma. The migrations of the Moore, Housh, and Gibson families are primarily documented through land and census records, although marriage and birth records as well as published biographical works shed insight into the locations of families at various times as well. While it cannot be shown that these families actually traveled together from location to location, the coincidence of timing of land acquisition, mainly derived from land patent records1, would suggest a coherent migration through much of this period of time.
These three families were interrelated through marriage: Thomas Housh and Arthur and Lewis Gibson all married daughters of Thomas and Nancy (Scott) Moore; four generations of these families would be involved in these migrations over this period of time. Although they did not migrate with the Moore-Housh-Gibson clan, it is noteworthy that other families from Putnam County, Indiana (the Goodwin, Lyon, and Ogle families), ended up settling near the Moore-Housh-Gibson clan in Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, in the early 1840s. At the present time it appears that these families, while interrelated among themselves, are not related to the Moore-Housh-Gibson clan2.
The Moore-Housh-Gibson connections began when the Moore and Housh families were intermarried in Lawrence County, Indiana, in 1824. In that year Thomas Housh married Clarisa Susan Moore, the daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Scott) Moore3. The migration began when the Moore and Housh families appear to have moved together to Putnam County, Indiana, in 1826. The family connections were broadened in Putnam County when another daughter of Thomas and Nancy Moore, Rachel, married Lewis Gibson in 18264. Yet another daughter of Thomas and Nancy Moore, Jane, married Lewis Gibson’s brother, Arthur, in 1830, also in Putnam County5.
It was from Putnam County, Indiana that the main phase of the Moore-Housh-Gibson migrations began in 1834 when these families moved to Shelby County, Illinois. The main phase of the Moore-Housh-Gibson migrations would end twelve years later in 1846 in Buchanan County, Missouri, after stops in Shelby County, Illinois, and Boone County, Missouri. Parts of the Housh and Gibson families, however, would later settle near each other in Jefferson County, Kansas, between 1857 and 1865 (and beyond) and even in the Oklahoma Territory in 1890. Some members of the families would still be living together in Oklahoma in 1900.
Moore-Housh-Gibson
Migrations From Indiana to Missouri
The primary families involved in these migrations were that of Thomas Moore, Thomas Housh, and Arthur and Lewis Gibson (both sons of Garrett Gibson). The families left Putnam County, Indiana in 1834/35 for Shelby County, Illinois. The families remained there until 1838/39 when they settled in Boone County, Missouri. Although they purchased land, their sojourn there was brief, even briefer, than that in Shelby County, Illinois, and they migrated to Buchanan County, Missouri, between 1840 and 1846 (at an outside date). In this section we will examine the information bearing on the migrations of each of these families.
Thomas Moore, the son of William and Rachel Moore, was born in North Carolina in 1778. After the Revolutionary War, William and his family settled in Moore County, North Carolina, where they lived until 1809. In 1809, the family became some of the earliest settlers in Orange County, Indiana6. Thomas Moore lived in Lawrence County, Indiana, by 1824 when his daughter, Clarisa, married Thomas Housh. It is also probable that Thomas Moore was in Putnam County, Indiana, by Nov 1826 when his daughter, Rachel, married Lewis Gibson. Shortly thereafter, Thomas Moore received a patent for land in Putnam County, Indiana, on 10 Jan 1827 [Table 1]. He applied for this patent on 27 Nov 1826, the same day as Thomas Housh7.
It is not clear if Thomas Moore ever lived in Shelby County, Illinois, as he never purchased federal land there and the family was not present in Shelby County during a census year.
There is, as yet, no direct information to suggest that Thomas Moore accompanied the migration of Thomas Housh, and Arthur Gibson to Boone County, Missouri, in 1838/39. If he did, he did so without purchasing land from the federal government8. To date, I have not been able to locate him in the census records for 1840 in either Illinois or Missouri.
Finally, Thomas Moore moved to Buchanan County, Missouri, where he obtained a patent for land on 1 Mar 1846 [Table 1]. He was there by 1842, however, when his wife, Nancy, died and was buried in Number 6 School House Cemetery in Platte Township. Thomas Moore died around 1858 in Buchanan County, Missouri, and is buried in Number 6 School House Cemetery in Platte Township.
Thomas Housh
Thomas Housh, the son of Adam Housh, was born in Kentucky in 17989. The family moved to Washington County, Indiana, in either 1807 or 180810. It is not known when Thomas Housh moved to Lawrence County, Indiana, but he married Clarisa Moore there in 1824. A few years later he moved to Putnam County, Indiana, where he received a patent for land in Jan 1827 [Table 1]. He applied for this patent on 27 Nov 1826, the same day as Thomas Moore11. Thomas Housh is in the 1830 U.S. Census records for Putnam County, Indiana. Thomas Housh sold his land in Putnam County, Indiana, to David Rudessill on 10 April 183412.
The first record of the presence of Thomas Housh in Shelby County, Illinois, is a deed for a purchase of land from James and Eliza Cutler dated 7 Aug 183413. Thomas Housh also received federal patents for lands in Shelby County, Illinois, in 1835 and 1838 [Table 1]. He applied for his first patent (received in 1835) on 9 August 183414. The last record of Thomas Housh in Shelby County, Illinois, was a suit he brought for the fall term of 183915.
US Census records indicate that Thomas Housh was living in Columbia Township, Boone County, Missouri, in 1840. Deed records in Boone County indicate that Thomas Housh purchased land there in 1839; he sold these lands in Apr 184116.
Thomas Housh obtained patents to land in Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, in 1846 and 1848 [Table 1]. Thomas Housh first applied for a patent 28 Oct 184417, and received the patent for that land 1 May 1846. Deed records indicate that Thomas Housh sold his land in Buchanan County to his sons Adam and Thomas in 1848 and 184918. He did obtain patents, however, in Andrew and DeKalb Counties in 1850 and 1851 [Table 1], although the 1850 U.S. Census indicates he was living in Buchanan County, Missouri, near his sons. Thomas Housh left Missouri in 1856 for Grayson County, Texas.
Tax and Deed records in Grayson County, Texas, indicate that Thomas Housh had settled there by 185619. He would remain there with most of his family until 1860 when he moved to Linn County, Kansas, where he spent the Civil War years20. Not all of the family appears to have participated in this journey, although Adam Housh is mentioned in the Grayson County Deed Books. Census records indicate that the oldest child living with Thomas in Scott Township, Linn County, Kansas in 1860 was Rachel (b. 1838). Census records, however, indicate that Thomas Housh (Jr.) was still living in Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri in 1860.
It is not known if any of the Gibson or Goodwin families accompanied Thomas Housh to Texas. Biographies of James A. Gibson (son of Arthur) and Tobias Goodwin make no mentioned of family members residing in either Grayson County, Texas or Linn County, Kansas21, and census records show that they were not present in Scott Township, Linn County, Kansas (where Thomas Housh lived), for the 1860 census.
Garrett Gibson
Garrett Gibson was born in North Carolina around 1781 or 1783. His son, Arthur, was born in 1807, while Lewis was born in 181122. The family immigrated to Indiana by 180923 and eventually settled near Greencastle in Putnam County. Garrett Gibson received patents for land in Putnam County, Indiana, in May 1824, Apr 1829, and Jan 1832 [Table 1]. Arthur Gibson received a patent for land in Putnam County, Indiana, in Feb 1831 [Table 1].
Two of Garrett Gibson’s sons married daughters of Thomas Moore. Lewis Gibson married Rachel Moore 23 Nov 1826 in Putnam County, Indiana. Arthur Gibson married Jane Moore 9 Dec 1830 in Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana.
Arthur Gibson settled in Shelby County, Illinois, obtaining patents for land in Aug 1838 [Table 1]. Arthur Gibson later resided in Boone County, Missouri for “a short time” and “in the fall of 1840 came to the “Platte Purchase”” where he settled in section 11, Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri24. Arthur Gibson received patents for lands in Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, in May 1846 and June 1848 [Table 1]. Arthur died in Buchanan County in 1853 and is buried in Number 6 School House Cemetery in Platte Township.
Lewis Gibson received a number of patents in sections 26, 27 and 29, T60N R33W in 1848 and 1856 [Table 1]; these sections are split between Andrew and DeKalb Counties, Missouri. This is the same township in which Thomas Housh purchased about 62 acres in 1850 and 1851. Census records indicate that Lewis was living in Platte Township, Andrew County, in 1850. He died in DeKalb County in 1877. The 1850 census data indicates that Lewis may not have accompanied the Moore-Gibson-Housh clan from Indiana in 1834 as his last child born in Indiana was born around 1839. His next child was born between 1841 and 1843 in Missouri, however.
Other Putnam County Families to Settle in Buchanan County
Several other Putnam County, Indiana, families also settled in Buchanan County, Missouri. They do not, however, appear to have made the journey with the Moore-Housh-Gibson clan. These families include the interrelated Goodwin, Ogle and Lyon families as well as that of Jeremiah La Follett. While they do not appear to have traveled together, it might be postulated that old community ties may have influenced their decisions to settle near each other.
Like the Moore-Housh-Gibson clan, the Goodwin, Ogle and Lyon families were all interrelated through marriage. James Goodwin was born in North Carolina in 1784 and moved to Tennessee by 1807 when his eldest son John was born. In Tennessee were also born his sons Tobias (Bledsoe County, 1814) and Isaiah/Isaac (1824) and his daughter Elizabeth (1809-1810)25. The family moved to Indiana and settled in Putnam County in 183326. James Goodwin obtained patents to land in Putnam County in Sep 1834 [Table 1]. The family is present in Madison Township, Putnam County, Indiana, for the 1840 census.
Tobias came to Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, with his family in 1840 or 184127, and census records indicate that his father and brothers are there in 1850 as well. Tobias Goodwin obtained a patent for land in Buchanan County in Apr 1846 [Table 1].
Tobias Goodwin married Matilda Ogle, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Ogle, in 1835 in Putnam County, Indiana25. There are several Ogle families who lived near the Goodwins and Houshes in Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, in 1850 (heads: Thomas, age 75; John, age 35; and Henry, age 23). Henry Ogle will later live in Jefferson Township, Jefferson County, Kansas, during the 1870 and 1880 censuses. The Thomas Ogle in Platte Township may indeed be Matilda’s father, and John and Henry her brothers. Both Thomas and John Ogle obtained patents for land in Buchanan County in March 1846 [Table 1].
Elizabeth Goodwin, the daughter of James Goodwin, married Stephen Lyon around 1827-28 in Tennessee and they accompanied the Goodwin family to Putnam County, Indiana28. The Lyon family also accompanied the Goodwins to Buchanan County, Missouri, and in the 1850 census records we find the family (Elizabeth is the head of the family, apparently Stephen had died by this time) living next door to Tobias Goodwin in Platte Township, Buchanan County.
Although Jeremiah La Follett was born in Putnam County, Indiana, and eventually lived in Buchanan County, Missouri, it does not appear that he participated in the either the Moore-Housh-Gibson or Goodwin-Ogle-Lyon migrations. He was born in Putnam County, Indiana, in 1833, the son of Joseph and Hester La Follett, who were natives of Kentucky29. Joseph settled in Putnam County, Indiana, in 1826, and received patents in 1826 and 1827 [Table 1]. Jeremiah went to California in 1853, where he remained for two years. In 1862 he moved to Iowa, then to Holt County, Missouri, in 1864. In 1867 he emigrated to Oregon, returning to Missouri in 1871, settling in Buchanan County30.
Buchanan County, Missouri, in 1850
By 1850 the Housh, Gibson, Goodwin, Ogle and Lyon families were all living near each other in Platte Township. In the 1850 U.S. Census, Thomas Housh (listed in the census as “Henry”) was living in Platte Township in dwelling number 611 (dwellings were sequentially numbered in the order visited by the census taker). Adam E. Housh and Thomas Housh (Jr.) were his next-door neighbors, living in dwellings 612 and 613, respectively. Arthur Gibson also lived in Platte Township in dwelling number 707. James, Isaac, and Tobias Goodwin were living in Platte Township in dwellings 617, 619 and 689/716 (Tobias appears to have been visited twice). Thomas, Henry and John Ogle were living in dwellings 627, 626, and 625, respectively. Elizabeth Lyon was living next to Tobias Goodwin in dwelling 688.
Settlement in Jefferson
County, Kansas
The main phase of the Moore-Housh-Gibson migration appears to end in Buchanan County, Missouri. Parts of the Housh and Gibson families, however, would settle near each other in Jefferson Township, Jefferson County, Kansas, between 1857 and 1865 and beyond. This migration, however, lacks the en-masse coherence that the earlier migrations to Illinois and Missouri had.
The first person named Housh to settle in Jefferson County, Kansas, was George W. Housh, who obtained a patent for land in Delaware Township in 185831. 1860 Census records indicate that he settled in Kansas somewhere between about 1855, when his son William was born in Iowa, and about 1856, when his son Henry was born in Kansas. George W. Housh was a nephew of Thomas Housh (the son of his brother, Jacob) and grew up in Putnam County, Indiana. He left for Illinois after marrying in 1851, and later moved to Iowa between about 1853 and 1854. George W. Housh does not appear to be part of the Moore-Housh-Gibson migration. An unanswered question, however, is: did George W. Housh influence the decision of the Thomas Housh family to settle in Jefferson County? It would seem that he did not, as Thomas Housh eventually settled near kinfolk who were present in Jefferson Township by 1857 rather than near George W. Housh in Delaware Township. Thomas Housh came to Jefferson Township, Jefferson County, Kansas, in early 1865 or late 1864, although he was preceded by his son, David, in 186332 and by Thomas Jefferson Housh, another son, sometime between 1860 and 186333.
More correctly, it should be said that Nancy (Housh) Cobb was the first descendent of Thomas’ line to settle in Jefferson County, Kansas. Census data indicates that Lewis and Nancy Cobb lived in Jefferson Township, Jefferson County, Kansas, in 1860. From this census we learn that their daughter, Cynthia, was born in Missouri in 1855, while their son, Thomas, was born in Kansas in 1857. Nancy Cobb was the daughter of Thomas Housh.
Another early settler in Jefferson County, Kansas, of the Moore-Gibson line was Rachel Wilhelm. Rachel Gibson, a daughter of Arthur Gibson, married Levi Wilhelm in Buchanan County, Missouri, in 1853. They settled three miles east of Winchester in Jefferson Township, Jefferson County, Kansas, in May of 185734. It might be that they came with Lewis and Nancy (Housh) Cobb.
Other members of the Gibson family eventually settled in Jefferson County, Kansas, although Rachel Wilhelm was the only member of the family present in 1860 [1860 US Census records]. Thomas G. Gibson (another son of Arthur Gibson) was in Jefferson Township in 1870 (census records) as was Nancy (Gibson) Witt, the wife of Milton Witt. Other children of Arthur Gibson who are in Jefferson County, Kansas by the time of the publication of the James A. Gibson biography in 1893 include Francis M. Gibson; Clarissa (Gibson) Clarke, the wife of West Clarke; and William R. Gibson35.
Settlement in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
The last phase of the Moore-Housh-Gibson migrations began in 1890 when three Housh and Gibson families settled in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Territory, having come from Jefferson County, Kansas. While it is not known if they traveled together, they certainly did settle within a few miles of each other. The first opening of Unassigned Indian Lands in Oklahoma occurred in the land run of April 22, 1889 in Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma, and Payne counties. Lewis C. Housh settled in Oklahoma County around March of 189036. Living with him, in addition to his family, was James S. (or A.) Gibson (age 19 years, born in Kansas). This may well be the son of Thomas G. Gibson as the age is correct. Lewis and family lived in section 34, T12N R4W37.
The families of Thomas G. Gibson (a son of Arthur Gibson) and William H. Gibson (the son of Thomas G.) were both living in 1890 on section 4, T11N R5W (in the SW and NE quarter sections, respectively), Oklahoma Territory38. Thomas G. Gibson was a first-cousin of Lewis Housh, and the section he settled is one mile south and seven miles west of the section that the Housh family and James S. Gibson were living on. Thomas G. Gibson did not stay in Oklahoma, but rather died in Winchester, Jefferson County, Kansas, on 8 Nov 189539. William, however, stayed in Oklahoma; in 1900 he was living in Yukon Township of Canadian County at the time of the federal census. There was also a George Housh (age 20 years, born in Kansas) living with his family at that time; it is not currently known who this George Housh was.
In addition to these families, there were two Ogle families, that of David P. and John M., who were living in sections 5 and 6, of the same township that the Gibsons were living in (T11N R5W), and there was also a Robert H. Witt living in section 34, T11N R7W40. It is currently not known if these families were related to the families we have been considering.
Other Housh and Gibson families came to Oklahoma during the 1890’s. The next to move to Oklahoma at an early a date appears to have been George W. Housh who acquired the rights to a patent from Edward J. Ball for land in section 5, T11N R2W on 8 April 189141. This land is considerably east (two townships) of where Lewis Housh and Thomas Gibson had settled. There are four reasonably possible George W. Houshes this could be. Three of them are grandsons of Jacob Housh (brother of Thomas Housh; this branch of the family settled in Brown County, Kansas): George W. Housh (b. abt. 1873, son of Samuel R. Housh), George Washington Housh (b. 13 Oct 1872, son of David Webster Housh), and George Washington Housh (b. 26 Jan 1870, son of George Washington Housh). The last, and most probable candidate is a grandson of Thomas Housh: George William Housh (b. 31 Aug 1871, the son of Robert Russell Housh); this George W. Housh died in Harrah, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, in 190142.
More Houshes came to Oklahoma, and by 1900, Housh families in Oklahoma included: 1. Lewis C. Housh [a son of Thomas who lived in Deep Fork Township, Oklahoma County]. Lewis had arrived in Oklahoma in 1890. 2. Henry B. Housh [a son of Lewis who lived in South Choctaw Township, Lincoln County]. 3. Robert R. Housh [another son of Thomas who was living in Elk Township, Oklahoma County]. 4. George M. Housh [son of Thomas J. Housh, the brother of Lewis and Robert, who was living in Boone Township, Oklahoma County]. 5. Thomas M. Housh [son of George W. Housh, the nephew of Thomas, who was living in Orlando Township, Logan County]. 6. George Housh [discussed above, who was living with William Gibson].
By this time, the Houshes and Gibsons were living throughout the central portion of the Oklahoma Territory. I know of no further examples of Houshes and Gibsons living near or with each other after 1900. It is probably fair to say that the migration of Moore, Housh and Gibson families that had begun in 1834 (or 1826 if you start counting when Thomas Moore and Thomas Housh moved together from Lawrence to Putnam County, Inidiana) had ended at this time or shortly thereafter. Along the way families had been picked up and families had dropped out, but a thread can be followed from 1826 through 1900 tying these families together as they migrated across the nation’s mid-continent.
Population pressure, the ability to sell land at a profit, and the availability of relatively cheap land elsewhere were important factors correlated with the migrations of this clan of families. In each of the areas where Thomas Housh settled and purchased federal land (Putnam County, Indiana; Shelby County, Illinois; and Buchanan County, Missouri), most of the available federal land was generally purchased within a few years of settlement. Federal land could generally be purchased for $1.25 per acre during this period; land prices in a given market generally increased, however, following the withdrawal of federal land that market. The increase in population in a newly settled region provided Thomas Housh with the opportunity to sell land that he had purchased relatively cheaply from the federal government at a substantial profit. He would then move further west and purchase more cheap land, and the process could be repeated again.
The following analysis of land sales is based upon the issue dates of federal land patents; it should be recognized that these issue dates might be several years after the original purchase of the land for which the patent was issued. In Township 16 North, Range 4 West, Putnam County, Indiana, there were 8 patents issued in 1835, 2 in 1837 and 2 in 1838. Thomas Housh left Putnam County, Indiana in 1834 near the end of the original settlement period of the township. Thomas Housh had purchased 160 acres in Putnam County, Indiana, for $200 from the federal government in 1826 [see note 7]; he sold these 160 acres for about $622 in 1834 [see note 12 – total amount of land sold was 180 acres for $700]. At sale, the land averaged $3.89/acre, providing a profit of $2.64/acre.
In 1834 Thomas Housh settled in Shelby County, Illinois. Thomas Housh purchased 273 acres in Shelby County, Illinois, for $500 in 1834 from an earlier settler [average price $1.83/acre; see note 13]. Thomas and Clarisa Housh also purchased 160 acres of federal land between 1835 and 1838 for $200 [Table 1]. These purchases totaled $700, the amount he had received for the lands sold in Putnam County, Indiana; however, Thomas Housh now owned 433 acres, not the 180 acres he owned in Putnam County, Indiana. I do not have a deed for the sale of these lands and thus cannot assess the profit he made on their sale, although the fact that when Thomas did purchase private land in Shelby County, he did so at a premium, would suggest that the same would have occurred when he sold his land upon leaving the county.
In Township 11 North, Range 3 East, Shelby County, Illinois, there were 40 patents issued in 1839, 2 in 1841, 6 in 1843, 1 in 1846, 1 in 1848, 2 in 1849, 2 in 1850, 2 in 1851, and finally 1 in 1852, 1854, and 1857 respectively. Thomas Housh left Shelby County in 1839, the last year that there were a substantial number of land patents issued in Township 11.
In 1839 Thomas Housh settled in Boone County, Missouri, where he had to purchase land from an earlier settler. He purchased 160 acres from James G. Hays on 28 Jan 1839 for $600 [see note 16]. This land was sold two years later, in 1841, for $600 [see note 16]. This land averaged $3.75/acre and no profit was made in this exchange. In Township 48 North, Range 11 West, Boone County, Missouri, there were 8 federal land patents issued in 1837, 5 in 1840, 4 in 1843, and one in 1843, 1856, 1857, 1859, 1864, and 1912 (reissue of an 1822 patent) each. Thus we can see that Thomas Housh settled here essentially at the end of the original settlement period of this township.
Thomas Housh left Boone County, Missouri, in 1841 and presumably settled in Buchanan County, Missouri, at that time, although he did not apply for his first federal land patent until 1844. He purchased a total of 815.64 acres in Platte Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, between 1844 and 1848 from the federal government for $1019.55 [see note 17, Table 1]. Thomas Housh sold this land to his sons Adam and Thomas in 1848 and 1849 for a total of $900 [see note 18]. This averages $1.10/acre. Thomas Housh lost a small amount from these sales, although it should be noted that the land stayed in the family. Thomas Housh also obtained 61.6 acres of federal land in Andrew and DeKalb Counties in 1850 and 1851 [Table 1]. I do not have a deed documenting the sale of this land. 1851 was the last big year for the issuance of land patents in Township 55 North, Range 34 West, Buchanan County, Missouri, with 9 patents issued. There were 5 more issued in 1854, 3 in 1857, and 1 in 1859 and 1860, respectively. Thomas Housh left Buchanan County, Missouri in 1856 for Grayson County, Texas.
In 1856 Thomas Housh moved to Grayson County, Texas, and began to accumulate land. He eventually owned 454 acres purchased for $1536, or an average of $2.82/acre [see note 19]. He sold his 454 acres for $3600 (average price $7.92/acre) in 1860 [see note 20]. The opening of the Butterfield line (Southern Overland Mail) between Saint Louis and San Francisco in 1858 provided a boon for settlement along its line through Grayson County and other parts of north Texas with the population more than doubling in 1859-60 with a consequent rise in land prices.
In 1860, at
the same time that he sold his land in Grayson County, Texas, for $3600, Thomas
Housh purchased 480 acres in Linn County, Kansas, for the same amount [see note
20]. This is an incredible average
price of $7.50/acre for land that sold for only $1.25/acre a few years before.
The sale of land in Texas and
purchase of land in Kansas should not be thought of as independent
transactions; rather, they were basically a swap for equivalent amounts of land
owned by Thomas Housh in Texas and Ransom Elliot in Kansas. Ransom Elliot was a noted southern
sympathizer in Linn County who left the state when Free State forces gained
ascendancy43.
Pre-secession agitation began in Grayson County, Texas, by 185944 and may have been a factor in the decision of Thomas
Housh to move north to Kansas.
Thomas Housh did turn around in 1865 and sell his
land in Linn County, Kansas, for $4500 [see note 20]. This profit ($900) is not as great as it
would seem. Inflation in the United
States had been nearly stagnant between 1830 and 1860. During the Civil War, however, prices nearly
doubled by 1865; the remainder of the nineteenth century would be characterized
by steady deflation until by 1900 prices had returned to near their 1860 levels45. Thus, in real
terms Thomas Housh sold his Linn County land for a considerable loss.
From the above analysis we have seen that Thomas
Housh tended to purchase land “cheap”, often from the federal government, and
would later try to sell it for a substantial profit. A tremendous amount of land would go through Thomas’ hands
between 1826 when he first purchased land in Putnam County, Indiana, and 1865
when he sold his land in Linn County, Kansas.
It seems that to some degree Thomas Housh was attracted to land
speculation. Secondly, we have seen
that Thomas often left a region either near the time when the last federal land
was removed from the market or when there were other documented bursts in
population growth (e.g., Grayson County, Texas, although political factors may
be important in this case as well).
This observation might be interpreted to indicate that there was a
certain (relatively low) level of population density that was acceptable to
Thomas Housh and his family. When the
country became too crowded, the family would look to move on. While this analysis has examined just one
family, we have seen that these migrations were not that of merely one family,
but rather involved a set of families, some of whom were related.
10. Adam House and family appear in the Tax Records of Harrison County, Kentucky, until the year 1807 [op cit.], after which the family moved across the Ohio River into southern Indiana. In two deeds of mortgage in 1806, Adam House is listed as a resident of Harrison County, KY. However in two deeds and a bill of sale (made in Harrison County, Kentucky) from 1807 Adam and Mary, his wife, are listed as residents of either the Illinois Grant (June) or the Indiana Territory (September) [Harrison County, Kentucky, Deed Book 2, page 105; Deed Book 2, page 198 & 199; Book 2, page 244 & 245; Deed Book 2, page 246 & 247; and Deed Book 2, page 250]. An 1884 history of Washington County, Indiana states that the first settlers in Monroe Township came in 1809 and that Adam Housh came the following year [History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Counties, Indiana. Chicago: Goodspeed Bros. & Co., 1884, p. 701], while a 1916 history states that the first settlers to venture into Monroe Township were Adam Housh and Solomon Rink in 1808 [Warder W. Stevens. Centennial History of Washington County, Indiana. Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen, 1916, p. 505-506].
11. Land Entry Files, National Archives and Records Administration. The price paid was $1.25/acre.
12. Thomas and Clarisa Housh sold his land in Putnam County to David Rudessill on 10 April 1834 for $700. The land sold included 20 acres in the SE/4 section 24, T16N R4W and 160 acres in NE/4 section 25, T16N R4W [Betty Miller Ramsey, Tangled Branches: the Housh, Hunsucker, Miller, Riggle Families. Fairview, UT: Ramsey, 1982, p. 50-51]. This comes to an average of $3.89/acre.
13. Shelby County Deed Record, Volume 3, page 39. Thomas Housh paid $500 for 273 acres for an average price $1.83/acre.
14. Land Entry Files, National Archives and Records Administration. The price paid was $1.25/acre.
Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records
|
patentee |
fraction |
section-twp-range |
acres |
date issued |
|
Thomas Moore |
E/2 SE/4 |
34-16N-4W |
80 |
1/10/1827 |
|
Thomas Housh |
NE/4 |
25-16N-4W |
160 |
1/10/1827 |
|
Garrett Gibson |
SE/4 |
28-16N-4W |
160 |
5/1/1824 |
|
Garrett Gibson |
W/2 NE/4 |
28-16N-4W |
80 |
4/2/1829 |
|
Garrett Gibson |
E/2 SW/4 |
15-16N-4W |
80 |
1/3/1832 |
|
Arthur Gibson |
W/2 NE/4 |
24-16N-4W |
80 |
2/8/1831 |
|
James Goodwin |
E/2 SW/4 |
20-14N-3W |
80 |
9/9/1834 |
|
James Goodwin |
NW/4 NW/4 |
20-14N-3W |
40 |
9/9/1834 |
|
Joseph LaFollette |
E/2 SW/4 |
4-16N-4W |
80 |
11/20/1826 |
|
Joseph LaFollette |
W/2 SE/4 |
4-16N-4W |
80 |
9/20/1827 |
|
patentee |
fraction |
section-twp-range |
acres |
date issued |
|
Thomas Housh |
NE/4 SW/4 |
2-11N-3E |
40 |
9/15/1835 |
|
Thomas Housh |
SW/4 NE/4 |
2-11N-3E |
40 |
8/10/1838 |
|
Clarisa House |
SE/4 SW/4 |
2-11N-3E |
40 |
8/10/1838 |
|
Thomas House |
SW/4 SE/4 |
3-11N-3E |
40 |
8/10/1838 |
|
Arthur Gibson |
NW/4 SE/4 |
3-11N-3E |
40 |
8/10/1838 |
|
Arthur Gibson |
NW/4 NE/4 |
2-11N-3E |
41.37 |
8/10/1838 |
|
patentee |
fraction |
section-twp-range |
acres |
date issued |
|
Thomas Moore |
NE/4 |
18-56N-35W |
160 |
3/1/1846 |
|
Thomas Housh |
S/2 |
15-55N-34W |
320 |
5/1/1846 |
|
Thomas Housh |
NE/4 |
14-55N-34W |
160 |
6/10/1848 |
|
Thomas Housh |
W/2 NE/4 |
22-55N-34W |
175.64 |
8/1/1848 |
|
|
& NW/4 |
22-55N-34W |
|
|
|
Arthur Gibson |
NW/4 |
15-55N-34W |
160 |
5/1/1846 |
|
Arthur Gibson |
SE/4 |
11-55N-34W |
160 |
5/1/1846 |
|
Arthur Gibson |
3SW |
10-55N-34W |
59.41 |
6/1/1848 |
|
Tobias Goodwin |
1SE |
9-55N-33W |
80 |
4/1/1846 |
|
John Ogle |
NE |
8-55N-33W |
160 |
3/1/1846 |
|
Thomas Ogle |
NW |
9-55N-33W |
160 |
3/1/1846 |
|
William Cobb |
E/2 NE/4 |
11-55N-34W |
80 |
4/1/1846 |
|
Nelson Witt |
SE/4 |
7-55N-33W |
160 |
3/1/1846 |
|
John Hunsucker |
SE/4 NE/4 |
24-55N-34W |
40 |
5/1/1846 |
|
John Hunsucker |
SE/4 |
24-55N-34W |
160 |
5/1/1846 |
Andrew and DeKalb Counties, Missouri
|
patentee |
fraction |
section-twp-range |
acres |
date issued |
|
Thomas Housh |
part S/2 |
21-60N-33W |
21.6 |
6/1/1850 |
|
Thomas Housh |
NW/4 SW/4 |
22-60N-33W |
40 |
12/1/1851 |
|
Lewis Gibson |
NWSW |
26-60N-33W |
40 |
6/10/1848 |
|
Lewis Gibson |
NWSW |
27-60N-33W |
40 |
8/1/1848 |
|
Lewis Gibson |
SENW |
29-60N-33W |
40 |
3/10/1856 |
|
Lewis Gibson |
NESW |
29-60N-33W |
40 |
3/10/1856 |
|
Lewis Gibson |
SWSW |
29-60N-33W |
40 |
3/10/1856 |