Rector, Elias and Frances. Missouri Territory Land transaction, 1815

This collection contains a deed of land for 400 acres of Missouri Territory, conveyed by Elias and Frances Rector and signed in 1815.

Missouri Territory, originally called Louisiana Territory, was organized in 1812 and spanned a large area of the country, from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and beyond, that would later be divided into over a dozen different states. St. Louis County was also founded in 1812. Missouri was granted statehood in 1821.

This collection contains a deed of land for 400 acres of Missouri Territory, signed in 1815. The land was conveyed by Elias and Frances Rector. The deed was signed by Joseph Charles, justice of the peace of the Township of St. Louis, signed and sealed by William Clark, brother of George Rogers Clark, governor of the Territory of Missouri, commander in chief of the militia, and superintendent of Indian affairs. A note at the bottom of the document reads "Kaskaskia - recorded in Book M pages 384, 85, & 86 by William Arundel, recorder."

This collection was donated to the Library in 2015 by Clarendon Van Norman Jr.