On December 23, 1805 the Board of Commissioners notified the Secretary of the Treasury that they had begun the process of procuring a meeting place and the supplies that they would need to conduct business. They selected Charles Gratiot to serve as clerk for the Board and Marie Phillipe Leduc to serve as translator (Territorial Papers, Vol. 13, pg 318).
The Board of Commissioners set about the task with no more instructions than what was covered by the previously passed acts of Congress. By January 1806 they and William C. Carr, the agent for the United States, were confronted with issues that had to be resolved before they could successfully evaluate the claims before them. First of all, the first section of the Act of March 2, 1805, chapter 26, specified that the Indian title must have been extinguished in order for a claim to be confirmed. The Board had no documentary evidence to address this requirement and were at a loss as to how to deal with it. Next, the second section of the same act required “the permission of the proper Spanish officer” for those making a claim under actual settlement. Permission to settle had often been given verbally without any written evidence, so many claimants were unable to prove permission, though they had long occupied the land. Next, the Board became perplexed over the distinction between the Spanish requirement of establishment or improvement and the Act of Congress requiring inhabitation and cultivation by a certain date. And more substantially, the Board had some difficulty in determining the intended meaning of the phrase, “one mile square, together with such other and further quantity, as heretofore has been allowed for the wife and family of such actual settler, agreeably to the laws, usages and customs of the Spanish government.” (Territorial Papers, Vol. 13, pg 393-394, 493-501; ASP:PL, Vol. 2, pg 560-561).
Following a correspondence from William Carr, and subsequent consultations with the President of the United States, the Attorney General and others, Albert Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury, sent further instructions to the Board of Commissioners in a letter dated March 26, 1806, addressing the interpretation of the second section of the Act of March 2, 1805, chapter 26, and whether permission to settle must be proven or merely presumed. The second section of the act was to be construed to grant the quantity specified by the Spanish regulations according to the size of the family with a maximum of one mile square. In regard to permission to settle, Mr. Gallatin advised the Board that if Congress had not provided for a particular circumstance, then the Board was to reject the claim and make note of its merits in the report that they were to provide upon completion of their work. Mr. Gallatin further admonished the Board to strictly adhere to the letter of the law and leave it to Congress to fix any problems with the legislation (Territorial Papers, Vol. 13, pg 462; ASP:PL, Vol. 2, pg 561).
Congress responded to the deficiencies found in its previous legislation by passing the Act of April 21, 1806, chapter 39, An Act supplementary to an act intituled “An act for ascertaining and adjusting the titles and claims to land, within the territory of Orleans, and the district of Louisiana” (U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 2, pg 391).
The first section of the Act addressed the situation where evidence was not available to prove that the “permission of the proper Spanish officer” had been obtained, as required by the second section of the Act of March 2, 1805, chapter 26. Permission was to be presumed, if an actual settlement had been commenced prior to October 1, 1800 and the land had been continuously inhabited and cultivated for three years prior to December 20, 1803.
The second section of the Act addressed the situation in which a claim could be made under the first section of the previous Act, but the claimant was under the age of 21. This may be the case when a tract of land was conceded for the benefit or support of a minor. In addition to the requirements of the previous Act, the tract had to have been inhabited and cultivated for ten consecutive years prior to December 20, 1803.
The seventh section of the Act authorized the Board of Commissioners to travel to locations more convenient to the claimants in order to receive oral evidence in support of or in opposition to claims.
The eighth section of the Act directed the Board of Commissioners in their proceedings and decisions to conform to the instructions that the Secretary of the Treasury may submit to them. The Secretary of the Treasury was also to prescribe the forms for the reports and transcripts the Board was to prepare.
In a letter, dated May 7, 1806, Mr. Gallatin notified the Board of Commissioners of the recently passed Act and provided them a copy. He stated that the required forms would be sent in due time. As far as instructions, he reiterated his instructions from March 26, 1806 and emphasized that they were to adhere to the letter of the law. They were not to confirm any claim that was not provided for by existing legislation (Territorial Papers, Vol. 13, pg 507; ASP:PL Vol. 3, pg 356).
By August 1806 Mr. Gallatin had decided that maybe he should prepare a formal set of instructions for the proceedings and decisions of the Board of Commissioners and sought the advice and approval of the President of the United States (Territorial Papers, Vol. 13, pg 567). The final form of the instructions was sent to the Board of Commissioners with a letter, dated September 8, 1806 (ASP:PL, Vol. 3, pg 356).
By the time the Board of Commissioners received the instructions sent by Mr. Gallatin, they had supposed they were nearly finished with their work. In a letter to Mr. Gallatin, dated October 22, 1806, Commissioners Lucas and Penrose informed him that at such a late stage in the process these new instructions would require a considerable revision of the claims upon which decisions had already been made. They proposed to finish examining the remaining claims according to the new instructions and to then prepare appropriate transcripts and reports for his consideration as to how to proceed from there (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 19).
James Donaldson, the Recorder of Land Titles, had in October 1806 taken his family and gone back to Baltimore, Maryland (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 21, 27, 64). Judge John B. C. Lucas and Clement Penrose remained as commissioners with Penrose claiming to have been deputized by Donaldson as Recorder before he departed. This being the situation, Judge Lucas informed the Secretary of the Treasury in a letter, dated November 4, 1806, that he would not continue until either a replacement for Mr. Donaldson was appointed or further instructions from the Secretary were received (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 27, 40).
The proceedings of the Board of Commissioners had not been without its drama. James Donaldson and Clement Penrose, having similar sympathies and opinions, formed a majority of the Board and proceeded to advance their decisions without regard to the dissent of Judge Lucas. Donaldson and Penrose were more liberal in their judgements and more sympathetic to the claimants, whereas Judge Lucas was more strict in his interpretation of the law. This element of contention led Donaldson and Penrose to make every effort to exclude Judge Lucas from the proceedings of the Board. Around August 1806 both Donaldson and Penrose moved their residence to the Army encampment, which was about 14-15 miles away from the established meeting place of the Board in St. Louis. As a result, their attendance was irregular and often at odd hours when neither Judge Lucas nor William Carr, the agent for the United States, was present. Since they formed a majority of the Board, they conducted business wherever and whenever they chose. They even concocted a scheme to go to the southern settlements to conduct business and after they were informed that Judge Lucas had departed for the location, they rescinded the decision and continued in St. Louis without him (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 58).
Apparently, Donaldson had been planning his departure for some time. In a letter to his father-in-law in Baltimore, dated July 6, 1806, he expressed his desire to finish the business of the Board as soon as possible. He intended to depart in October and was making every effort to complete the work so that his departure would not be delayed (Territorial Papers, Vol. 13, pg 537). Judge Lucas reported to the Secretary of the Treasury in a letter, dated January 4, 1807, that Donaldson had left St. Louis on his way to New Orleans on October 8, 1806 before the last instructions had been received from the Secretary (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 64).
So with the Recorder of Land Titles gone and the two remaining commissioners at odds and unable to agree on anything, the progress of the Board was at a standstill (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 36). Judge Lucas continued to report to the Secretary of the Treasury (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 27, 40, 52, 58, 81) and Penrose took it upon himself to prepare an opinion of the “majority” of the Board (meaning himself and Donaldson) on a classification of the claims along with a report from the Recorder’s books and his own opinions as to provisions to be addressed by future legislation (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 47).
Secretary Albert Gallatin finally responded in a letter, dated February 13, 1807, stating that new legislation was pending in Congress that would make yet more changes. He requested that they discontinue rendering decisions, but advised them that they may continue to receive evidence until they received further instructions (Territorial Papers, Vol. 14, pg 97).
SOURCES
American State Papers: Public Lands (ASP:PL)
The Territorial Papers of the United States, compiled by Clarence Edwin Carter, 1948
U. S. Statutes as Large
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original composition by Steven E. Weible
American State Papers: Public Lands (ASP:PL)
The Territorial Papers of the United States, compiled by Clarence Edwin Carter, 1948
U. S. Statutes as Large
----------------------------------------
original composition by Steven E. Weible
