Levin Gray
Early settler
Notes:
• Sometimes spelled "Grey". There is documented evidence he was in the Madison County area early in our history (1811). - Record
• We collected notes for both a Levin and a Leven Gray. They might be the same person. - Editor's note
• "There are 136 named land purchase entries by the credit system in 1809 in Margaret Matthews Cowart's book Old Land Records Of Madison County, Alabama. Most of the names are recorded as purchasing more than one section of land (640 acres per section). This was commonly possible due to the credit system of land purchase having been instituted by the U.S. government for Madison County's land sales. The 1809-1811 Receiver's Ledger, Sale of Public Lands, Credit System, Ledger "A", Book No. 101 in Mrs. Cowart's book begins with the first 25 names as: Reuben Windham, Walter Keeble, Stephen Neal, John Wood, Thomas Bibb, Daniel Smith, Leven Gray, Charles Kennedy, John Ridenour, John Gibson, Robert Davis, Levi Hindes, Rudolph Bosheart, Bennett Wood, John W. Hewlett, Robert Davis, Jesse Wilson, Reuben Stone, Benjamin Wilson, Henry Cox, Allen Christian, Moses Vincent, Michael C. Dunn, LeRoy Pope, and Edmond Clements. The only female in that list is name number 39, Mary Rice, who bought one section (32 in Township 1, Range 2E). All of the entries give a place of residence, often not Madison County, which may be the place from which the pioneer had moved or was about to move. Remember that these land sales were conducted in Nashville, TN, as the land office was not moved to Huntsville until 1811. John Hunt's entry is name number 66 in Cowart's list, but some of the names are duplicated, so entry numbers may not be exactly indicative of sequence of purchases." - Heritage
• August 9, 1809: A group of cautiously optimistic buyers gathered in Nashville, Tennessee to purchase land. "Among the anxious bidders were Levi Hinds, Deverux Jarrett, John Ridenaur, Levin Gray, Charles Kennedy, John Gibson, Thomas Bibb, Jesse Wilson, Magnus Teague, Reuben Stone, Robert Davis, Benjamin Busy, James Hewlett and the elusive Rudolph/Robert Boshart.
Fifteen, or more, men were bidding for land in the Three Forks of Flint area. Of that number, six bidders (or one of their relatives) had previously made "application" in January to live on their specific parcels, and they were ready to finalize their plans. When the day was over, ten people encountered no competition and paid the minimum $2 per acre. According to predetermined conditions of five percent down payment and liberal credit arrangements, they each walked away with a claim to one-quarter section of land.
Four bidders faced opposition and perhaps had to re-evaluate their financial investment. Levin Gray was fortunate to pay only eleven cents more per acre than he had planned. Jesse Wilson's final bid on a tract, located 2.5 miles south of the Three Forks, was $4.40 per acre. If Benjamin Busy placed bids on the tract where he had lived as a 'tenant at will' since January, someone else bought it. He bid and bought another quarter section some distance away, but like other squatters he later assigned it to another interested buyer. The situation was different for John Ridenaur who bid to own a potential waterpower site on the Briar Fork of the Flint. While others pondered the same idea, they did not contest Ridenaur's final bid of $4 per acre. Like Busy, however, he later assigned to still another buyer.
One half of the August 9th purchasers of the Three Forks area paid the five percent down and may or may not have returned in forty days with the required twenty percent payment. Some later time, for reasons known only to them, they assigned their interest and claim to land they may have begun to improve. Some assignments were made as a result of financial necessity. Some buyers were restless and decided to take a chance on finding cheaper land. The very speculative nature of the situation caught people in a credit trap before they realized how far reaching the effects would be.
Elder Bennett Wood was possibly the most ambitious contender of the Three Forks of Flint bidders. It appeared that he was determined to locate a sufficient waterpower site on the Flint River. Additionally, he needed the adjacent fertile land, not only to diversify, but also to serve as a deterrent to disputes over a possible flooding millpond. Wood's buying power surpassed them all. He bid, unopposed, on five quarter sections. Like his new neighbors, he paid his five percent down and took the friendly credit arrangements." - HMCHS
• There is a marriage recorded in Madison County, Alabama between Levin T. Gray and Sarah A. Cartwright on November 15, 1837. It might be the Levin purchasing land in the Mississippi Territory. - MCRC
Related Links:
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• HMCHS
• Record
Notes:
• Sometimes spelled "Grey". There is documented evidence he was in the Madison County area early in our history (1811). - Record
• We collected notes for both a Levin and a Leven Gray. They might be the same person. - Editor's note
• "There are 136 named land purchase entries by the credit system in 1809 in Margaret Matthews Cowart's book Old Land Records Of Madison County, Alabama. Most of the names are recorded as purchasing more than one section of land (640 acres per section). This was commonly possible due to the credit system of land purchase having been instituted by the U.S. government for Madison County's land sales. The 1809-1811 Receiver's Ledger, Sale of Public Lands, Credit System, Ledger "A", Book No. 101 in Mrs. Cowart's book begins with the first 25 names as: Reuben Windham, Walter Keeble, Stephen Neal, John Wood, Thomas Bibb, Daniel Smith, Leven Gray, Charles Kennedy, John Ridenour, John Gibson, Robert Davis, Levi Hindes, Rudolph Bosheart, Bennett Wood, John W. Hewlett, Robert Davis, Jesse Wilson, Reuben Stone, Benjamin Wilson, Henry Cox, Allen Christian, Moses Vincent, Michael C. Dunn, LeRoy Pope, and Edmond Clements. The only female in that list is name number 39, Mary Rice, who bought one section (32 in Township 1, Range 2E). All of the entries give a place of residence, often not Madison County, which may be the place from which the pioneer had moved or was about to move. Remember that these land sales were conducted in Nashville, TN, as the land office was not moved to Huntsville until 1811. John Hunt's entry is name number 66 in Cowart's list, but some of the names are duplicated, so entry numbers may not be exactly indicative of sequence of purchases." - Heritage
• August 9, 1809: A group of cautiously optimistic buyers gathered in Nashville, Tennessee to purchase land. "Among the anxious bidders were Levi Hinds, Deverux Jarrett, John Ridenaur, Levin Gray, Charles Kennedy, John Gibson, Thomas Bibb, Jesse Wilson, Magnus Teague, Reuben Stone, Robert Davis, Benjamin Busy, James Hewlett and the elusive Rudolph/Robert Boshart.
Fifteen, or more, men were bidding for land in the Three Forks of Flint area. Of that number, six bidders (or one of their relatives) had previously made "application" in January to live on their specific parcels, and they were ready to finalize their plans. When the day was over, ten people encountered no competition and paid the minimum $2 per acre. According to predetermined conditions of five percent down payment and liberal credit arrangements, they each walked away with a claim to one-quarter section of land.
Four bidders faced opposition and perhaps had to re-evaluate their financial investment. Levin Gray was fortunate to pay only eleven cents more per acre than he had planned. Jesse Wilson's final bid on a tract, located 2.5 miles south of the Three Forks, was $4.40 per acre. If Benjamin Busy placed bids on the tract where he had lived as a 'tenant at will' since January, someone else bought it. He bid and bought another quarter section some distance away, but like other squatters he later assigned it to another interested buyer. The situation was different for John Ridenaur who bid to own a potential waterpower site on the Briar Fork of the Flint. While others pondered the same idea, they did not contest Ridenaur's final bid of $4 per acre. Like Busy, however, he later assigned to still another buyer.
One half of the August 9th purchasers of the Three Forks area paid the five percent down and may or may not have returned in forty days with the required twenty percent payment. Some later time, for reasons known only to them, they assigned their interest and claim to land they may have begun to improve. Some assignments were made as a result of financial necessity. Some buyers were restless and decided to take a chance on finding cheaper land. The very speculative nature of the situation caught people in a credit trap before they realized how far reaching the effects would be.
Elder Bennett Wood was possibly the most ambitious contender of the Three Forks of Flint bidders. It appeared that he was determined to locate a sufficient waterpower site on the Flint River. Additionally, he needed the adjacent fertile land, not only to diversify, but also to serve as a deterrent to disputes over a possible flooding millpond. Wood's buying power surpassed them all. He bid, unopposed, on five quarter sections. Like his new neighbors, he paid his five percent down and took the friendly credit arrangements." - HMCHS
• There is a marriage recorded in Madison County, Alabama between Levin T. Gray and Sarah A. Cartwright on November 15, 1837. It might be the Levin purchasing land in the Mississippi Territory. - MCRC
Related Links:
• Heritage - The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, page 48.
• HMCHS - A History of Early Settlement: Madison County Before Statehood, 1808-1819, 2008, page 113.
• MCRC - Madison County Records Center, marriage
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentially of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, page 523.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• HMCHS
• Record