Sullivan County Land

Earlier in the month I started looking at my files on the Booher and Hampton families (see 4 January 2015's post). I covered the estate of Jacob Booher, and then went off to California for meetings. It has been a busy couple of weeks and now I am able to look closer at the package from the Sullivan County Clerk's Office for the land records of the Booher family.

Jacob's father, my 7th-great-grandfather, John Booher acquired 200 acres of land on Sinking Creek in Sullivan County, Tennessee on 28 March 1791. This qualifies the Boohers for First Families of Tennessee status. John purchased another 600 acres on Sinking Creek in three separate 200 acre transactions on 30 November 1801. John later moved from Sullivan County to Washington County, Virginia on 17 March 1818, where he died on 20 December 1820. John's will was recorded in Washington County and I will have more on that in an upcoming post.

Jacob had his own land records in Sullivan County, first purchasing one acre from Wallace Willoughby on 21 November 1803. He next bought 51 acres on Reedy Creek for $400 on 22 November 1804 from Frederick Whiteman. Jacob bought another property from Willoughby on 21 May 1805, Lot 37 in a place called Greenfield in Sullivan County. Booher purchased another acre from Willoughby on 14 February 1807, in the same town of Greenfield. The land records show this was also on Sinking Creek.

Jacob next acquired 31 acres on the east side of Sinking Creek from George Burkhart. This purchase was made on 21 November 1808. Jacob followed this with a 39 acre purchase on 19 August 1807 for $196 from Henry Sharetts. Jacob then sold his 51 acres on Reedy Creek to William Priestly on 17 August 1812. Jacob and George Burkhart bought 51 acres on Sinking Creek from Henry Sharetts on 16 November 1813. The two men acquired another 10 acres on Sinking Creek from the State of Tennessee on 5 November 1814.

The next big purchase occurred on 20 May 1816, when Jacob bought 134 acres on Sinking Creek from Thomas White for $800. Jacob bought another 20 acres on Sinking Creek from the State of Tennessee on 1 September 1815.

Three years later Jacob bought 330 acres on Conrad Sherolts for $3390, an amazing sum for 1818. Prior to this purchase, Jacob had sold 134 acres to George Burkhart on Sinking Creek for $900, so perhaps that sale helped finance the transaction with Sherolts.

On 14 August 1834, Jacob sold 370 acres to Valentine Devault for $2000. It looks like this was the last of Jacob's land in Sullivan County, and after this sale his family moved to Montgomery County, Indiana.