Place: Reserve

Notes:

• Reserve No. 45 Case Reserve no. 45 belonged to Elizabeth Allen and Peter Langlois, the case file was not missing. In 1818, their father, Peter Langlois, had reserved this section of land for his two eldest children in Article Three of the Miami Treaty of 1818. This case is also connected to reserve no. 49, which was owned by another Langlois sibling. In January 1838, it was evident that the Office of Indian Affairs had received a request for patents from Peter Langlois and Elizabeth Allen because they said that patents could not be approved due to it not being up to regulation. In July, the deeds were submitted again and A.S. White presented them for presidential approval, saying that the division of land between the two siblings was fair and equal. However, in July 1839, John Pettit asked Thomas Hartley Crawford that the siblings receive their patents for land, but he instructed Pettit to go through the General Land Office. Again in both April 1840 and February 1841, Peter Langlois inquired about patents for him and his sister. Finally, in February 1842, it was recorded that about 1,280 acres had been given to the Langlois Reserve and it was approved. According to a memorandum, the original patents for Peter Langlois and Elizabeth Allen were approved in July 1838, so it is unclear what the additional patents were for in the letters dated after the fact. In February 1844, GLO forwarded a claim about the Langlois Reserve, however there are no other letters in the file that deal with this. In February 1848, Allen was told she had to prove she was an owner of the land in order to sell it to Noah Justice. It is implied that she was able to prove this eventually, as in April, William Medill said that John Pettit had sent him the deed. In June, Medill submitted the deed for presidential approval and stated that Allen sold 30 acres to Justice for $360. This is mentioned in the memorandum, however it was incorrectly labeled as happening in July 1838 instead of 1848. In June 1849, Huff and Ewing asked for presidential approval of a deed from Allen to Alvermas Jackson for $1,200. Timothy Dame certified this deed was true and was bought for a fair price, then Jacob Walker certified that the price of the land was paid in full by Jackson. This was accurate in the memorandum regarding the reserve no. 45 file case. In April 1850, Allen said she sold 100 acres to Alvermas Jackson and 160 acres to Relief Jackson. There was an inquiry as to why the deed was delayed with no formal objections because J.E. McDonald said there should have been no objections. Apparently, Allen had suspended the deeds temporarily, but undid this in October. In July 1851, the deed from Allen to Relief Jackson was approved. According to the memorandum, the sale from Allen to Relief Jackson consisted of 138 acres for $1,905 and was sold in November 1849. In September 1851, Allen sold 50 acres of land to William Weubel (possibly Newbel) and asked for presidential approval. John Pettit said this deed should have no problem being approved. Several letters feature different prices for the land, either $5,250 or $3,250. In October, Luke Lea recommended that this deed was approved. This sale is featured in the memorandum. There were no changes in ownership for the Langlois Reserve until January 1858. At this time, Peter Langlois sold land to Lake Erie, Wabash, and St. Louis RailRoad Company; this was approved by the president. Based on documentation in the reserved no.45 file, this is the first time that Peter Langlois sold land. In September, the Levering Brothers submitted a deed from Allen and her husband, Anthony Hedson, to New Albany and Salem RailRoad Company. However, the Levering Brothers were informed that Allen needed to certify that she was a child of Peter Langlois before they could approve the deed. In March 1859, the Levering Brothers submitted the deed again and explained that Allen had passed away and left no heirs, so the land belonged to Hedson. The deed was approved and returned in May. However, in June the Levering Brothers had not heard back about the deed and inquired about this. In December 1863, a deed from Hedson to Isaac (or Grace -- two different names in several different letters) Vore was submitted to get approval from the president. However, H.W. Chase protested this until he could create a brief about the case. Peter Langlois also protested this. He claimed that him and his sister, Allen, had gotten land patents in 1842. Langlois also claimed that his sister married Hedson, so after she died, he came into ownership of her land. He argued that the sale from Hedson to Vote not be approved since Hedson was not Native American, but was from Germany and had no claim to the land. It is unclear as to what happened with this specific deed. In February 1869, there was an unknown deed regarding the Langlois Reserve submitted, however no other documentation in the file deals with this deed. In August 1863, the OIA sent an approved deed from Elizabeth and Frederick Adams to John Levering, Jacob Gushwa, and Lewis Gushwa. Apparently, Frederick and Elizabeth Adams had submitted a deed for approval for land to Miriam Langlois. Behm, Park, and Behm said in February 1974 that they had not received the deed. However, there is no other information about this in the file. In July 1874, the OIA was sent a deed from Elizabeth and Frederick Adams to Peter L. Langlois and asked for presidential approval. Then in February 1875, a deed was submitted from Permilla Mowbray to William and Jacob Gushwa for one and ¾ acres of land. In March, Elizabeth and Frederick Adams state that the deed they submitted for land to John S. Williams was mistaken and they wanted to correct it. Elizabeth Adams also certified that she was the daughter of Peter Langlois, however it is unclear as to which Peter Langlois. This deed was approved in April. From a letter in May, Williams said he agreed to buy land for $2,500, but he stated that he was buying from Peter Langlois and his wife named Elizabeth. In December 1876, the surveyor for Tippecanoe County said that land from the Langlois Reserve was sold by Permillia and William Mowbray to Addison Braden. In January 1877, this sale was approved by the president. There were no sales until July 1886, when Spring Vale Cemetery purchased 22 acres of land from the Mowbrays for $440. Then again in August, Spring Vale Cemetery bought 50 acres for $1,575. In December 1890, there was a notarized document for a deed from Permilla Mowbray to Jacob Erbele for about 17 acres from the Langlois Reserve. This seems to have been approved in September and October 1891. In September, a deed from Mowbray to Benjamin Raynor was also approved. In June 1892, Permilla and Mowbray said they sold some of their land to the Lafayette Railway Company and submitted testimony that it was paid in full. In July, the request for approval of this deed was asked for again. Then in October, a deed for 28.2 acres for $3,000 from the Mowbrays to Earl Adams was approved. Case Summaries researched and written by Alexa Lawhorn, Miami University, autumn 2021