Lot 60
Jefferson, Thomas -- Land Grant Issued to the Father of Civil War Copperhead Leader Clement L. Vallandigham (11743-1826) Third President of the United States (1801-09). Partly-printed document signed "Th: Jefferson" as President, vellum, 8¾ x 15¼", Washington, Nov. 21, 1808. Countersigned by Secretary of State James Madison. Granting to Clement Vallandigham, assignee of William McCready, a quarter lot of land in Steubenville, County of Columbiana, Ohio. Seal is intact at lower left. Age yellowing and wear to vellum. Madison's signature is light but Jefferson's is darker and clearly legible. Very good condition.
The land grant is accompanied by two documents, one a deed, 15½ x 12¼", signed on July 9, 1819 by Clement Vallandigham and his wife Rebecca, selling the land granted by Thomas Jefferson to John Thompson; paper loss affects a few words of text. The second document, also a deed, 15 x 12" is dated Dec. 1, 1835 and signed by William McCready, selling land in Columbiana County to James Thompson. Some dark toning and small tears at horizontal fold, repaired with tape on verso.
The recipient of the Jefferson land grant, Clement Vallandigham, was a Presbyterian minister and the father of the eponymous leader of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. The son's Southern sympathies and opposition to the Federal Government's war policy resulted in his arrest for expressing treasonable sympathy with the enemy. He was court-martialed and sentenced to imprisonment but Lincoln commuted his sentence to banishment behind Confederate lines. Vallandigham did not remain there long and ran for governor of Ohio in 1863 from exile in Canada, but Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg insured his defeat. Estimate Value $3,000 - UP
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| Realized $4,800 |
