Two early Arkansas maps plus about 20 other assorted documents pertaining to land and businesses assets held by Carey Allen Harris (Acting U.S. Sec. of War, Commissioner of Indian Affairs) in Arkansas in the 1830s-40s. Includes a printed plat with hand coloring, showing land owned in Little Rock, Arkansas by G.B. Milligan and J.T. Jones, printed by state printers Woodruff & Pew, circa 1835, approx. 17" x 13 1/2", along with a printed plat of an area with hand drawing showing land owned by Harris along with the now defunct town of Hopefield, Arkansas on the Mississippi River (now part of West Memphis, Arkansas), 7" x 15 3/4". Also includes an 1840 letter from Carey Harris to a General Glasgow regarding a Spanish Claim and a plat; it is unclear if this is related to one of the plats in this lot. <br/><br/>Note: Carey Allen Harris, Sr., was a native of Williamson County, Tennessee, and married the daughter of Abram P. Maury Sr., the founder of Franklin, TN. Harris and Abram P. Maury Jr. founded the Nashville Republican newspaper in 1824. Harris was politically active and a part of President Andrew Jackson's inner circle. He worked as a clerk in the War Department and occasionally served as Acting Secretary of War when Lewis Cass was unavailable. Andrew Jackson appointed Harris Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1836, a post he retained under President Martin Van Buren. <br/><br/>He was involved in the forcible removal of Native Americans from the Southeast, and was forced to resign and return to Tennessee after evidence of his role in a scheme to speculate in Indian allotments came to light in 1838. He died a few years later at the age of 36. Although his political career ended in disgrace, Harris is also remembered for his role in printing "The Western Harmony" in 1824, which marked the beginning of music publishing in Nashville. A state historical marker stands at the site of Harris's former press near Third Avenue in downtown Nashville. NOTE: SEE RELATED LOTS 577 AND 568 IN THIS AUCTION.

PROVENANCE: By descent in the family of Carey A. Harris to current consignor.

CONDITION: All items overall good condition with light toning and minor scattered foxing.