William Conner Family Indiana 1828.

PRE-EMPTION RIGHT TO WILLIAM CONNER, THE HUSBAND OF AN INDIAN WOMAN OF THE DELAWARE TRIBE IN INDIANA.

The Committee on the Judiciary have taken into consideration the bill referred to them, “granting to William Conner the right of pre-emption to 648 acres of land ;“ and have examined the facts of the case so far as they are disclosed by the documents which accompany the same. The object of the bill is to vest in. William Conner a tract of laud in the State of Indiana, on his paying’ to the receiver of public moneys the sum of $810, in four equal annual installments, the same to be applied, (through the agent of the Delaware tribe of Indians,) to satisfy the claims on said land of Mekinges, (an Indian woman, wife of said William Conner,) and of Jack Conner, Nancy Conner, Harry Conner, James Conner, and William Conner, the children of the said William Conner; the said tract of land having, by an act of Congress of 7th May, 1822, been granted to said William Conner and wife, with remainder over to the said children.

The grounds on which this application rests are briefly these: It appears that in consequence of some services rendered by said William Conner, in negotiating and carrying into effect the treaty with the Delaware tribe of Indians, made at St. Mary’s, in October, 1818, (the proof of which was furnished by the certificates of Jonathan Jennings and Lewis Cass,) Congress passed the act of the 7th May, 1822, entitled “An act granting a tract of land to William Conner and wife, and to their children,” by which it is enacted, “that William Conner be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered to enter, -with the register of the land office at Brookville, without payment, six hundred and forty acres of land, to include his improvements, at a place called the Delaware Towns, in the State of Indiana, which shall be bounded by sectional and divisional lines ; and a patent shall issue for the same to the said William Conner and his wife, (an Indian woman of the Delaware tribe,) for and during the natural lives of the said William Conner and wife, jointly, and to the-survivor of them during the natural life of such survivor, and to their children and legal representatives of any deceased child or children, as tenants in common, the representatives of any deceased child, taking, together, such portion of the land as such child would have been entitled to if he or she had survived the said William Conner and his said wife, and the said land to be vested in the said children and their lawful heirs, in fee simple.”

It appears from the certificate of Robert Hanna, jun., register of the land office at Brookville, that Willlam Conner did, on the 31st August, 1822, regularly enter the said land, under the aforesaid act, in behalf of himself his wife, and children, and has, it is believed, continued in possession of it to the present time, without having taken out a patent for the same.

It further appears that on the removal of the Delaware tribe of Indians to the west of the Mississippi, the wife and children of said Conner accompanied them, leaving him in possession of said laud. Under these circumstances the said William Conner now presents his petition, setting forth that the land can be of no value to the other parties to whom it was granted by the act of 7th May, 1822, inasmuch as they have all left the country, and that in consequence of the limitations contained in said act, it is of littk value to him. He therefore prays that the land may be vested in. him, and by the bill referred to this committee it is proposed to do so, he paying the usual government price for the same, to be distributed among the other parties having an interest therein.

In support of this claim, a petition purporting to be signed by the wife and children of said Conner, and by certain persons calling themselves chiefs of the Delaware tribe, is produced, and several reasons are urged in the petition of Conner himself; to which the Senate is respectfully referred. From the whole view of the case, it appears to the committee that, however just and reasonable the prayer of the petitioner may appear to be, it would not be proper for Congress now to pass an act repealing the act of 1822, and thus attempting to divest the wife and children of William Conner of rights which it was the object of that act to vest in them, more especially as the children of said Conner are still minors, and cannot therefore lawfully give their consent to such an act. If a case can be made out to the satisfaction of any court exercising chancery jurisdiction, showing that it will be for the advantage of miners that an interest held by them in land should be converted into other property, a sale might be ordered, and in such a case proper care would be taken by the court making such order, to protect the rights and interests of the minors; but the committee apprehend that Congress possesses no power to divest such persons of their vested interests, nor do they think that it would be desirable for them to undertake to exercise such power, if they possessed it. The committee are therefore of opinion that the bill “granting to William Conner the right of pre-emption to six hundred and forty-eight acres of laud,” and repealing the act of 7th May, 1822, granting the same tract of land to William Conner and wife, and to their children,” ought not to pass.

A BILL.
JANUARY 29, 1828.

Granting to William Conner the right of preemption to six hundred and forty-eight acres of Land.

Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Sates of America, in Congress as, That William Conner be, and he is hereby, authorized and empow4 ered to enter with the Register of the Land Office at Indianapolis, in the State of Indiana, six hundred and forty-eight acres of land, to include his improvements, at a place called the Delaware Towns, in the said State of Indianá3 which shall be bounded by sectional and divisional lines;, and a patent shall issue for the same to. the said William Conner, upon his paying into the Receiver’s Office of Public Money & for Lands at Indianapolis, the sum of eight hundred and ten dollars, in four equal payments, as follows: The first on the fourth day of July next; and the second, third, and fourth, annually thereafter.

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Receiver of Public Moneys at Indianapolis, so soon as the said William Conner shall have paid the said sum of eight hundred and ten dollars, to give him a final receipt for payment, as in other sales of the public lands, and a receipt in like manner for either of the payments, and report the same to the Commissioner of the General Land Office.

Sec. 3. And he it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, as the paymeats are made, to inform the President of the United States. who is hereby authorized to cause the money to be paid by the Agent or SubAgent of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, to Mekings an Indian woman of the said tribe of Indians, wife of the said William Conner, and to their children, Jack Conner, Nancy Conner, Harry Conner, James Conner, and William Conner, in such proportions, and under such regulations, from time to time, as the President may direct.

Sec. 4. And be it further encictec4 That the act entitled “An act granting a tract of land to William Conner and wife, and to their children,” approved 7th May, 1 8Z2, be, and the
same is, hereby repealed.

William Conner family.

William Conner--father, Richard CONNOR--mother, Margaret BEYER
William Conner born 10 Dec 1777, Schoenbrunn, Tuscarawas, Ohio.
Died 28 Aug 1855, Indiana.

First wife-Mekinges ANDERSON,
Mekinges-father--William ANDERSON--mother Mr. William Anderson.
Married, 1801 Indian Village, Delaware, Ripley, Indiana.
Children: Harry Hamilton CONNER, William CONNER, John CONNER, James CONNER, Eliza CONNER Nancy CONNER.

Second wife. Elizabeth CHAPMAN
Married, 30 Nov 1820 Noblesville, Hamilton, Indiana
Father & Mother unknown.
Children: James CONNER, Elisha Harrington CONNER, Benjamin Franklin CONNER, Lavina (Winship) CONNER, Margaret Ellen (Crans) CONNER, George Franklin CONNER, John Fayette CONNER, Richard James CONNER, William Henry CONNER,
Catherine Russell CONNER, Alexander Hamilton CONNER.