Great Grant Deed

The Path Grant Deed was for lands in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia required by Henderson and company to permit free passage into Kentucky.

The path beginning in East Tennessee into Kentucky was blazed by Daniel Boone for Richard Henderson and is known as the Wilderness Road.

As a result of this meeting, the Cherokee Chief Attacullaculla, a young man and a woman made the journey to Cross Creek, Fayetteville North Carolina to view the goods offered as consideration for the sale.

[11][12] The identities of the Great Grant sellers, three Cherokee Chiefs acting for and on behalf of the Cherokee nation and also signatories to the Path Grant deed were Alla Cullocullah (aka Attacullaculla ), Oconistoto, and Savanooko, being the representatives appointed by the warriors and other head men on behalf of the whole nation.

The names of the various Cherokee chiefs Attacullaculla, Oconistoto and Savanooko are frequently noted as being present at the treaty and as signatories to the deeds.

[14][15][16] The Cherokee had traveled some 150 miles from their Overhill towns to Ft Watauga in great numbers to individually receive a portion of the goods provided in consideration for the sale of the lands.

On April 7, 1775, within three weeks of the treaty's signing, he was on the trail when he learned of attacks by Indians which resulted in the deaths of settlers headed to Kentucky.

On May 9, 1775, Henderson noted in his journal an encounter with Captain Harrod, who had already established his company on the Salt River, well with in the boundaries of the Great Grant.

[21] In modern parlance, The Henderson and Co purchase of the Great Grant lands from the Cherokee Nation may be considered a double scam.

[22] John Adams similarly called it a scheme after receiving James Hogg and his proposal for having the Continental Congress accept Transylvania as the fourteenth colony.

[26] Such notables as George Washington, Sam Adams and Thomas Jefferson weighed in on the matter [27] Henderson believed to the contrary.

He made studies of similar property transactions to develop structure and precedent for Henderson and Co. Henderson went to (sent to) England and obtained legal advice from Lord Mansfield, the great English jurist and future Lord Chancellor, that purchase of lands in American Colonies was not really different than purchasing land in East India and did not require permission of the crown [28] On the other side of the transaction, there were also some problems.

The claim made in the deed said to have been read and understood by the signatory Chiefs and other Cherokee present indicated aboriginal ownership since the beginning of time.

[43] Subsequently in accord with Virginia and the voices of the Watauga settlers demanding clarification of the boundaries, North Carolina nullified the Transylvania Colony and asserted sovereignty over the western territory.

[45] The Virginia Convention having nullified the Great Grant and thus the Transylvania Colony recognized that Richard Henderson & Co. had in fact made a positive effort and some recompense was in order.

But as said Richard Henderson and Company have been at very great expense in making the said purchase, and in settling the said lands, by which this Commonwealth is likely to receive great advantage by increasing its inhabitants, and establishing a barrier against the Indians, it is just and reasonable to allow the said Richard Henderson & Co. a compensation for their trouble and expense.On Tuesday, November 17, these resolution of the House were agreed to by the Senate and a few weeks afterwards- It was enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That all the tract of land situate, lying and being on the waters of the Ohio and Green Rivers, and bounded as follows, to wit: Beginning at the mouth of Green River, thence running up the same twelve and one-half miles, when reduced to a straight line, thence running at right angles with the said reduced lines, twelve and one half miles each side of the river, thence running lines from the termination of the line extended on each side of Green River, at right angles with the same, till the said lines intersect the Ohio, which said river Ohio shall be the western boundary of the said trace, be, and the same is hereby granted the said Richard Henderson & Co., and their heirs as tenants in common, subject to the payment Years later, in 1783, North Carolina determined that Richard Henderson and Co. should be compensated for their efforts and with some portion of the grant lands that were nullified.

A group of North Carolinians led by Richard Henderson from Hillsboro, Orange county[47] sensed opportunity for development of the lands in the far west, of what would become Kentucky.

[48] The Kentucky Geological Survey map of 1889 indicates geographical features controlling the westward travel beyond the Appalachian chain barrier.

It was the long river valleys that provided relatively easily traversed pathways that permitted entry and travel within the vast new territories.

The Virginia Convention was assembled to nullify the Transylvania Colony and to determine how the Richard Henderson and Company should be compensated for their efforts.

Thomas Price was "a noted Indian trader" who accompanied Richard Henderson on a visit to the Cherokee town of Otari to begin negotiations.

That deed was signed by the three Cherokee Chiefs, the Interpreter for the crown Joseph Von who was titled Linquester, and nine witnesses, one of whom was Thomas Price.

The Path Grant provides for a consideration "of the sum of ten thousand pounds lawful money of Great Britton".

"During this year {1767} John Findley a fearless Indian trader from North Carolina accompanied by several comrades visited the West Passing through Upper East Tennessee to the Cumberland Gap he continued his explorations to the Kentucky river"[55] Others, including Daniel Boone followed.

The map by Nikater frequently depicted on the internet correctly indicates the land contained between the rivers as the Great Grant.

That map, however, fails to include a very large boundary that lies to the south and that permits passage into the land bounded by the rivers via the all-important Cumberland Gap.

On April 19, 1775 only one month after the signing of the Great Grant, the shot heard round the world was fired in Concord Massachusetts and the American Revolution began.

Commission to Collect Evidence in behalf of Virginia against persons pretending to have claims for lands within the territory thereof, under deeds and purchases from Indians; & for such purpose given power to summons and examine witnesses under oath and due notice of twenty days being given & c [57]The American revolt of the thirteen colonies was under way The declaration establishing the convention foreshadowed the coming decision.

Henderson, Archibald (1), The Conquest of the Old Southwest, The Romantic Story of the Early Pioneers into Virginia,the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 1740-1790, New York, The century Co, 1920

5th series, Vol VII "A copy of the proceedings of Virginia Convention from June 15th to Nov 19th 1777" Tennessee Historical Society A.C. 443