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Citation:  [Identification of Item], Samuel Davis Papers, MC020, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.

Creator Sketch:

Little is known about Samuel Davis, an attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In 1840 he agreed to pursue the claim of Mrs. Hannah O’Brien against the Republic of Texas for the estate of her husband, Alexander J. O’Brien, a Republic of Texas soldier killed in 1836.  Whether or not Davis was successful is not known.

Scope and Content Note:

Correspondence, a power of attorney, and legal notes record the work of Samuel Davis, attorney, to obtain the head right, land grant, and back pay owed to the Estate of Alexander O’Brien by the government of the Republic of Texas.  Correspondence between Davis and attorneys in Texas, J. De Cordova and James Burke, and Burke’s agent and cousin in Austin, William H. Murrah, discuss the difficulties encountered in pressing claims with the government.  Of tangential interest is Burke’s 1841 letter to Davis in which he encloses “diamonds” found in Texas for Davis to have appraised in Philadelphia. 

Archivist’s Note:

These eight documents were separated from the J. W. Flanagan Collection.

SAMUEL DAVIS PAPERS, 1840 - 1842

Manuscript Collection:  MC020

Size:  8 items

Boxes:  n/a

Inventory

     Series:  Correspondence

     Series:  Legal