#headrights

[transientgradation]

[moomeecore]

on that subject, obsessed with today when i was like "hey guys, can you two stop playing the jumping game for now because it's giving caden a headache" and my 6 yr old cousin is like "you mean 'me'. it's giving 'me' a headache, because your caden". it's like yeah man ur right. my bad . and then they stopped jumping. it was awesome

[kemetic-dreams]

Anthony Johnson (c. 1600 – 1670) was a man known for achieving wealth in the early 17th-century Colony of Virginia. Born in Angola, he was one of the first African Americans whose right to own a slave for life was recognized by the Virginia courts. Held as an indentured servant in 1621, he earned his freedom after several years, and was granted land by the colony.

He later became a tobacco farmer in Maryland. He attained great wealth after completing his term as an indentured servant, and has been referred to as "'the African patriarch' of the first community of Negro property owners in America"

In the early 1620s, Portuguese slave traders captured the man who would later be known as Anthony Johnson in Portuguese Angola, named him António, and sold him into the Atlantic slave trade. António was bought by a colonist in Virginia. As an indentured servant, António worked for a merchant at the Virginia Company. He was also received into the Roman Catholic Church

He sailed to Virginia in 1621 aboard the James. The Virginia Muster (census) of 1624 lists his name as "Antonio not given," recorded as "a Negro" in the "notes" column. Historians have some dispute as to whether this was the same António later known as Anthony Johnson, as the census lists several men named "Antonio Johnson was sold as an indentured servant to a white planter named Bennet to work on his Virginia tobacco farm. (Slave laws were not passed until 1661 in Virginia; prior to that date, Africans were not officially considered to be slaves)

Such workers typically worked under a limited indenture contract for four to seven years to pay off their passage, room, board, lodging, and freedom dues. In the early colonial years, most Africans in the Thirteen Colonies were held under such contracts of limited indentured servitude. With the exception of those indentured for life, they were released after a contracted period. Those who managed to survive their period of indenture would receive land and equipment after their contracts expired or were bought out. Most white laborers in this period also came to the colony as indentured servants.

António changed his name to Anthony Johnson. He first entered the legal record as an unindentured man when he purchased a calf in 1647.

Johnson was granted a large plot of farmland by the colonial government after he paid off his indentured contract by his labor. On July 24, 1651, he acquired 250 acres (100 ha) of land under the headright system by buying the contracts of five indentured servants, one of whom was his son, Richard Johnson. The headright system worked in such a way that if a man were to bring indentured servants over to the colonies (in this particular case, Johnson brought the five servants), he was owed 50 acres a "head", or servant. 

The land was located on the Great Naswattock Creek, which flowed into the Pungoteague River in Northampton County, Virginia.

With his own indentured servants, Johnson ran his own tobacco farm. In fact, one of those servants, John Casor, would later become one of the first African men to be declared indentured for life.

Though Casor was the first person who was declared a slave in a civil case, there were both black and white indentured servants sentenced to lifetime servitude before him. Many historians describe indentured servant John Punch as the first documented slave (or slave for life) in America, as punishment for escaping his captors in 1640. It is considered one of the first legal cases to make a racial distinction between black and white indentured servants

                        Significance of Casor lawsuit

The Casor lawsuit demonstrates the culture and mentality of planters in the mid-17th century. Individuals made assumptions about the society of Northampton County and their place in it. According to historians T.H. Brean and Stephen Innes, Casor believed he could form a stronger relationship with his patron Robert Parker than Anthony Johnson had formed over the years with his patrons. Casor considered the dispute to be a matter of patron-client relationship, and this wrongful assumption resulted in his losing his case in court and having the ruling against him. Johnson knew that the local justices shared his basic belief in the sanctity of property. The judge sided with Johnson, although in future legal issues, race played a larger role.

The Casor lawsuit was an example of how difficult it was for Africans who were indentured servants to prevent being reduced to slavery. Most Africans could not read and had almost no knowledge of the English language. Planters found it easy to force them into slavery by refusing to acknowledge the completion of their indentured contracts. This is what happened in Johnson v. Parker. Although two white planters confirmed that Casor had completed his indentured contract with Johnson, the court still ruled in Johnson's favor.

In this early period, free blacks enjoyed "relative equality" with the white community. About 20% of free black Virginians owned their own homes. In 1662 the Virginia Colony passed a law that children in the colony were born with the social status of their mother, according to the Roman principle of partus sequitur ventrem. This meant that the children of slave women were born into slavery, even if their fathers were free, European, Christian, and white. This was a reversal of English common law, which held that the children of English subjects took the status of their father. The Virginian colonial government expressed the opinion that since Africans were not Christians, common law could not and did not apply to them

[olowan-waphiya]

It's not everyday that you see Indigenous people own the red carpet at the Cannes International Film Festival, but that was the scene at the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon. Some showed off the fashions of Indigenous designers and others wore traditional dress.

The film tells the story of a traumatic chapter in Osage Nation history. It's based on David Grann's non-fiction book about a series of brutal murders that took place in Oklahoma in the 1920s targeting Osage people for their headrights — a share of the mineral rights to their oil-rich land.

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Killers of the Flower Moon (Scorsese, 2023)

This review contains spoilers.

I like how petty Scorsese allows the characters' greed to come across. It isn't enough that they execute a murderous scheme to steal the Osage tribe's headrights, they rob graves for the deceased's jewels, argue about an insurance policy and dispute whether they gave somebody $20 or $1.50 to help them out. To quote the main character before he immediately gambles away his stolen gains, "I love money! I love money!"

The flashes to Di Caprio's crimes reminded me of The Wolf of Wall Street and the flash cut to a minor character's suicide to suggest the ability to compartmentalize. I'd like to rewatch the movie to see how well this tracks, but I got the sense that the harder and harder it became to hide his involvement, the clearer his face became in those scenes. But if I remember correctly, his face is always seen clearly as he's poisoning his wife's insulin injections. It's the one thing I think he fully knows is wrong, and I think one of the tragedies here is that he can't or won't grasp how this is at odds with his love for his wife.

While I wouldn't call this or The Irishman didactic, I think Scorsese has become more concerned in recent years of how his films have been misinterpreted. Both films take the excitement out of the evil depicted, and this one, with its radio show coda, is especially pointed about how tragedy can be exploited for glib entertainment. And in a similarly educative vein, I found it interesting that he frames the proceedings in ways that can be grasped by those not inclined to care about such injustices. The Osage's anxieties are voiced in ways that might be understood by those sympathetic to white racial resentment, and the extent and depth to which the white community and their institutions have been weaponized against the Osage people are laid out in ways that seem both methodical but also emotional. Almost every great character actor who you might be pleasantly surprised to see (and there are a lot in this movie) is revealed to be complicit.

[raointean]

Okay, you know what? Bill Smith appreciation post!

This guy was the coolest fucking dude! We don't know much about him (no date of birth, no obituary, nothing written by him) but we DO know his role in the Osage murders of the 1920's.

For those who don't know, in the 1920's, a guy named William Hale orchestrated a series of murders to kill anywhere from 20 to 60 Osage tribe members and steal their oil headrights. At that time, the Osage were the richest people per capita IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! So we're talking A LOT of money.

Anyway, Bill Smith went before the Osage tribal council after the first few murders to call for justice. Everyone was terrified and paranoid, of course, and many people blamed an evil spirit. Smith protested vehemently, famously saying "No! There is no evil spirit except one in human form." Unfortunately, not even he was brave enough to name the people he (correctly) suspected: William Hale and Ernest Burkhart.

Now here's where things get REALLY interesting. Hale, the mastermind, was SO THREATENED by this guy that he became absolutely DESPERATE to kill him. He approached several different men, some multiple times, asking them to carry out the hit. And then, he did it in the most public way possible by blowing up Smith's house!

Smith didn't even die instantly like his wife and their servant. He survived another two days in the hospital. Those two days were long enough for him to say that his only enemies in the world were Ernest Burkhart and William Hale, instantly throwing suspicion on them.

Not only was his death the final straw for the Osage tribal council before asking the feds for help, several of the guys Hale approached to kill him came forward during the investigation! I genuinely believe that, without Bill Smith, the Osage murder case would NEVER have been solved!

Source: I'm studying the Osage murders for my Comp 2 class. If anyone wants more specific sources, I'd be happy link them

[dweemeister]

NOTE: This write-up contains full spoilers after the fifth paragraph.

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Leading up to the theatrical release of Killers of the Flower Moon, director Martin Scorsese went on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to present an evening of films that inspired his approach to his latest work. The first film of that evening's primetime schedule was the short silent film The Last of the Line (1914), directed by Jay Hunt. That Western short film starred a cast of almost entirely composed of Oglala Lakota actors alongside Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa (a major silent film star) playing the chief's son, Tsuru Aoki as an American Indian woman, and various white actors as U.S. Cavalrymen. It is an unusual piece, as it is presented almost entirely from the Lakota chief's (Joe Goodboy) perspective. Both Killers of the Flower Moon and The Last of the Line tell tales in which the ways of white Americans subsume the traditions of and irrevocably traumatize American Indians.

Unlike The Last of the Line, Killers of the Flower Moon, distributed by Paramount and Apple, is based on actual events. Adapting David Grann’s nonfiction book of the same name, Killers of the Flower Moon concentrates on the Osage Reign of Terror – a series of murders of Osage tribespeople, relations, and allies in 1920s Oklahoma. In addition to the lives of the Osage and the perpetrators of these crimes, much of Grann’s book also documents the rise of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI, which became the FBI), as they were instrumental in the investigation in a fraction of these murders. By his admission, Martin Scorsese said that his and Eric Roth’s (1995’s Forrest Gump, 2021’s Dune) initial drafts of the screenplay concentrated too largely on its white characters. Recalling his viewing of The Last of the Line back in his university days, Scorsese thought it wise to consult with members of the Osage Nation (Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear was especially helpful) over how he might better depict Osage perspectives, and empower their voices.

Scorsese is not entirely successful in this respect, and I think he would be the first to agree that he could have highlighted the Osage characters with greater attention, despite the commercial and executive constraints on this production. Scorsese would also probably be the first to agree that he is not the most appropriate person to tell the story of the Osage Reign of Terror, as he all but acknowledges in the film’s closing moments. In spite of this, Killers of the Flower Moon represents extraordinary moral and personal growth from Scorsese in how he depicts criminals and their victims. It is a delicately made film that interrogates how avarice and casual racism can lead to unconscionably serial violence – a saga not exclusive to any one American Indian tribe.

For generations before Europeans sailed to the New World, the Osage people roamed the southern Great Plains, in what are now the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The annihilation of the American bison and the Indian Wars led to the Osage’s removal to a reservation on land that the U.S. federal government considered worthless (that reservation is coterminous with Osage County, Oklahoma). The discovery of oil on Osage territory in 1894 saw the Osage, by the 1920s, become some of the richest people per capita in the United States. After that historical context, we find World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returning stateside to take a job with his uncle, William King Hale (Robert De Niro), on Hale’s vast ranch. Hale, an important force in local affairs, is a friend to the Osage – he even haltingly speaks their language. Some time after, Ernest begins courting Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), a full-blooded Osage who, along with her family members, owns various oil headrights. Ernest and Mollie marry. Following their marriage, a rash of homicides of wealthy Osage sends torrents of fear through the tribal community – attracting the federal government’s attention after only far too much death.

The sizable ensemble cast also includes Jesse Plemons as Tom White, a former Texas Ranger turned BOI Agent; Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie, Mollie’s mother; John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser as the competing attorneys in the murder trials; Cara Jade Myers, Janae Collins, and Jillian Dion as Mollie’s sisters Anna, Rita, and Minnie. Only Indigenous Americans played the indigenous roles, speaking or not – also including William Belleau, Tatanka Means, Everett Waller, and the late Larry Sellers.

It is not often that I cite a film for a lack of exposition, but that is a concern early on here. Scorsese and Roth’s screenplay poorly explains a mechanism contributing to the motivations of these murders. In response to sensationalized reporting from white-owned news media about the Osage’s wealth, the federal government forced full-blooded (and some partial-blooded) Osage to enter into financial guardianships – effectively deeming them a second-class citizen or an “incompetent”, unable to spend a certain amount of money without their white guardian’s permission. In a film that progressively unfolds the plotting of its perpetrators, this is among the most malignant practices in asserting white control over the Osage. The lack of much explanation here is an unnecessary complication for non-readers already attempting to keep track of the dramatis personae and digest the various subplots of the film’s sprawling 206 minutes.

Additionally, the film does not concentrate on its Osage characters to the extent some would prefer. As various Indigenous Americans have commented, such an approach by Scorsese and Roth ensures that the film’s intended audience are all those who are not indigenous. We see little of Osage life outside of moments of racial abuse, violence, and funerals. Killers of the Flower Moon makes no attempt to explain how the formally educated Osage of Mollie’s generation (including Mollie herself) were taught in schools that forbade the speaking of the Osage language, attempting to “reform” American Indian children to fit into white society.

Yet the audience glimpses other moments: naming ceremonies, the merger of Catholic and Osage traditions in significant life events (such as marriage), and even the ritual dance in the film’s final moments. In these fragments of Osage customs, it is also noticeable how much these naming ceremonies, marriages, funerals, and other more mundane moments become less grounded in the old practices over time. The bittersweet moment where Mollie’s mother, Lizzie, meets and walks away with her departed ancestors is the moment where, for this film’s purposes, the Osage’s disconnection to the past becomes pronounced. Mollie and her fellow Osage attempt to adhere to those customs, but, with the passing of elders like her mother, the Osage ways from time immemorial are all but consigned to the history books. The depiction of the Osage is always respectful, avoiding damaging and noble stereotypes.

Despite the lack of deeper Osage representation, this is not to say the filmmakers waste an excellent Lily Gladstone as Mollie (the film’s moral center). As Mollie, who has diabetes, begins to suffer from the effects of intentionally tarnished batches of insulin, Gladstone’s involvement with the narrative recedes in the film’s closing act. But before that, Gladstone plays Mollie wonderfully with self-assured posture and gait, sly and understated humor, and a piercing silent glance at critical moments. Juxtaposed with DiCaprio’s portrayal of Ernest, one has to wonder how Mollie falls for him. If Gladstone’s performance reminds some of Olivia de Havilland’s in The Heiress (1949), that is no coincidence (Gladstone also physically resembles de Havilland somewhat). Scorsese’s portrayal of Mollie and Ernest’s relationship contains revelations and moments similar to that found in The Heiress, and that film was an invaluable reference for Scorsese and his lead actors during production.

This is not so much a glimpse into the Osage way of life in 1920s Oklahoma as it is an interrogation of how white American racism (the perpetrators, at least in this treatment, are all white) led to a series of murders committed and discussed nonchalantly. Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is more concerned with how Ernest Burkhart’s and William Hale’s obsession for wealth leads them to conspire to kill Osage tribespeople for their oil headrights. Hale is the ringleader in the murders of at least two dozen Osage (De Niro is appropriately loathsome despite playing someone who should be middle-aged); the easily-manipulated Ernest (a solid outing by DiCaprio) one of many conspirators abiding by Hale’s orders.

Scorsese has long depicted American organized crime in films like Mean Streets (1973), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Irishman (2019). Since The Departed (2006), there has been a noticeable evolution in how Scorsese frames his criminal protagonists. All of these films, to some extent, concern themselves with how unchecked male egos – rife with delusions of self-grandeur and sexual gratification – descend into violence and moral depravity. Yet over the last decade and a half in films like The Departed and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), but especially The Irishman, Scorsese has leaned into his Catholic upbringing to express his characters’ sense of profound guilt. Whether or not there is true repentance in the face of their actions stirs open questions and vociferous debates about the morality of these characters or, sometimes, Scorsese’s filmmaking itself.

As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. Ecclesiastes 10:1

It does not happen often in the film, but Scorsese shows both De Niro’s Hale, DiCaprio’s Ernest, and their fellow conspirators swatting away flies multiple times in Killers of the Flower Moon – usually just after or before committing or discussing a murder or some other heinous action. Flies appear to indicate the corrupted souls of this film, a Biblical personification of sin and lack of remorse. The white characters' casual conversations about violence against the Osage and their refusal to take responsibility for all of their misdeeds – including Ernest, despite testifying against his uncle at the federal trial – suggests that such attitudes towards American Indians were widely-held. Though the U.S. government is no longer engaging in a formal war against Indigenous Americans and Klansmen no longer parade down the streets of Osage County without anyone blinking an eye, a violent epidemic against Indigenous Americans still persists.

The tremendous efforts of BOI Agent Tom White and the federal prosecutors to bring Hale, Ernest, and their associates to justice were a drop in the bucket in respect to sheer amount of suspicious deaths among the Osage from the late 1910s to the early 1930s. Scores, perhaps hundreds, of other murders or Osage tribespeople were never investigated or listed inaccurately as accidents, suicide, or reasons unknown. One aspect of the narrative that Scorsese holds over the book’s original author, David Grann, is that Scorsese’s treatment repudiates any notion of a white savior. Scorsese downplays White’s role, in comparison to his treatment in Grann’s book (which, because it is also a chronicle of the rise of what would become the FBI, reads almost like a procedural). It is the Osage who save themselves – they are the ones who gather the money to lobby and pay for the federal investigation.

Scorsese’s collaborators behind the camera provide incredible artistry. Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (2000’s Amores perros, The Irishman) has had a banner year, alongside his work on Barbie (2023). Prieto demonstrates a visual mastery in a variety of scenarios: widescreen landscapes of the prairies with oil derricks far in the background, sweeping crane and dolly shots in scenes teeming with activity, and tense closeups of white and Osage faces. But what would Prieto’s work be without editor Thelma Schoonmaker (1980’s Raging Bull, 2011’s Hugo)? Schoonmaker, a Scorsese regular, can take what, on paper, should be a meandering narrative and turn it into a movie with a distinctive rhythm and storytelling efficiency – even if it runs almost three-and-a-half hours. To keep Killers of the Flower Moon’s 206 minutes (without intermission, which I find ableist even though I never left my seat in the cinema) comprehensible and never tedious is among Schoonmaker’s crowning achievements an editor.

Meanwhile, costume designer Jacqueline West (2001’s Quills, 2022’s Dune) asked Julie O��Keefe, an Osage Nation member, to serve as a costume cultural adviser. Together, the two called upon the Osage Nation to help in researching what the Osage would have worn in the 1920s. West, for her work in The Revenant (2015), had previously undertaken research on the clothing of Plains Indians. But collaborating with O’Keefe made West realize how the costume design in Killers of the Flower Moon needed to be specifically Osage. Osage artisans sewed together all the Osage blankets, garments, and shawls seen in this film. The unusual collaboration between West and O’Keefe lends to Killers of the Flower Moon a visual authenticity magnificent to behold.

When it comes to music in a Martin Scorsese movie, Scorsese tends to rely on preexisting music to establish the setting. Noteworthy original scores are not a given in Scorsese films (Bernard Herrmann’s score to 1976’s Taxi Driver and Howard Shore’s for Hugo the outliers). Robbie Robertson (guitarist/songwriter for The Band, in addition to his solo Americana music and rock career) is the composer here, but his score barely warrants notice. Like O’Keefe, Robertson also collaborated with Osage musicians to implement their musical traditions with his blues-influenced electric guitar. The electric guitar and Hammond organ lines might, in other hands, be glaringly anachronistic and inappropriate for the purposes of a project like Killers of the Flower Moon. However, Scorsese elects for minimal use of music, relegating Robertson’s score as nothing but aural wallpaper to fit a scene – without narrative or thematic development, in service of “vibes”. Most modern film critics might consider this “effective” composing; I deem it uninteresting in the context of the movie and otherwise. If anything, the music that stands out most in this film was composed and performed by the Osage themselves.

The criminals inhabiting a Scorsese movie used to, despite their deeds, possess a swagger to their criminality. Since The Irishman, that criminal swagger is no longer. With the depiction of the Osage characters and their loved ones, Scorsese offers the viewpoints of the victim’s survivors to a substantial degree for the first time. Though perhaps not as developed as one might wish, to include these views is a sort of personal artistic penitence for Scorsese.

In the penultimate scene of Killers of the Flower Moon, we find ourselves in a production of the radio show The Lucky Strike Hour, with the performers wrapping up an episode covering the Osage Reign of Terror. The Lucky Strike Hour was produced in conjunction with the BOI/FBI to dramatize real-life cases. The program lionized J. Edgar Hoover (who headed the BOI/FBI from 1924-1972) and glorified the processes of the Bureau and policing at-large. One by one, the performers read off the fates of the main figures to wind down the epilogue: the Shoun brothers; Byron Burkhart (Ernest’s younger brother); Ernest; Hale. Finally, up steps Martin Scorsese to the microphone, breaking the fourth wall. He reads a few sentences about Mollie. Mollie Burkhart remarried after divorcing Ernest and died of diabetes in 1937. Despite the murders of her sisters, potential murder her mother, and Ernest’s confession, her obituary made no mention of the Osage murders.

Scorsese looks at the audience.

Cut to a modern-day Osage ceremony. So they remain.

For more than a century, Hollywood films concerning American Indians like The Last of the Line and Killers of the Flower Moon have been told by non-indigenous storytellers. Similar situations exist in other narrative artforms. These works have almost always been narratives about the damage done to Indigenous Americans’ lives due to the encroachment of non-indigenous people. As honestly and nobly as Jay Hunt and Martin Scorsese attempted to make a movie about American Indians, there is a moral dilemma in presenting Indian suffering as a form of entertainment. Scorsese acknowledges this in his reading of Mollie’s epilogue, reclaiming that space from the radio show away from J. Edgar Hoover and the BOI/FBI.

In a film industry so rife with performative nods to diversity without due action, he also must have intuited this dilemma of depicting Indigenous American suffering when he first approached the Osage Nation for assistance on this movie. So why bother to make Killers of the Flower Moon if he is not the most suitable person to tell a story that concerns the Osage?

My answer might not be the one you wish to read. The environment that fosters narrative art, in any medium, prefers dramatic obligations over moral ones. Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is an attempt to bend that dynamic – to expose, in harsh lighting, the complicity of those who facilitated these murders and those who, even to the slightest degree, benefitted from these tragic events. Those beneficiaries include Martin Scorsese and his non-indigenous cast and crew for making this film. Perhaps this sort of moralism is too absolute for you, the reader. Yet, with those final moments of Killers of the Flower Moon, such questions were certainly on the filmmakers’ minds. It is a perilously risky ending that I found deserved and poignant.

The Osage of Reign of Terror was once an American media sensation. Before the publication of Grann’s book and in the century since, it has largely been forgotten outside members of the Osage Nation. It is valuable to debate who should author something like Killers of the Flower Moon (the book and the movie) and how they do so. The greater good is that we learn about the inhumanity of these murders and the humanity of the victims and those who tried to stop these killings. The winds across the Oklahoma prairie whisper in remembrance, and the least we should do is listen.

My rating: 9.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[geneajournals]

Georgia Land Lots - A key to researching deeds

I first encountered the term land lot in the Early County, Georgia Tax Digest. As I transcribed the tax information on Mingo Bryant I noted the land lot number and did not give it any thought. Little did I know that this was the key component for Georgia property records. Land lots are unique to Georgia.

Georgia Land Lots

After the American Revolution, the new state of Georgia experienced an influx of people seeking their fortunes.  Fueled by the invention of the cotton gin, cotton became the major cash crop.[1]  The state of Georgia coveted the Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) territories for expansion of the plantation system. Increasing the population of Georgia would ultimately increase the state’s political power in Congress.[2]

 

Georgia. Drawn by S. Lewis. D. Fairman sc. (Boston: Published by Thomas & Andrews. 1812). Shows Cherokee and Muscogee territory. [3]

Over a period of time Georgia  obtained ancestral Cherokee and Muscogee lands. In 1803 the state of Georgia devised a Land Lottery system to redistribute the land to white settlers.  As Georgia gained aboriginal domains, new counties were created by the Georgia Assembly. Land within the county was surveyed and divided into districts.  Each district was subdivided into numbered land lots.[4]

Georgia held eight land lotteries between 1805 and 1833.  The lands west of the Oconee River and south of the Altamaha River were distributed in lotteries prior to 1833.[5]  Each lottery had different size land lots, eligibility and fees.  

Early County was created in 1818 from Muscogee (Creek) lands.  It was part of the third land lottery which took place in 1820.[6]  The original county was divided into districts 1 to 28 (except 24 and 25).  Each land lot was 250 acres and the grant fee was $18.00 per land lot.[7]  Click on the link 1820 Land Lottery for additional information.

1830 map of Early County, Georgia showing land districts. [8]

Early County, Georgia, District 6

Look at this MAP to view the 1820 District Plat survey of Early County, District 6.  Click on the double headed arrow to expand the map. This will enable you to zoom in and see the actual land lot numbers.

Several of my ancestors are recorded living in District 6, Early County Georgia in the 1870 U. S. Census. So far my only ancestors associated with a land lot number are my 2nd great-grandparents, Mingo and Jane Bryant.  In the 1879-1881 and 1883-1884 Early County tax digests Mingo is recorded in District 6 with 250 acres real estate, [land lot] no. 223. [9]

Beginning in 1885 Jane Bryant appears in the Early County, Georgia Property Tax Digest as follows:

Now I have a land district and land lot number for Jane Bryant.  My next step will be to search for a deed to the property.

The state of Georgia still uses districts and land lots in legal descriptions of land.  Georgia requirements for property surveys specify,  “The land lot, district, section, militia district number (in Headright Grant areas), city (if known to be within the city limits) and county shall be called out in said description.” [13]   A  legal description of land in a Georgia deed consists of the land lot, district, lot number and a recorded plat map.  A more detailed legal land description has details of the metes and bounds in lieu of the recorded plat map. [14]

Sources

Wikipedia contributors, "Eli Whitney," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eli_Whitney&oldid=1158507059 : accessed July 31, 2023).

Wikipedia contributors, "Georgia Land Lotteries," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georgia_Land_Lotteries&oldid=1132885851 : accessed 31 July 2023).

“Georgia,” digital image, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~31711~1150506:Georgia : accessed 31 July 2023), citing A New and Elegant General Atlas. Comprising All The New Discoveries, To The Present Time. Containing Sixty Three Maps, Drawn by Arrowsmith and Lewis (Boston: Thomas & Andrews, 1812), map 45.

District Plats of Survey, Survey Records, Surveyor General, RG 3-3-24, imaged as "District plats of survey." 1805/1833. Georgia Archives (http://cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm/landingpage/collection/dmf. : accessed 29 July 2023).

“Schley County, GAGenWeb Project Page -- Land.” the GAGenWeb Project ( https://sites.rootsweb.com/~gaschley/land.htm : accessed 1 August 2023).

Lucian Lamar Knight, A Standard History of Georgia and Georgians, Volume I (Chicago: New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1917), p. 488, digital images, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books : accessed 29 July 2023).

“Third or 1820 Georgia Land Lottery”, Georgia Gen Web, Crawford County Georgia (http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ga/county/crawford1/Land/thirdlottery1820.htm : accessed 30 July 2023).

Carlton Wellborn, Orange Green and W.Hoogland, Map of the state of Georgia, drawn from actual surveys and the most authentic information. (New York: W. Hoogland, 1830); digital image, Library of Congress (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3920.tr000287 : accessed 3 August 2023); clip of Early County, Georgia.

Early County, Georgia, "Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892,"  all years read for entries relating to Mingo Bryant; consulted as "Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892"; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Sep 2021) > Early > 1878-1882 > images 120, 247, 391, 537 and 688 of 702. 

Early County, Georgia, Tax Rolls 1883-1887, unpaginated entries arranged chronologically, all years read for entries relating to Jane Bryant; consulted as "Georgia, U.S., Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892"; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 19 Sep 2021); Images 427, 577 and 733.

Ibid

Early County, Georgia, 1890 Tax Book, Damascus Militia District 854, entry for Jane Bryant; digitized in "Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892", database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 Apr 2021) Early > 1890 > Image 157; citing Georgia Tax Digests [1890], Georgia Archives,  Morrow, Georgia.  

Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, electronic edition, Georgia Secretary of State (https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/180-7 : accessed 1 August 2023), Technical Standards For Property Surveys,  “Rule 180-7-.02 Land Titles and Location.”

John Bennett, “Georgia Real Estate Legal Descriptions,”  post, Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/georgia-real-estate-legal-descriptions-john-bennett# : published 8 May 2023).

[lightgaswaterelectricityrent]

Then there was the case of Sybil Bolton, an Osage from Pawhuska who was under the guardianship of her white stepfather. On November 7, 1925, Bolton—whom a local reporter described as “one of the most beautiful girls ever reared in the city”—was found with a fatal bullet in her chest. Her death, at twenty-one, was reported by her stepfather to be a suicide, and the case was quickly closed without even an autopsy. In 1992, Bolton’s grandson Dennis McAuliffe Jr., an editor at the Washington Post, had investigated her death after discovering numerous contradictions and lies in the official account. As he detailed in a memoir, The Deaths of Sybil Bolton, published in 1994, much of her headright money was stolen, and the evidence suggested that she had been assassinated outdoors, on her lawn, with her sixteen-month-old baby—McAuliffe’s mother—beside her. According to the log, her guardian had four other Osage wards. They had also died.

Killers of the Flower Moon, dir. Martin Scorsese // Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (x)

[krlyrics]

Lyric Ricky Montgomery - Unknown Phantom

Album: Unknown PhantomReleased date: 2024.3.15 Red beady eyesCut through the smokeUnder my hoodNobody knowsExcept for me in myGrim reaper robeIt feels so goodDancing aloneHalloween, fog machine, couldn’t see anythingDramamine, make believe, I can do anythingI feel so dumbSo in my headRight next to youI’ll just pretendI feel so luckyTo have a friendDon’t leave before meStay till the endBa, ba,…

[hannahsliteraryhaven]

Killers of the Flower Moon

by David Grann

★★★★★

I could not put this book down. I was hooked from the first chapter. It read like a murder mystery, except it really happened which makes it so chilling. Not to mention the many photographs throughout the book that bring the time period, the settings, victims and perpetrators to life.

The story goes as follows: white men forced the Osage out of their fertile lands to hilly and rocky land that I assume the white men thought would eventually lead to their deaths from starvation. But in a wonderful twist of fate, the land the Osage had been forcibly moved to was riddled with oil; black gold. With thanks to an Osage chief, they were able to have some level of control over their land and their oil, leading to the Osage becoming extremely wealthy, and, most importantly, their headrights could only be inherited, not bought. Well, you can imagine how pissed off the greedy white settlers were! If murdering them, starving them, controlling them, and moving them off their land over many decades wasn't enough, they now wanted their oil and their riches. Subsequently it led to the murders of countless members of the Osage tribe, with murders believed to have happened years before and after the Reign of Terror is said to have happened (the focus of the book and movie), resulting in a suspected death toll into the hundreds. Many of which were never investigated or not ruled a homicide.

Grann has written this book so wonderfully, I found it really easy to follow as Grann reminds you who people are throughout which I found so helpful. After reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a book full of names and very few (if at all) reminders to help you remember the countless people mentioned, this felt like a breeze to read. I wouldn't recommend listening to this though; you might find yourself having to go back to reread sections at times to fully grasp the craziness.

Sadly, and irritatingly, I'd never heard of the Osage murders or the Reign of Terror as it's sometimes known. I think it's pretty evident as to why that's the case. I love and thank authors that bring these cases to the light of day, defying the powers that once had control over the narrative.

As the mystery unfolded, not knowing who the culprit(s) was, my jaw kept hitting the floor the more things unravelled. It is infuriating and shocking how greedy, heartless and conniving these murderous men were. The main culprit was a self centred cocky bastard right to the very end. Some continued to plot how to get more money whilst already in prison for murder. Like what?!

I'm booked into watch the film soon, finally! But if you've already watched the film, I would still recommend reading this book as Grann includes so many photos, including of Pawhuska and living relatives of the victims. He shares interviews with living relatives and information that hasn't been spoken of before. He discusses a few murders before and after the Reign of Terror and attempts to solve an additional unsolved murder case! He also shares information about what Pawhuska and Fairfax are like now; the remnants of the buildings that are left as well as the masses of graves that paint a grim picture of the past, the Osages current struggles and their views on what happened and how it's affected them.

Grann did a tremendous amount of work for this book. If you were captivated by the film and the story, you'll only get more out of this book.

[reelvibes91]

Osage Murders: Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Captures the Gripping True Story

A lot of people will sit here and debate whether the length of a movie is something worth critiquing. It truly all depends on what kind of story you like. The story we see in Killers of the Flower Moon is a historical story worthy of the massive 3.5 hour runtime it has.

The film takes place in the 1920s and sees Ernest Burkhart return from the war. He returns to the heart of the Osage where his Uncle William Hale resides. Ernest and his uncle, known as King Hale, begin a series of deadly murders in order to attain the headrights to Osage Oil money from Ernest's wife Mollie.

Why the 3.5 hour runtime is justified is the amount of moving parts and story this film has to cover. Nothing feels out of place, and the pace of the movie is deliberately set, so the looming tension is always there. It feels like any given time, the burdens of their actions will come crashing down upon them. DiCaprio and DeNiro compliment each other very well in this film. They both bring their A-Game in what are very important roles for portraying the history that surrounds this event. Lily Gladstone is the scene stealer in this film as Mollie Burkhart. She goes toe to toe with two heavy weight actors who could easily be described as the best actors of their respective generations. She shines brilliantly among these stars and likely will be rewarded come award season.

Scorsese is one of the best directors of all time. This movie only adds to his legacy of someone who wants to use his art form for education as much as he can. That seems even more evident in the last decade. Silence, The Irishman, and now Killers of the Flower Moon are all based on novels that explore true stories. They are stories that will one day help educate people through art. You can bicker about the length if that is the one gripe you want to find. Sure, speak on it. This movie is deliberately that long to ensure that each necessary focal point of the story is not glossed over. Only a filmmaker with a delicate eye could keep you engaged in a film of this nature. It takes a lot of precision to recreate from history and do the era and the actual story justice.

Killers of the Flower Moon is exactly the movie you expect. It's not one of those movies relying on a grandiose Hollywood ending of magical CGIed moments. It tells a story that is filled with murder, violence, deceit, and racism towards the Osage people. It should leave you uncomfortable. This stuff happened. Whether people want to complain about the length or not. These events were real and deserved to be told with the care Scorsese took to make sure no details were left out. These are the kinds of stories we need to see more of. It will only help educate the next generation on how to avoid the mistakes of the past.

[talkaboutmovies]

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

"Killers of the Flower Moon" is Martin Scorsese's highly-anticipated film of David Grann's 2017 best seller about a series of murders in the Osage nation in the 1920's. Although the people and location are much different, the basic story recalls some previous Scorsese mob pictures.

Greed, more than anything else, drives Robert Deniro's character William Hale. Ostensibly a friend and supporter of the Osage, Hale (and others) looked to capitalize on the discovery of oil in the Osage nation. "Headrights" were given to the first Osage in the reservation by the US Department of the Interior, who controlled the lucrative payments to those Osage. As in a mob family, the Hale the boss, saw a potential racket. Also, like a mob boss, Hale wouldn't hesitate to use violence through minions or marriage to gain a potential healthy windfall or buy off corrupt law enforcement officials.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives a brave performance as Ernest Burkhart, Hale's nephew. Burkhart gets a job driving and meets Mollie, played in an Oscar-worthy performance by Lily Gladstone. During this period, numerous members of the Osage nation are murdered with no investigation. The Osage are outraged at the lack of any action on the part of law enforcement. Ernest attempts a criminal fraud without Hale's knowledge. From there, Burkhart gets more entwined in Hale's plans who gives him insulin (he says) for the diabetic Mollie. This bonds Ernest to him (once again, like a mob boss).

"Killers of the Flower Moon" is a beautifully realized film, with many Scorsese trademark themes. The Osage people are fully realized. Period detail is incredible. Friend and Scorsese collaborator Robbie Robertson (who recently passed away at 80) did the score. As I said, Dicaprio is terrific. He's an everyman who's a little slow-witted and easily led astray. Gladstone is the true heart of the picture, giving Mollie a quiet dignity that gives way to extraordinary sorrow as she sees her family and culture disappearing before her eyes. Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow and musician Jack White are all good in supporting roles (as is Scorsese himself in a cameo at the end). Other than being just a little too long, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is a great film and in the upper echelon of the Scorsese canon.

[streampourvous]

Le Duo Époustouflant : DiCaprio et De Niro Brilent dans "Killers of the Flower Moon" !

Préparez-vous pour le retour tant attendu de Martin Scorsese ! Le célèbre réalisateur revient en octobre avec "Killers of the Flower Moon", une fresque historique portée par les talents de DiCaprio et De Niro. Découvrez tout ce que vous devez savoir sur ce film avant sa sortie cet automne. À un mois de sa sortie en salles le 18 octobre prochain, "Killers of the Flower Moon" dévoile une nouvelle bande-annonce éblouissante, mettant en scène DiCaprio dans un rôle des plus tourmentés face à un De Niro véritablement machiavélique. En attendant avec impatience la sortie de ce long-métrage signé Scorsese, voici un aperçu des informations clés autour de ce projet cinématographique qui s'annonce grandiose. Le Grand Retour de Scorsese sur Grand Écran Huit longues années se sont écoulées depuis le dernier film de Martin Scorsese au cinéma. Son précédent long-métrage, "Silence," datant de 2016, explorait le thème de la religion avec Andrew Garfield et Adam Driver. En 2019, Scorsese a réalisé "The Irishman," une épopée monumentale mettant en avant les destins de Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) et Frank Sheeran (De Niro). Ce film, produit par Netflix, n'a pas été diffusé en salles en France et est sorti directement sur la plateforme de streaming. Pour son nouveau projet, "Killers of the Flower Moon," le film a failli emprunter la même voie, mais Paramount a finalement décidé de le distribuer dans les salles de cinéma. Le film a bénéficié d'un financement partiel par Apple Studios, avant d'éviter une sortie exclusivement sur Apple TV+. L'Intrigue de "Killers of the Flower Moon" Inspiré d'événements réels et adapté du livre éponyme de David Grann, publié en 2017, ce western épique d'une durée de 3 heures et 26 minutes révèle un aspect sombre, bien que peu raconté, de l'histoire américaine : la série de meurtres au sein de la tribu Osage en Oklahoma dans les années 1920. Cette communauté avait prospéré grâce au pétrole présent sur ses terres, suscitant ainsi l'avidité des colons blancs. Certains ont comploté pour voler leurs biens, leurs terres, et même pour les assassiner de manière impitoyable. Ils ont utilisé des mariages d'intérêt entre des femmes amérindiennes et des profiteurs pour s'approprier les droits lucratifs, connus sous le nom de "headrights", que les Amérindiens touchaient pour l'utilisation de leurs terres à des fins pétrolières. Martin Scorsese a fait de ce projet une déclaration politique et a mis en lumière l'une des plus grandes conspirations criminelles de l'histoire américaine. Le tournage de cette fresque historique a duré plus de sept mois, de avril à septembre 2021. Le Casting de "Killers of the Flower Moon" Le film réunit les deux acteurs fétiches de Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio et Robert De Niro. DiCaprio incarne Ernest Burkhart, mari d'une Osage, interprétée par Lily Gladstone. Il est également le neveu de William Hale (De Niro), un riche éleveur bovin soupçonné d'être impliqué dans les meurtres. L'agent du FBI chargé de l'enquête est joué par Jesse Plemons. Brendan Fraser et John Lithgow font également partie de la distribution. Le film compte également de nombreux acteurs amérindiens. DiCaprio a exprimé sa fierté pour ce projet lors du Festival de Cannes, soulignant l'importance de raconter cette histoire de manière respectueuse de la communauté Osage. Date de Sortie et Diffusion de "Killers of the Flower Moon" Le film sera projeté dans les salles françaises le 18 octobre 2023 et sera ultérieurement disponible sur Apple TV+. À noter que le film a été présenté au Festival de Cannes en mai dernier, recevant des critiques élogieuses pour son traitement de l'intrigue criminelle et sa qualité cinématographique. Avec un budget de 200 millions de dollars, "Killers of the Flower Moon" promet d'être l'événement cinématographique de la fin de l'année 2023, une fresque criminelle exceptionnelle située entre western, film noir et tragédie antique.   @Bigbrother. Read the full article

[meret118]

"The Pioneer Woman" Ree Drummond may have benefited from the Osage massacre depicted in the upcoming Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio film "Killers of the Flower Moon."

The lifestyle blogger and TV personality is married into the Drummond family, which began growing wealth through dealings with the Osage people generations ago in Oklahoma and are now among the top 100 landowners in the country.

. . .

“They were put in charge of Osage families’ finances, borrowed from Osage estates, probated Osage wills, and collected on debts that they claimed as owners of a government-licensed store," Bloomberg reported. "They bought headright fractions, even as they lobbied for the headright [to collect royalties on underground minerals] system to be abolished. And they bought land. Lots of it.”The upcoming film, which is based on the David Grann bestseller by the same name, focuses on a string of murders in the 1920s of dozens of Osage people, who had become some of the wealthiest people in the world when oil was discovered on land allotted to them by the U.S. government.

. . .

The true pioneer spirit. :/

[sarkos]

The lifestyle blogger and TV personality is married into the Drummond family, which began growing wealth through dealings with the Osage people generations ago in Oklahoma and are now among the top 100 landowners in the country. But a recent report shines light on her family's part in that dark history, reported The Oklahoman. “They were put in charge of Osage families’ finances, borrowed from Osage estates, probated Osage wills, and collected on debts that they claimed as owners of a government-licensed store," Bloomberg reported. "They bought headright fractions, even as they lobbied for the headright [to collect royalties on underground minerals] system to be abolished. And they bought land. Lots of it.” The upcoming film, which is based on the David Grann bestseller by the same name, focuses on a string of murders in the 1920s of dozens of Osage people, who had become some of the wealthiest people in the world when oil was discovered on land allotted to them by the U.S. government. The Drummond patriarchs, whose father emigrated to the U.S. from Scotland in the 1880s, used business practices that “bumped up against the line of what was considered legal" in their dealings with the Osage people, whom they charged a higher price at the store they operated and for whom they acted as undertakers when they died.

'Pioneer Woman' lifestyle blogger's family benefited from grisly massacre shown in new Scorsese film - Raw Story