Letter signed Step. F. Austin, Little Rock, to Mr. Wm. M. O’Hara [William M. O’Hara], St. Louis, Missouri Territory. Regarding a dispute which has arisen from a misunderstanding growing out of a conversation between Wm. Russell [William Russell] and Mr. O’Hara, in which the latter told the former that no pre-emption rights could hold in the region under discussion. The statement was a general one and interpreted as being a specific one applying to the location in which the writer was interested. The writer therefore asked that a certificate be sent saying that the advice pertained to pre-emption rights generally south of Arkansas and not with particular reference to Russell’s claim. Persons mentioned include Capt. Wheeler, J. Barton, and Bryan., 1819 Dec 31

Item — Box: 1, Folder: 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

This collection consists largely of the papers of John F. Darby and his wife Mary F. Darby, and relates mostly to the political, social, and business history of St. Louis. The papers also include family correspondence with relatives in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri, and correspondence regarding legal and business matters. Of special note are the minute books of the Jefferson Society and the St. Louis Debating Club (1827-1828), both regional debating societies of which Darby was a member; letters of Mary F. Darby; correspondence with Montgomery Blair, William T. Sherman, and George Caleb Bingham; and fragments of a history of the Mormons by John Corrill, dated 1839.