An official document issued by the Galveston Bay & Texas Land Company, Scrip No. 5999, issued in New York City on October 16, 1830, the day the real estate firm was founded. The scrip allocated one labor of land (the equivalent of approximately 177 acres) to Richard Varick Dey (1800-1837), son of the company president. Partly printed and partly handwritten on fine, onion-skin paper with deckled edges. Signed by company trustees and attorneys: Anthony Dey (1776-1859), lawyer and president of Galveston Bay & Texas Land Company; lawyer and historian William H. Sumner (1780-1861); lawyer and historian George T. Curtis (1812-1894); and company secretary W.M. Wilson. Endorsed by land recipient Richard V. Dey verso. Light expected wear including folds. Isolated edge darkening and a few scattered pinholes found along the top edge, else near fine. 8.125" x 12.5."

The Galveston Bay & Texas Land Company (GB & TLC) allocated land in both labors and sitios (the latter a unit of measurement corresponding to approximately 4448 acres). There are subtle differences in verbiage and graphic elements between GB & TLC labor and sitio documents. To illustrate just a few of these differences, for example: labor documents do not name Matagorda Bay; the area corresponding to the Caddo in the northeast is not shaded on the map; the word "North" is in smaller font; and there is an unnamed lake which appears between 19-20 degrees longitude.

The document in part:

"This certifies, That the Subscribers as the Trustees and Attorneys of Lorenzo de Zavala, Joseph Vehlein and David G. Burnet, have given and do hereby give to Richard V. Dey and his legal representatives the bearer hereof, their consent to the location of, and holding in severalty, one labor of Land within the limits of four adjoining tracts of land in Texas…"

The Galveston Bay & Texas Land Company was established in October 1830 to promote colonization in territory corresponding to East Texas, east of the San Jacinto River, and north of Nagodoches. The land was owned by three influential empresarios: Mexican political activist Lorenzo de Zavala (1788-1836), Texan politician David G. Burnet (1788-1870), and Joseph Vehlein, a German merchant from Mexico City. Actual land ownership was not transferable, since land was owned by the trio, but GB & TLC sold scrip to individuals, companies, or as shares to subscribers, permitting settlers to occupy the land. During this time, Texan colonization was a hot-button issue. GB & TLC encountered numerous legal difficulties in gaining access to the land. After GB & TLC land sales were officially closed by the Texas provisional government in 1835, suits were filed on behalf of the company; litigation dragged on until 1848. Yet by 1849, the number of GB & TLC stockholders was increasing, the company was profitable, and settlement continued.

Richard Varick Dey was the son of GB & TLC company president Anthony Dey and Catharine Laidlie. The younger Dey attended Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, New Jersey; he served as Congregationalist minister in Fairfield, Connecticut between 1823-1828. His homestead, the Reverend Richard Varick Dey House, still stands in the Greenfield Hill section of the southern Connecticut coastal city. Dey preached in New York City and Charleston before his untimely death in 1837.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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