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Andrew Jackson John Overton General James Winchester Marcus Winchester John C. McLemore  North Carolina Sells Memphis North Carolina Sells Memphis by Russ Johnson On October 23, 1783 two rich land speculators, John Rice and John Ramsey each purchased from the State of North Carolina 5,000 acres in what is now Memphis, TN.  The land associated with the "Rice Grant" would become the original Memphis with the "Ramsey Grant" adjacent to the south. One serious detail overlooked by all was that the United States of America did not own the land at the time it was sold.  The land known as Tennessee existed and was inhabited to the east, but the western portion of Tennessee as well as much of North and Central Mississippi was part of the Chickasaw Nation.  It was land they not only owned, but occupied from time to time.  The tribe tended to center around the Tupelo area, but hunted freely throughout the region. This point was brought home very clearly when John Rice visited his recent purchase in 1791 and was promptly killed by the Chickasaw (the actual death occurred near present day Clarksville).  In 1794 the Rice heirs sold the grant to John Overton for $500.  That sell began what would become the City of Memphis.  Overton promptly sold half of the grant to his partner Andrew Jackson.  Jackson sold half of his share to the Winchester family and thus the triumvirate of "proprietors" was born. The Winchester holding was divided among numerous family members, but General James Winchester was their representative and the owner of half the total Winchester holdings.  Andrew Jackson bailed out of his last portion of the purchase just prior to entering national politics.  The fact that he had a financial stake in land he was lobbying the U. S. Government to buy from the Chickasaw was another embarrassment he did not want.  He sold his share to John C. McLemore and the final group of proprietors was set. The Rice Grant would come up again many times in court.  It seems that when the papers were filed Rice did not show the Mississippi River as the western boundary, rather he drew a squiggly line east of the Mississippi River.  When the river later deposited Mud Island at the entrance to the city, the proprietors tried to claim it as their own, but alas, it was west of the squiggly line.   Here the history of Memphis is presented.  From the Chickasaw to the great New Madrid earthquake of 1811 on to the land's purchase by John Overton and Andrew Jackson, followed by incorporation and Civil War occupation.  Picking up with the yellow fever followed by the surrender of the city charter and the tenure of the former city as a taxing district of Shelby County and the state of Tennessee.  We continue Memphis history into the days of Crump and the progressive era when the city would be made to conform to order.  Memphis history is rich with time, music and commerce.  From the blues of Beale Street to Elvis Presley and Sun Records the City of Memphis been enriched by transporation, cotton, mules and hardware; bridge openings to celebrate and the sorrows of the 1968 Sanitation Strike which culminated in the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Memphis has persevered through pain and has been anything but dull.  This is our story... Memphis Timeline | Pre-Mississippian Culture | Mississippian Culture | The Chickasaws | The Chickasaws and Moundville | Chickasaw Revenge | Hernando De Soto | French-Chickasaw War of 1736 | Hearts and Minds of the Chickasaws | The Last Chickasaw King | Other Europeans | North Carolina Sells Memphis | Isaac Rawlings | Elijah Coffey | Jane Wright | Paddy Meagher and the Bell Tavern | Silas Toncray | Isaac Shelby | Andrew Jackson | John Overton | General James Winchester | Marcus Winchester | John C. McLemore Privacy Statement | Terms Of Use   Copyright 2005 - 2011 by Russell Johnson