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Harrison W. Riley (Scoundrel or Entrepreneur) Bill of Sale

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Paper Start Price:300.00 USD Estimated At:600.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Harrison W. Riley (Scoundrel or Entrepreneur) Bill of Sale
SOLD
300.00USD+ (75.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2018 Mar 18 @ 15:10UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Harrison Riley was well known in Dahlonega and the area. The court records are full of Riley's trickery and gambling on his road to riches. One man sued the "General" for getting him drunk in a social way and buying his land for nothing. A hog drover claimed that Riley bought his hogs for five cents per pound, with the stipulation that he tell everybody that the price was two cents per pound. When delivery was made Riley paid only two cents, saying that everybody knew that it was the price agreed upon. Some disagreements ended in fights. One man asked for $5,000, claiming that "Harrison W. with force and arms, to wit with swords, knives, dirks, sticks, rocks, fists, hands, feet and teeth, furiously and violently assaulted and beat your petitioner." Another mentioned "a certain walking stick three feet long and one inch in diameter of hickory wood," that Riley carried with him and used freely in his arguments. Still the newspaper obituary concluded with, "His remains were interred on yesterday...The utmost respect was shown the deceased. The business houses were all promptly closed and the citizens turned out en masse to attend the funeral." One man, however, admitted that he wanted to see what the preacher could say about "the old cuss." The "penniless orphan boy" was laid to rest beside his mother. Harrison's epitaph read, "Let his faults be buried with his bones."



This is one of those court cases. A casual - very casual - perusal indicates this is about the mill and placer claims on 1051-12-1. Riley is pitted against Walter B Smith, Jesse R Duke, etc. It seems he is denying any wrongdoing, complains he has never seen the original court order, was given power-of-attorney by Jesse Duke when he joined the Confederate Army for the Civil War, and has kept all ditches and waterways in proper order. All of this seems contradictory to us, but there is organization here waiting for someone to decipher. This document is 6 pages on legal sized paper date August 17, 1861. There is an additional legal sized official document dated January 10, 1862 and signed by George D. Rice, Judge, S. C. (Al Adams Gold Rush Memorabilia Collection) Date: 1861 Location: Dahlonega, Georgia HWAC# 57073