Deed: Ahl, Ore Bank

United States
to
John A. Ahl and Daniel V. Ahl

This Indenture Witnesseth: That whereas, an act of Congress, approved the 15th day of December 1868, an act providing for the sale of the lands, tenements, and water privileges belonging to the United States at and near Harpers Ferry, in the County of Jefferson, West Virginia, provides in words and figures following, to wit: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled: that the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to make sale at public auction of the lands, tenements and water privileges belonging to the United States at and near Harpers Ferry, in the County of Jefferson, West Virginia, except as hereinafter provided, in such parcels as shall, in his opinion, be best adapted to secure the greatest amount of money therefore, on a credit of one and two years, taking bond and from the purchaser or purchasers for the payment of the purchase money, and that the proceeds of such sale shall be applied by Congress as follows: Provided, that no such sale shall be made until the time, terms and place thereof shall have been published in one each of the principal newspapers in each of the cities of Washington, New York, and Cincinnatti, for sixty days prior to the day of sale first, in defraying the expenses of making said sale, second, in refunding to the United States the principal sum of purchase money paid for said lands, tenements, and water privileges by the United States, and for the erection of buildings thereon, third, if any surplus remain, he shall deliver the same to such agent as the legislature of the State of West Virginia shall appoint to receive the same, but upon condition that such surplus shall be received by the State of West Virginia to be set apart, held, invested, used and applied as a part of the School fund of that State, under and by virtue of an in manner and form as provided in section first of the tenth article of the Constitution of West Virginia, and for no other purchase. And on making such sale of the said lands, tenements and water privileges, or any part thereof, the said Secretary of War is hereby empowered and required, on receiving the purchase money in full, to execute all necessary Deed therefore to the purchaser or purchasers thereof on behalf of the United States. Section 2 And be it further enacted that the Secretary of War be authorized and directed to convey by Deed to Storer College, an institution of learning, charted by the State of West Virginia all those certain portions of the aforesaid property namely: the buildings with the lots on which they stand numbered thirty, thirty one, and thirty two, and also building numbered twenty five and with enough of the lot on which it stands to give a breadth ten rods on High Street, otherwise known as Washington Street, all of said buildings and lots being situated at Harpers Ferry, aforesaid, being the same which have heretofore been assigned by the War Department to the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, for educational purposes, and also to convey by Deed to the proper persons all such other lands and buildings, portions of the aforesaid property, as have heretofore been set apart by the proper authority, for religious, charitable and town purposes.” And whereas, in pursuance of the foregoing act, the said property was duly advertised to be sold by public auction on the 30th day of November 1869, and from day to day thereafter until all was sold; And whereas, In further pursuance of said act, the said property was divided into lots, as laid down on a map or plat of the same (which map or plat, having the approval of the Secretary of War, under date November 16, 1869), a copy of which map or plat is annexed to a deed granted to Orren B. Cheney and others, Trustees of Storer College, bearing date the 15th day of December 1869, to become a matter of record with said Deed, among the land records of Jefferson County. And Whereas, at said public sale, on the days aforementioned, John A. Ahl and Daniel V. Ahl were the highest bidders for the right to dig ore upon a tract of about sixteen hundred acres of land bordering on the Potomac River and known as “Friend’s Ore Bank”, acquired from Henry Lee and others by Deed dated May 8th 1800 and also the one half acre of land described in said Deed, having bid for the same the sum of three thousand one hundred dollars, which sum has been abated to thirty five hundred dollars by the Solicitor of the Treasury in pursuence of authority vested in him by the Act of Congress of June 14th, 1878 and said abatement certified and filed, and has paid in full the purchase money as abated, viz: thirty-five hundred dollars unto the Treasury of the United States, through the lands of Q. P. Ahl. Now, therefore, I, Geo. W. McCrary Secretary of War of the United States, in consideration of the sum so paid and in pursuance of the Act of Congress of December 15, 1868, above recited, do hereby give, grant, convey and transfer unto the said John A. Ahl and Daniel V. Ahl, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns forever all the right, title, and interest whatsoever of the United States of America in and to the above mentioned lot or parcel of ground, with all rights, privileges and appurtuances thereto belonging and all the buildings that may be thereon said lot being bounded as follows, the metes and bounds of which are more particularly and at large set forth in the Deed of Henry Lee and Ann Lee to the United States dated May 8, 1800 and recorded in the office of the Chief of Ordinance, U.S.A. and refernce to which will more fully and at large appear. To have and to hold the sam unto the said John A. Ahl and Daniel V. Ahl, their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, to their own use and benefit and behalf forever.

In testimony whereof, I, Geo. W. McCrary, Secretary of War, as aforesaid, have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the War Department to be affixed at the City of Washington, this 31st day of October in the year 1879.