The transcription follows the image.

This indenture made this twenty second day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and forty nine between Milton Brittian + Nancy Brittian of the county Keokuk and state of Iowa of the one part and Levi Frisler of the state county and state aforesaid of the other part Witnesseth that the said party of the first part for and in consideration of the sum of forty three dollars lawfull money of the United States to them in hand paid by the said party of second part the Receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged  by the said party of the first part have Granted bargained and sold by these presents do grant bargain and sell unto the said party of the second part and his heirs and assigns forever all that tract or parcel of Land lying and being in the County of Keokuk and state of Iowa. To wit,

Seven acres of Land Running parrellel with west line running north and south in the North half of the East half of the South West Quarter of Section No. Seven (7) Township 74 North of Range (12) West. To have and to hold the above described premises hereby sold and conveyed unto the said Levi Frisler his heirs and assigns forever to gether with all and singular the appartenances thereunto belonging , or in any wise appertaining to his own proper use and behoof and Milton Brittain + Nancy Brittain his wife for their loirs executors  and administrators. The aforesaid track or parcel of Land and appertenances to the Levi Frisler his heirs Executors and administrators against the claims of all and every person whatever will Warrant and forever Defend In Testimony whereof the said Milton Brittian and Nancy Brittian his wife have hereunto set their hands and affixed their Seal the day and year bove written

Signed sealed and deliverd in the preasence of William S Day and Charles P Lyon

Milton P Brittian {seal}

Nancy Brittian {seal}

State of Iowa Keokuk County}

Personally appeared before me the ___ signed Justice of the Keokuk County and acknowledge the deed of conveyance to which this is affixed to be their act and deed for purposes therein mentioned and also Nancy Brittian the wife of Milton Brittian being seperately examined seperately apart from her husband freely and volintarly Relinquish all and Every species of Right of Dower.

Given under my hand this 11th day of January 1850.  William L. Day JP KC

The above Deed was Filed for record November the 18th 1850 at 1 o’clock PM

B P Showhan Recorder

I have been working on my DAR membership for the past few months.  The patriot I chose was Nathaniel Brittain, my 5th great-grandfather.  He was from Virginia, and served in B. Company of the 8th Virginia Infantry during the Revolutionary War.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that his unit fought in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in Charleston, SC on June 28-29, 1776.  Of course I had to make a road trip!

After the War, Fort Sullivan was renamed Fort Moultrie after Colonel William Moultrie, who fought during this battle.  Today, it is a part of the National Park Service.

So, we piled all of the kids in the car and drove to Charleston.  It’s only about 2 hours away, but it’s kind of a boring drive – not much to see on the way.  They grumbled a bit, but were fine after we stopped for food.   We took them to the aquarium first, and then headed across the bridge and over to Sullivan’s Island.

I think that we must have chosen the windiest day of the year to visit.  It wasn’t super cold, but we were being blown away. Two of my kids finished the Junior Ranger programs, so they had to fill out their booklets and learn about the fort.  They had a hard time keeping hold of their papers with all of the wind!

I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more exhibits geared towards the Revolutionary War period, but I should have known there wouldn’t be much.  The fort was in use through WWII, so a lot of the exhibits were geared towards that and the Civil War.  The Palmetto Fort that was used during the Revolution is of course, long gone.

I’m still glad we made the trip.  It’s always nice to walk in the footsteps of your ancestors.

I also was able to give the kids a great history lesson!

Here are some pictures from our visit:

(The first few were taken at Battery Park in Charleston, where there is a memorial to those that died or were wounded at this battle.)

Lucky me, I got a present in the mail the other day.  A marriage record for Matilda’s second marriage, to Jasper Marion Miller.  It lists both of her parents!!!

Now I need to get all of my papers together and see if I can finally get this thing submitted!

A very sweet and helpful 91 year old lady contacted me and I will be meeting with her in the next couple of weeks so that she can go over the paperwork with me.  I can’t wait to meet her!

I have at least 5 ancestors that qualify (and I’m sure more that I don’t know of yet). So, I have to decide which ancestor to use for my application.

I had originally thought that I was going to use Patrick Cavit, on my father’s side, but I recently changed my mind and have decided that I’m going to go with Nathan Britton/Nathaniel Brittain – on my mother’s side.

Just this past week, another Brittain researcher contacted me and she happens to be going through the DAR application process also.  So, I’m happy to have someone else who is using the same line as I am (at least for a few of the generations.)

Here is my DAR line that I will be using:
Nathaniel Britton/Brittain (who died in 1776 in VA while in service)
Parks Brittain
Milton Price Brittain
Mathilda Jane Brittain
Theodore Francis Sanchez
Donald Arthur Sanchez (my grandfather)

Have any of you joined the DAR?  How long did the process take before you became a member? I know that it’s going to take some hard work getting all of the copies of needed proof, but it will definitely be worth it in the end!!