Selling the Satanta Land

February 24, 1933  Mama, Mary, Jacob, Corney, and I went to Dodge because of the Satanta land.  Very windy day.  Susie [Reimer] went along to Dodge.  Uncle [David] Plett also went along.

 After weeks of legal work and trips to Meade, it was finally time to sell the land in Satanta.  (See the post “The Plett Inheritance” on 28 January for background.)  They had gone to town the day before regarding the land sale, probably to get the Probate Judge of Meade County, Florilla De Kuh, so sign on the side of the deed that she approved the transaction because it involved minors. The Plett family had agreed to sell the two quarters of land to Bernhard D. Doerksen, who also lived in Satanta.  Each of the four older siblings had inherited a 1/48 interest from the grandfather Plett’s estate.  

Since she was over 18, Mary signed one document in her own right as an adult.  But Jake, Corney, and John were still under 21 and therefore minors, so Cornelius signed a guardian’s deed to transfer their interests.  Each child received $187.50 for his share (equivalent to $3440 today).  Jacob L. Plett had bought the land for $2000 in 1917, and it was being sold for $9000 total, so it had been a very good investment, even if Cornelius and his brother David had not made much use of it.

Court clerk's copy of guardian's deed signed by Cornelius K. Siemens to transfer the 3/48 interest of his sons Jake, Corney, and John to Berhard D. Doerksen in the two quarters of land at Satanta.  Before the day of photocopiers, the court clerk's office would copy documents into a bound book and the single copy of the original was returned to one of parties.  You can tell that this document was the one they signed in Dodge City because the notary's statement at the bottom says that it was signed in Ford County, Kansas.