INTRODUCTION 15 



The land which the Robinsons purchased in 1838 com- 

 prised some 160 acres. Throughout his years in Lake 

 County, Solon continued his interest in land transac- 

 tions. Not only did he occasionally buy and sell land on 

 his own responsibility, but he also acted with and for 

 other individuals. For example, in 1844, with George 

 Earle, he purchased and offered for sale a tract of 290 

 acres. This real estate venture was active until 1847 

 when the partnership was dissolved. 1 In 1843, Robinson 

 became the representative of W. G. and G. W. Ewing, of 

 Peru, Indiana, who had purchased large tracts of land 

 in Lake County. Between that date and 1850, as their 

 agent, he bought, sold, and traded for them as occasion 

 offered. 2 Throughout the late thirties and forties he grad- 

 ually increased his personal holdings in Lake County, and 



pertinent material in his historical romance Me-won-i-toc, 5-6, 

 126-27, 131-32. Supplementing these papers are a number of 

 records in the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

 Washington, D. C: Albert S. White to Joel R. Poinsett, Octo- 

 ber 16, 1837; James Whitcomb to Albert S. White, October 14, 



15, 1837; Joel R. Poinsett to James Rariden, March 21, 23, 1838; 

 Lewis Cass to John T. Douglass, June 25, 1836; Douglass to A. C. 

 Pepper, April 30, 1838; Charles A. Harris to Douglass, January 

 20, 1837; Sho-bon-ier [signed by mark] Petition to His Excellency, 

 the President of the United States [June 7, 1837] ; Parks and 

 Elwood to Luke Lea, July 29, 1851; Thomas H. Crawford to John 

 Dougherty, July 7, 1839 ; Brief or Memorandum of Documents per- 

 taining to Sho-bon-ier's Reserve, Washington, D. C, 1851; Office 

 of Indian Affairs to Parks and Elwood, August 9, 1851. Other 

 government records of interest are Jesse Jackson, Receiver's Office, 

 La Porte, Indiana, Receipt No. 11715 to Milo and Solon Robinson 

 for $200 for the northwest quarter, section 8, township 34 north, 

 range 8 west, November 17, 1838; preemption certificate No. 11715, 

 Land Office, La Porte, November 17, 1838; United States to Milo 

 and Solon Robinson, June 25, 1841, letters patent. See also 

 U. S. Statutes at Large, 10:20. 



1 Solon Robinson Account Book, 1840-1853. 



* W. G. and G. W. Ewing to Mr. Woods, February 17, 1843; W. G. 

 and G. W. Ewing to Solon Robinson, February 18, 1843; Robinson 

 to G. W. Ewing, February 21, 1844; Robinson affidavit, December 



16, 1850. Ewing Papers, Indiana State Library. 



