Hope this helps
David Fitzgerald arrived in this Mexican run territority of Texas in late 1821. He began building his home on property he wanted to claim. When he went to San Felipe to file his claim, Steven F. Austin informed him the League was already claimed by William Morton. William Morton agreed to trade David Fitzgerald 1/4 of his League for 1/4 of the League David Fitzgerald would claim, thus allowing David to own the home he was building. David Fitzgerald claimed his League 20 miles downstream on the Brazos River. The trade was not immediately recorded, mainly because the area belonged to Mexico and recording land transactions was difficult. David died in 1832, shortly after participating in the battle of Annahuac. William Morton drowned in the Brazos River in 1833, leaving a wife, Nancy, a son, John V., and two daughters Louisa Ann and Mary. David's daughter, Sarah, married Eli Fenn and they continued to live in the home David built. The decendents of the Fitzgerald and Morton famlies eventually filed the land transaction for the 1/4 League trade. The Morton familly lived on the west side of the Brazos River until the death of William, when Nancy moved the family to the east side of the river closer to the Fenn family. Nancy sold the property on the west side to developers who would create Richmond, Texas. Louisa Ann Morton married Daniel Perry on December 24, 1833 and they moved to the land obtained by the 1/4 League trade [the Duke area] in 1834. In 1836, after the fall of the Alamo, General Santa Anna chased General Sam Houston causing the settlers to flee in what is known as the 'Runnaway Scrape'. The Morton and Fenn homes were destroyed by the Mexican Army. Both families relocated on the Fitzgerald League. The Fenn family lived with Moses Shipman until they completed their new home. The Morton family lived with Daniel and Louisa Ann [Morton] Perry on the 1/4 League they had gained by trade. Also in the year of 1836, John V. Morton married Elizabeth Shipman, they were the son and daughter of two 'original 300' settlers.
Because David Fitzgerald built his home on land that wasn't his, an agreement to trade 1/4 League with William Morton was formed with the traded land became the new home for the Morton family after the Mexican Army destroyed their previous home.
