Original handwritten Oregon mortgage satisfaction dated November 17, 1890, signed by Astoria druggist W. E. Dement, witnessed by J. C. Dement and J. H. Mansell, and bearing Mansell's distinctive embossed Oregon notary seal.
The document certifies that a mortgage made in May 1880 by Chas. W. McCown and Emily M. McCown, recorded in Clackamas County, Oregon, had been fully satisfied. Dement's acknowledgment was taken in Clatsop County. Mansell signed both as a witness and as the notary.
W. E. Dement operated an Astoria pharmacy and marketed his own “Fishermen's Relief” preparation for chapped hands and fish wounds, connecting his business with the needs of the fishing community. By 1890, John C. Dement was the druggist succeeding W. E. Dement & Co. A period medicinal cognac-brandy label design also bears W. E. Dement's Astoria business name. These associations make this signed manuscript an appealing companion piece for collections of antique drugstore bottles, pharmacy labels, patent medicines, and Pacific Northwest commercial history.
A particularly attractive feature is the circular blind embossed seal reading “J. H. MANSELL / NOTARY PUBLIC / STATE OF OREGON,” with decorative stars and ornaments. This dry seal creates a raised impression directly in the paper. Its legibility, together with Mansell's signature and the dated acknowledgment, gives the document additional interest for collectors of notarial seals, embossed impressions, and nineteenth-century legal ephemera. Mansell was an Astoria real-estate broker and Oregon notary whose business was established in 1883.
The McCowns are probably Charles W. McCown and his wife Emily Melvina Ring of the Crooked Finger Prairie area of Oregon. That family identification remains an attribution; the names actually written on the document are Chas. W. and Emily M. McCown. They are named as the original borrowers and did not sign this release.
One original sheet with manuscript text, ink signatures, embossed notary seal, reverse pencil docketing, and a purple McCown name stamp. The day of the month for the 1880 mortgage and the recording book/page spaces were left blank. The item offered is the mortgage-release document shown in the photographs.
An evocative Oregon manuscript combining Astoria pharmacy history, Clackamas and Clatsop County connections, property and financial history, family genealogy, period penmanship, and a well-defined notarial embossment.
Condition: Old horizontal and vertical folds, wear and small separations along folds and edges, tiny openings at fold intersections, scattered brown spotting, areas of moisture discoloration, and handling marks. Some writing is lighter, especially the notary signature and reverse docketing. The main text remains readable and the embossed seal is distinct. Please examine all photographs for the full condition.
Type: Mortgage Satisfaction / Release
Date: November 17, 1890
Year: 1890
Time Period: 1800–1899
Original/Reproduction: Original
Format: Handwritten Manuscript Document
Material: Paper
Language: English
Country: United States
State: Oregon
Locations: Clackamas County; Clatsop County; Astoria association
Signed: Yes
Signers: W. E. Dement; J. C. Dement; J. H. Mansell
Names in Text: Chas. W. McCown; Emily M. McCown
Notary: J. H. Mansell
Seal Type: Blind Embossed / Dry Notarial Seal
Features: Ink Signatures; Embossed Notary Seal; Reverse Docketing; Name Stamp
Subjects: Oregon History; Pharmacy; Notarial Seals; Real Estate; Genealogy
Number of Sheets: 1