Reavis, James Addison, 1843-1914

Reavis arrived in Arizona in 1882 and filed claim on more than twelve million acres of land in Arizona and New Mexico based on altered Spanish documents.

From the description of Peralta land grant case exhibits 1886. (Arizona Historical Society, Southern Arizona Division). WorldCat record id: 37281344

Arrived in Arizona in 1882 and filed claim on more than twelve million acres of land in Arizona and New Mexico based on altered Spanish land grant documents; he gained fame as the "Baron of Arizona". He served a short term in a New Mexico prison, then returned to Arizona under the alias J.A. Ashley-Reavis.

From the description of Papers, 1885-1911. (Arizona Historical Society, Southern Arizona Division). WorldCat record id: 40443505

James Addison Reavis (1843-1914) attempted the largest land-related fraud in U.S. history when he set about creating the Peralta Land Grant, a fictitious Spanish land grant encompassing almost 12 million acres of southern Arizona and New Mexico. To create his hoax, Reavis collected authentic documents and forged other documents in archives in Guadalajara, Mexico and Madrid, Spain to establish a line of inheritance for the Spanish Peralta Barons of Arizona. The Reavis hoax attracted significant attention in Arizona. Several mining companies paid Reavis thousands of dollars in royalties in order to maintain their mineral claims and mining operations. Reavis' plot was eventually uncovered during a seven year investigation into the validity of Reavis' claim by the Surveyor General of the United States.

From the description of Court papers, 1882-1896 (bulk 1882, 1896). (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 46860777

Swindler and forger, famous for attempting to fraudulently obtain 7,500 sq. miles of Arizona Territory by falsifying documents in Mexico and Spain to show a Spanish land grant to Don Miguel Peralta in 1748.

From the description of Account of early incidents connected with the Peralta Grant, 1894. (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 31269842

From the description of Defendant's photographic exhibits 1 to 44 inclusive, 1895. (University of Arizona). WorldCat record id: 31269868

James Addison Reavis (1843-1914), swindler and one-time street car driver in Missouri, attempted the largest land-related fraud in U.S. history when he set about creating the Peralta Land Grant, a fictitious Spanish land grant encompassing almost 12 million acres of southern Arizona and New Mexico. To create his hoax, Reavis collected authentic documents and forged other documents in archives in Guadalajara, Mexico and Madrid, Spain to establish a line of inheritance for the Spanish Peralta Barons of Arizona. As a collection, Reavis' documents traced the gift of a land grant in Arizona from King Fernando VI of Spain to Don Miguel Peralta de Cordova in 1748. The documents showed an apparently legitimate succession of inheritances for the land in Arizona and New Mexico. One of the documents Reavis found was the will of the first Baron of Arizona. It was in the possession of the Right Reverend J.B. Salpointe, and may be the papers contained in this manuscript collection.

To further enhance his scam, Reavis sought a girl of Mexican or Spanish heritage who he might pass off as a legitimate heir to the Peralta Grant. He found a girl of uncertain origins working as a servant near San Francisco and, using forged documents, Reavis convinced the girl and everyone else that she was Do?a Carmelita Sofia Loreta Micaela de Maso y de Peralta, the long-lost and only surviving heir to the Peralta Grant. Reavis transformed Carmelita into a European princess and eventually married her. Together, they had twin boys who, on a visit to Spain, played with the Spanish royal children while their parents were entertained by Spanish nobility.

The Reavis hoax attracted significant attention in Arizona. Several mining companies paid Reavis thousands of dollars in royalties in order to maintain their mineral claims and mining operations. Reavis' plot was eventually uncovered during a seven year investigation into the validity of Reavis' claim by the Surveyor General of the United States. By retracing Reavis' journeys to Mexico and Spain, investigators determined that the paper on which the forgeries had been written was too young to have been authentic. Similarly, they realized that a metal pen had been used to create the documents. Reavis' land claim was heard by the Court of Private Land Claims in 1895-1896, where five judges were charged with determining the validity of Spanish and Mexican land titles held by descendants of the original grantees (1891-1904). While Reavis had tried to validate his claim in the court himself, the court's thorough investigation of the land grant resulted in Reavis' downfall. Reavis was found guilty of fraud and was sentenced to six years in jail in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1896. Released before his term was completed, Reavis died in poverty and obscurity in Mexico, in 1914.

From the guide to the James Addison Reavis Court Papers, 1882-1896 ( bulk 1882, 1896), (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)