Jim Reavis began his infamous career in the Confederate Army. He soon tired of the tedium and discomfort in the military and began to forge passes. His "gift" enabled him many vacations, and a booming business forging passes for his comrades in arms. He faked orders for provisions, which he sold for a profit. The South never discovered his deceptions, but the North did when he changed sides and tried to continue his illicit business.
After the war, Reavis found himself in St Louis. He met George Willing, who told him about a land grant in Arizona, by Miguel Peralta. This particular land grant was almost certainly a scam. In the west, Spanish land grants were honored by the US. Even today, you can still find ranches based on the old land grants.
Reavis moved west. He got work at a California newspaper. His job was to woo back the Railroad advertizing which had been compromised by an inflammatory article. Reavis succeeded, by guaranteeing railroad right of ways in Arizona. He was well paid by the RR for his efforts. The RR ordered Reavis to the southwest in 1880 to solidify his claims and their right of way.
Jim Reavis began studying the old land grants. He decided that if the Railroad would pay him for the land grant sight unseen, then an airtight forged land grant would be worth millions.
After traveling to Mexico, he arrived back in San Francisco. Reavis wasnt just planning on forging documents, he was intent on creating a fictious branch of a noble family with all the documents to support the claim.
March 1883, Reavis arrived in Tucson Arizona, rumors flying about his land grant claim. California papers had already printed information on it. Reavis presented his papers to the Surveyor General and insisted he pass judgment on the claim.
The Surveyor General, Joseph Robbins, could not find a flaw to the paperwork. The claim was for 18,750 square miles of land. From Phoenix to New Mexico, encompassing the wealthy mineral deposits in the nearby mountains. This is an area larger than the combined states of New Jersey, Maryland and DC. Robbins postponed the decision.
Reavis set up camp in the Casa Grande area. Arizola, the finest house in the Arizona territory. It served the Baron de Arizonac as his headquarters.
Reavis' first victim was the Silver King Mine. The owner recognized his claim and gave him royalty rights of $25,000. From this point, Reavis sent out notices all over his territory implying that if he wasnt paid, the homeowners were all in danger of losing their land. Some gave readily. Others resisted. Reavis' crew of extortionists followed through with threats by various acts of violence.
Citizens were in an uproar. Newspapers attacked Reavis. The more vocal ones met with violence. The Attorney General brought the case to court, demanding proof of the claim. Reavis won. To solidify his claim further, he courted eastern politicians. Unfortunately for him, the democratic president's representative didnt care for Reavis. The newer Surveyor General pronounced the claim a fraud.
Reavis fled to California to repair the damage. He decided to "find" a living female heir to the claim and marry her. The girl, an orphan who lived a life of drudgery until Reavis found her, remained convinced of her heritage until she died years later.
Reavis forged birth records in California, but forgot one detail, a second set of records that he didnt alter. This would eventually prove to be his undoing.
With his wife, he traveled east and to Europe with the idea of producing more forged documents. With his marriage, the Baron de Peralta was admitted into the courts of Europe. As well as the crown heads of Europe, Reavis met with the financiers of Europe.
Although happy in their place in the European courts, trouble at home called Reavis back to Arizona. The territory was ready to take care of him once and for all. As part of his latest financial schemes, Reavis pushed his land grant claim through again. Arizona was outraged. Reavis became the most hated man in the territory. Newspapers called for lynching as the final solution. Echos of this hatred reverberate today.
October 1889, the Surveyor General presented his report refuting the Peralta land grant. Reavis sued the Federal government over his claim. He sought either 11 or 25 million dollars in damages. The government special investigator found the omission error in the California birth records that Reavis made.
June 3, 1895, James Addison Peralta-Reavis, Dona Sofia Loreta Micaela Reavis and Clinton F. Farrell (a Reavis financier who never appeared) vs. the United States of America. Acting as his own attorney due to severe financial reversals, Reavis lost his case on June 28, 1895. He was immediately arrested for fraud. Reavis spent a couple of years in prison.
April 1898, Reavis is released from prison. Broke and abandoned, he returned to Phoenix. He died in 1914, a pauper, in either Denver, Phoenix, or Mexico. No one seems to know or care.
The coordinates take you to the site of his home and the memorial marker there. The home was torn down in the 1980's. The marker, erected in the 1960's shows its disdain for the conman and thief. To obtain credit for this waymark, please post a gps photo of the marker.
Wikipedia article A short biography. Another short bio, including his life after prison. A detailed account.