The tree, however, is located on a portion of what had been Lot #15. Jackson and his wife Mildred, along with a J. A. Cobb, sold their property to a Dr. Malthus Ward in 1832, the same year cited on a plaque as being the date of the tree's deed. The Clarke County real estate indices contain no indication of when or from whom Jackson originally purchased the property, although much of the land in that area is reported to have belonged to a Major James Meriwether.[8][9][10] Even though Jackson may have lived near the tree as an adult, his childhood was actually spent in Jefferson County, not in Athens,[4] making it less likely that he had experienced idyllic childhood summers playing beneath the tree's branches.