Notes for a presentation at the Cabell Foundation Annual Meeting in Williamsburg in October 2000 By Thomas Turpin Bannister Dept of Biology, Univ of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 email: tom@ttb.biology.rochester.edu PRELIMINARY NOTES Recorded in Albemarle Co on 13 & 14 Aug 1751, were the postings of L500 bonds to secure Tho Turpin my 4 ggfather, Wm Cab(b)ell your kinsman, and Tho Jefferson (grandfather of the President) as assistant surveyors under Albemarle Co Surveyor Joshua Fry. The Albemarle Surveyors Book 1 (1744-1755) is chock full of plats surveyed & drawn by your forebear and mine. Your family & mine are closely related by common enterprize if not by blood. In "Surveyors and Statesmen" Sarah Hughes lists... Surveyors ... Assistant Surveyors as.. In Albemarle... Joshua Fry 1744-1754 Tho Turpin 1745-1756 Peter Jefferson 1757 Wm Cabell sr 1746-1754 Jno Staples 1760-62 Tho Jefferson 1750-51 Jno Dawson -1762 Wm Cabell jr1753-1761 Nicholas Lewis 1765-1773 Jno Staples 1755-1760 Anderson Bryan 1774-1782 Jno Smith jr 1755-1756 Danl Smith 1767-1773 In Amherst... Wm Cabell jr 1761-1777 Jas Higginbotham1765-1777 MAPS OF CABELL PATENTS & GRANTS (1738-1805) INTRODUCTION Immigrant Dr Wm Cabbell (1700-1774) arrived in Va in 1723. He married Eliz Burk who, between 1727 and 1750, bore a dau Mary and 4 sons Wm 2, Jos, Jno, and Nicholas. For a number of years, Dr Wm resided near Dover Ck in Goochland Co. It was in Goochland he first received patent for 1200a on the W branch of Lickinghole Ck (alias Treasury Run). Dr Wm became interested early in acquisition of then empty lands along the James in what are now Nelson, Amherst, and Buckingham Cos. There, in the years 1738-1814, he and his 4 sons amassed large acreages by some 70 patents or grants. My purpose today is to report to you what I have learned about the locations of these 70-odd Cabell tracts, as well as a number of patents received by Cabell kin, namely, Wm Mayo (cousin of Dr Wm), son-in-law Wm Horseley, by several Burks (Samuel, Richard, Jno Peartree, & Geo), and by Dr Wm's associate or competitor Wm Megginson. 73 patents or grants were issued, from 1738 to 1814, to Dr Wm & his 4 sons. One of these was the 1200a in Goochland, and a second was for land on the west side of Carters Mt in Albemarle. The 71 remaining were for tracts in modern counties of Amherst, Nelson, and Buckingham. (There were also 7 patents or grants of lands recorded as lying in Jefferson, Montgomery, Grayson, Monroe, and Greenbrier Cos of WVa or Ky.) Of the 71 grants, three were for areas of 1.5 acres or less, two small islands and a 1.5 acre lot issued to Jos and other churchwardens; no attention has been given to these. The remaining 68 patent & grant records have all been read & plotted. Of the 68, the boundary lines of 52 have been mapped with some precision. And 10 surveys more, which reference identifiable streams, can be allotted to general vicinities. At present, 6 surveys only continue to defy efforts to locate. CABELL HOMLAND Of the 68 Cabell records read & plotted, about 3/4 were located in southern Nelson and northwestern Buckingham, an area I call the "Cabell Homeland". Several slides will now define the "Homeland" in terms of county boundaries, watercourses, roads, and topography. (1) AREA defines the Homeland in terms of longitude and latitude. From the superimposed 2-mile grid, you see that the Homeland is about 20 miles east- west by 15 miles north-south. The area contained is about 200,000 acres. (2) COUNTY show the portions of Albemarle, Nelson, Amherst, Appomattox & Buckingham Cos lying in the Homeland. Superimposed are rivers, creeks, and branches (in blue), main roads (red), and 2ndary roads in brown. (3) HYDNMS gives names of watercourses as found in the old surveys. (4) TERRAIN show the massif of Pruett's & Spears (alias Slate River) Mts in Buckingham, the low Buffalo Ridge and its continuation as Horse Mt, and the chain of Findlay-Turner-Piney-PeaVine Mts further north. Again watercourses & roads are superimposed. (5) Finally, COVER show in orange all the area within the Homeland for which surveys have been read and mapped. The boundary lines of the surveys are here shown in black. Areas in white are those where surveys have not yet been searched for, or have been searched for but not yet found, or are unresolved voids between adjacent surveys. You can see that patent or grant surveys have been found & located covering roughly 3/4 of the Homeland. PROGRESSIVE OCCUPATION OF THE HOMELAND BY CABELLS AND OTHERS A series of 9 slides show the gradual occupation of the Homeland upto 1805. 738. The slide shows the areas for which patents were issued through 1738. The earliest patents were to Allen Howard at the mouth of Rockfish River in 1730 & 1735, to Jno Bolling in 1733, and to Saml Spencer in 1733. These and all other non-Cabell patents to follow are tinted pale green. The first of the Cabell patents was that of Wm 1, 4800 acres, a long "snake" on both sides of the Fluvanna. Here & subsequently, all Wm 1 tracts are painted yellow. 739. Wm Cabbell 1 received 6 additional patents extending the "yellow snake" further up the James River. Cousin Wm Mayo received land on James River between Mayos & Swann Cks; this and tracts of other Cabell kin are painted gray. 746. In the years 1740-46, Wm Cabbell 1 received 2 patents up Tye River. But he conveyed 4 tracts to others. Two of Wm 1's tracts were conveyed to Wm Allen who repatented them in 1745; reflecting the change, the yellow of Wm 1 is replaced by pale green of a non-Cabell. And two tracts were sold to Wm Megginson who also repatented them in 1745 ( yellow changes to the grey the color of Cabell kin and associates). Wm Mayo enlarged his holding on Mayo & Swann Cks, and three Burks rec'd patents - Samuel on S s James, Richard at Great Bent, & John Peachtree on Tye Riv. At the W margin of the Homeland, appear small portions of 2 very large patents each about 25,000 acres - one to Geo Braxton in 1743, the second to Rev Robt Rose in 1744. Elsewhere several patents to "others" - one to Benj Mims (Wm Cabbell's neighbor back in Goochland Co on Lickinghole Ck), to Jas Fendly who apparently gave Findlay Mt its name, & to Robt Walton an isolated tract in the hinterland of Buckingham. 756. In the years 1747-1756, the following transactions occurred: Wm 1 received a tract on Ravens Ck (yellow) Wm 2 made his 1st appearance receiving 350 acres on Owens Ck (green) Saml Burk received 350 acres on both sides of Tye Riv (grey) Among non-Cabells, Joshua Fry and Margaret & Martha Fry received several patents in the SW corner (pale green). Joshua Fry, Albemarle Surveyor was Wm 1's (& Tho Turpin's) boss when the latter were Assistant Albemarle Surveyors. But the big change was issuance of another huge tract (28,528 acres) to Walter King in 1750. King was a Brit and forfeited this land during the Revolution. Subsequently, the large tract was divided into smaller lots; many grants are recorded. Conclusion to this point: large areas still unpatented. 765. The 10-yr interval 1756-1665 saw much activity. Wm 2 received 1575a bs at Great Bent. There are troubles with the survey - probably the acreage was good deal larger. Note that the earlier Richd Burk patent land was included in Wm 2's patent (grey changes to green). Note also that one of Wm 1's tracts was now identified as that of Wm Horseley (yellow to grey). Wm 2 received 1850a on ridge between Slate & Fluvanna Rivs. This plot remains unlocated. Wm 2 received three additional tracts totalling 940a at Pounding Mill, Stephens, & Fendley Cks. Jos Cabell 1st appeared, receiving 4 tracts in Buckingham totalling 1515 acres. Jno Cabell 1st appeared receiving 3 patents totalling 685 acres Geo Burk received 70a on Burks Ck Wm Megginson received 3 tracts - one previously patented by one Hugh Dennum. 774. From 1766 to 1774... Wm 2 received patents for 250a on Shirleys Ck (previously patented by Joseph) & 3200a on Joes Ck & Ruckers Run Joseph added 2 patents: 100a on S s Fluvanna & 80a in Buckingham John patented 500a in Buckingham (including 400a previously patented by Robt Walton) Nicholas 1st appears receiving 5 patents totalling 6776a Note: Wm 1 died in 1774. By then - or soon after - by deeds or will his lands would have passed to his 4 sons or other descendants. But this study is based entirely on the Land Office records of patents & grants. Thus the yellow color given to Wm Cabbell's patents persists until some subsequent patent shows that the tract has changed hands. We have seen some of Wm Cabbell's 1739 patents change color as they passed to Allen or Megginson. And we shall yet see some portions of the "4800 acres" patented in 1738 change color. But much of the 4800 acres remains yellow up through the final 1805 map, because no later Land Office record shows conveyance. 785. During the war years 1775 to 1785... Wm 2 adds 2000a on Mayo, Stephens, Mill, and Joes Cks & 120a fronting on Fluvanna Riv Jno adds 120a on a N br of Davids Ck in Buckingham. Nicholas adds 227a on Ivy Ck of Rockfish Riv 795 Over the decade ending in 1795... Joseph's received a large patent 14740a in Buckingham (included were 3 tracts patented by him earlier). Jno received 2200a on S s Fluvanna (included were 2 tracts previously patented by himself, a tract originally patented by Samuel Burk, and 2 portions of Wm 1's "4800") Many other tracts patented by "others" the largest being the 5682a of Jno Webster 805 "Mopping up" Nicholas adds 76a Jno adds 2 small tracts - each of 33a. ROADS A number of stations of surveys of the HomeLand mention proximity to named roads. But the names are old ones not found in the DeLorme Va Atlas. It is interesting to see if the old roads can be related to modern ones. Slide 805WRG is the 805 map overlaid with streams, roads, and a 2-mile grid. 1. A number of stations of surveys in Buckingham mention "Joseph Cabells Ferry Rd". The stations line up with with modern Rte 664, and appear headed for a ferry near Westminster. 2. A number of stations of surveys both east & west of the James mention "Megginsons Ferry Rd". East of the James, the stations line up with stretches of Rte 607, and the general alignment of stations on both sides of the James suggests a ferry on the Megginson patent lands (in the vicinity of the present-day crossroads of Five Forks & Eldridge Corner). 3. There is station of Wm 2's 1785 patent on "Church Road" which appears to be "Old Norwood Road" of the DeLorme Atlas. 4. There is another station of Wm 2's 1785 patent which mentions "an old schoolhouse"; it was in the immediate vicinity of "Union Hill". 5. There are stations on "Rolling Road" in Gleasons Gap and along the south side of Finlays Mt - apparently Rte 47 or Glade Rd. CABELL PATENTS & GRANTS ELSEWHERE IN AMHERST & NELSON COUNTIES North and west of the HomeLand, Wm 2, Joseph, and Nicholas Cabell patented a number of tracts. The records have all been read & the survey lines plotted. Some of tracts have been approximately located. Some other surveys mention identifiable streams and can be placed in the general vicinity of the drainage area. The locations of several other surveys remains unknown at present. There are large areas (white) where nothing is yet known about patents & patentees. The slide AmhNels shows most of the two counties of Amherst & Nelson. A red rectangle at the lower right delimits the HomeLand. Only a few of the surveys in the Homeland are plotted. As previously, green identifies tracts of Wm 2, orange Joseph, lavendar Nicholas, and pale green others. The map is dominated by several large patents. Yellow marks the 23,700a patent of Rev Robt Rose (1744), and grey marks the similarly huge patents of Geo Braxton (1743, 25,000a), Walter King (1750, 28,528a), and three patents of Jno Chiswell (1739) totalling 30,000a. Also in grey 10,000a patented by Jno Carter (1738). Since the map was drawn, two more very large patents have been found: Wm Nicholas (1798, 25,000a) and Jno Fleming (1796, 10,000a). Perhaps more will be found. Some of the Wm 2, Jos, & Nicholas tracts were on or adjacent to the BlueRidge; were they retreats from summer heat? Table 1. TOTAL ACREAGES PATENTED in old Goochland, Albemarle, Buckingham, Amherst, & Nelson # is the number of patents issued. TOTAL is the sum of acreages recorded in patent records. NEW is the acreage of land newly brought into ownership of one of the 5 Cabells. # TOTAL NEW Wm 1: 14 8,590a 8,590a (includes 1735 patent of 1200a on Lickinghole Ck in Goochland) Wm 2: 22 18,084a 17,884a ( -200a previously patented by Jos) Jno: 10 4,143a 2,919a ( - 400a - 95a previously patented by Jno - 282a - 447a previously patented by Wm 1) Jos: 15 18,130a 17,605a ( = 18,130a - 200a - 226a - 100a repatented) Nicholas: 12 13,552a 11,377a ( = 13,552a - 0.5 x 4350a Crawford's share) Altogether some ~58,000a were brought into Cabell ownership by these 5 Cabells. PROGRESSIVE OCCUPATION 1738-1805 - CONCLUSIONS 0) Within "the homeland" (ca 196,000 acres), "the coverage" is the area in which surveys have been mapped (very roughly 100,000 acres) 1) Within homeland, 1st patent was 1730, last patent about 1805 - 72 yrs or more than 2 generations. 2) Of the "coverage", only a small fraction of the area was patented before The Declaration of Independence (1776). Much of coverage was only patented in the last decade of the 18th C. It is no surprize that the process of transforming unclaimed land into privately held tracts proceeded progressively westward from the tidewater. By 1760 or so, lands of present day counties of Henrico, Chesterfield, Goochland, Powhatan had been completely privatized. But it has surprized me how much unclaimed land still existed in the Cabell Homeland at the end of the Revolution, and that the completion of the privatization in the last two decades of the century occurred at the same time that huge acreages were granted beyond the BlueRidge and in West Va & KY and even Ohio.