Regarding the definition of "tomahawk rights". . . . . 

In North Carolina from approximately 1765-1780 (the years of greatest 
settlement of Piedmont counties) one runs into this term.   It referred to the 
blazing of corner marker trees as settlers identified land he intended to occupy as 
owner.   I suspect this occurred after consultation with neighbors so as to 
avoid disputes and trespassing violations.   The settler blazed the corner trees 
with a hatchet, a marking that probably looked like a tomahawk slash.   Thus 
the term "tomahawk grant."   After marking vacant land as his, the new owner 
contacted the County Surveyor to survey the tract of land and report the metes 
and bounds at the county courthouse.   

In North Carolina, the colonial land office was closed (for several reasons) 
between approximately 1765 and 1780.   During these years, the surveyor's 
registration and payment of county land tax were evidence of ownership and 
recognized by courts when land was sold or inherited.   

After the War of Independence, the North Carolina State Land Office was 
established. Over a period of a dozen or more years, "tomahawk grants" were 
legalized by issuance of official state land grants.   No doubt, county surveyors 
were incredibly busy for the next ten or more years as they resurveyed thousands 
of "tomahawk grants" and submitted the record to the Land Office for formal 
issuance of the land grant. 

Anyone searching for a person's approximate settlement date in North Carolina 
may find that the grant was issued in 1790.   Regardless of that, the owner, 
or his heir, may have lived on that land for many years. 

Joyce Browning (born in Stokes County, North Carolina)
Fairfax County, Virginia


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