And everywhere for that matter. I am dedicating todays diatribe to Mr. Bibb Edwards of North Carolina, aka Mr. King William County. He was sitting next to me today at LVA and stoked me up to light a fire.

So, first. When will LVA and VHS and everybody else reprint the county formation chart that quite erroneously says that Northumberland County was formed from York County?
This has been a continual battle by those of us in the Northern Neck who must constantly correct this on-going error. Northumberland County was created from the Chicacoan Indian District in what in modern parlance is called the Northern Neck. That is to say, the four counties of Northumberland, Lancaster, Richmond and Westmoreland. (Don't get this confused with the Northern Neck Proprietary, which included all the above and a whole lot more. But that is for a future rant.)

Back to the chart. It is true that when Lancaster County was formed in 1653, it was taken from part of Northumberland County AND part of YORK County. That does not mean Northumberland County was ever part of York County. It wasn't. Never. Ever.

The part of Lancaster that came from York County was on the South (or West, if you prefer) side of the Rappahannock River. Northumberland County never, ever, doesn't, didn't ever extend on South (or West) side of the Rappahannock River.

When Middlesex County was cut off from Lancaster County in 1663, it came from that portion which had previously been York County. NEVER NORTHUMBERLAND.

After Middlesex came Old Rappahannock, which was still on both sides of the river. When that county was abolished the part North (east) of the Rappahannock became Richmond County (and North Farnham parish) and the part South (west) of the Rappahannock River became Essex County, who also kept the records.

The chart handed out and on display at LVA and elsewhere is in gross error by giving York County as the parent county of Northumberland, and by extension Lancaster, Richmond, Westmoreland, King George, Stafford and so on.

In sum, anything on the South (or West) side of the Rappahannock River has York County as its grandparent county. NOT NORTHUMBERLAND.

Next issue of the rant (should I be allowed) will be to kill the notion that the grandmother of Mary Ball Washington was a Montague. She wasn't. And no, we don't know who she was, but we sure know who she was not.  This bit of fiction is routinely passed around as fact by Preservation Virginia. Another Draculette we can never seem to slay.

Your Trusty Friend,
Craig Kilby

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