In October 2002 I posted a message to this group asking if anyone could
identify Hartford County which was mentioned in Robert "King" Carter's will
which I was then transcribing and editing prior to posting it on my website
of his papers. No one was able to assist me.

I am pleased to report that I stumbled across the answer this morning in
Fairfax Harrison's Landmarks of Old Prince William. He has two indexes in
that book, and, while looking for something else, I ran across Hartford
County entered in his list of counties, but in parentheses after Prince
William, not under Hartford itself.

He wrote that in 1726 there was a bill before the House of Burgesses
proposing to "divide Stafford [County] at Aquia creek and create above that
boundary a county to be named Hartford, but after debate the proposal was
rejected." (Harrison. Landmarks. . . . pp. 311-312, citing the  Journals of
the House of Burgesses, 1727-1740. pp. 408-414. Carter knew of the bill and
used the name in his will.

I am adding a footnote to the text of the will on the website.

Ned Berkeley

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