The headright of my own 5th G-Gfather, Owen Griffith, of Isle of Wight Co appears three (3) times in Nugent, twice and then in 1703 again, even after his death in 1698.  Fraud?  Nope.  If you owned Owen's headright and for whatever reason he did not serve the entirety of his debt of years to you, you could bargain away or sell whatever of that term yet remained.  Your buyer - though the law had not so intended - was also then entitled to 50 acres.  These examples of stretching the intent of the lawgivers was quite universally overlooked, since there were untold millions of acres to be cleared, broken to the plow, and become homes and income for the owners, AND because such developed land increased the tax base and so the cash flow for the Crown.  Taxes, as always and now, were a prime mover of the early colonies.         
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [log in to unmask] 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 8:25 PM
  Subject: Headrights ?


  While transcribing some of the VA land patents, I noticed the same names
  appear under more than one patent.  Is this a case of fraud or is there another
  explanation?
  Thanks,
  Jim Atkisson

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