From two others with questions. 
-----Original Message-----

....
Subject: Re headrights

"Dear Paul,....
....My ancestor was used as a headright in 1705 for William Major in New
Kent County, Virginia.  I had originally assumed that this would have been
the same year as his migration…."

*********  Not all.  In fact, the date he shows up as a headright was almost
invariably at least 2 or 3 and sometimes even still more years after his
arrival at the docks here.  

Why?  Because after having gained the headright by paying money, by
transporting a person, by having purchased, traded for, inherited, or having
been given the headright to him as a gift or as payment for a debt, that
"owner" of the head right had to - by visit or representation - somehow
select what tract of acreage he wanted; file an application for that land,
have it surveyed, file the survey with usually the Clerk of Court, wait to
see if anyone else claimed the same land, gain a certification by the clerk
that he was the only person claiming that tract, having that certification
forwarded to Council, and then waiting as long as it took for that matter to
work through govt. and to have the patent issued.  

But that was not the end; unless one was of affluence, trustworthiness and
reputation in the area or of equally high standing in the colony, such that
what he said he would do, he did, then his stated intentions were not
enough.  He then had to "develop" the property (build a cabin), clear a
rather small tract, "break that land to the plow", and either personally
settle on the property or have some one else do so in his behalf.  Only then
could the patent issue.  Given that government, then and now, seldom acted
with haste, the process was necessarily VERY long. 
____________

I recently found him renting a very small amount of acreage in 1704 however,
next to where I find acquiring land of his own.  I have recently heard that
these "master's" were allotted 20 years time to claim the headright for
additional land.

*****   OR, sell, give or otherwise dispose of that headright. Remember, the
law as promulgated by Parliament in the 17th Century was not as precise or
followed so strictly as we MIGHT today, so be careful that you don’t assume
that every action was as written in the law. 
,.,,,
Good luck.   Paul
HYPERLINK www.DrakesBooks.com www.DrakesBooks.com.  

Sincerely,
Jeff Davis
A Davis and Langford Family Historian

 

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