Greetings listers!

I have a multi part quandary to put before you:

Part 1 - I have a man "Tom" who in 1768 receives a patent on 393 acres.  The
land is definitely and identifiably in northern Charlotte County (formed
1764), however, it is identified as Brunswick.  Charlotte was formed from
Lunenburg in 1764, which had been separated from Brunswick in 1746, which
means the identification was 24 years out of date.

Part 2 - There are other people's patents dating as early as 1747 for
properties adjoining Tom's that use "Tom's corner" and "Tom's line" in their
metes and bounds, indicating that Tom had the property by at least that date
although his patent was not given until 1768.

Part 3 - Tom does not appear on any of the tax lists for what would have
been Lunenburg County during the period 1747-1764.  Tom sells this property
in 1779 at which time he was described as being of Charlotte County, so he
must have occupied it (he only owned the one property).

I feel that the fact that the patent still read Brunswick might be a clue.
Is it possible that there was some earlier vehicle, formal or informal,
securing the land to Tom (or possibly his father) and the 1768 patent is
simply reaffirming the claim (it doesn't state anything like that in the
patent)?  There were other 1760s patents in the vicinity so maybe he wanted
to get it formalized before someone made a land grab.

What do you make of the fact that he doesn't show up in the tax record?  If
he was a land owner, yet still living in someone else's household, wouldn't
he have been listed separately by name, or is it possible that he would just
have been one of the "white souls" in the household?  It was not a heavily
populated area, yet it was populated -- could he have escaped the tax
collector for all those years??? (Doubtful!)

Paul, Brent, anybody -- any comments?

Thanks as always!

Kathy

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