Hello Everyone,

I'm back at a problem sorting out Bentleys in Amelia County.

In brief, the question is whether or not, given the dates below, the Samuel
Bentley whose baptism is recorded on December 30, 1719, in No. Farnham Parish
records, Richmond Co. VA, is likely to have been the same Samuel Bentley who
obtained a land patent not quite  fifteen years later in October 1734 in what is
now Amelia County, then Prince George Co.  I have several other reasons for
believing this is not the case, but two questions regarding this information:

First, it is my understanding that colonial Virginia parish
practices/requirements were to baptize babies when they were very young.  Is this true?  Could
you assume this would be before they were three?  I note that the above
Samuel, s/o Daniel and Ann had a sister baptised November 2, 1717 and a brother
baptised March 13, 1720 (1721).  So the parents seemed to have them baptized at
regular intervals.  Would they likely wait until each child was around nine
years old?

Second, I know that Samuel Bentley would have to have been 21 years old when
he obtained his patent in 3 Oct 1734.  We also have discussed here how the
entire process often took a number of years, but I have the impression it was
usually in the neighborhood of about a year.  Would an individual have had to
have been at least 21 to even initiate the paperwork, obtain a survey, etc.?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Best Regards,
Janet Hunter



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