Would you be interested in writing an article on headrights for the /Magazine of Virginia Genealogy/? There is so much misinformation out there, I would really love to have a single defining article. Thank you for your previous kind words. I was in the middle of two projects, but just couldn't stand the question going unanswered. We really do need an article by someone who can take a reasoned and knowledgeable approach which you obviously can. Barbara Vines Little, CG Dominion Research Services PO Box 1273 Orange, VA 22960 540-832-3473 (7-10 p.m.; all day Sunday) [log in to unmask] CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certified genealogists after periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. Joe Chandler wrote: > To the previous information I would add the following: > > (1) A headright does not necessarily mean that the > person for whose passage was paid was an indentured > servant. I seriously doubt that Adam Thorowgood was an > "indentured servant," although he is described as a > "servant" in the muster of Edward Waters in Jan-Feb > 1624/5, having arrived in the "Charles" in 1621. > Indeed, he was described as a "gentleman" when he > bought 150A on the north side of Hampton Roads on > December 30, 1626. His status was such that he married > Sarah Offley, who was (as has been noted) the daughter > of one Lord Mayor of London and granddaughter of > another. Her father invested more than L100 in the > Virginia Company ca. 1618/19, perhaps in response to > the major change of administration of the Company that > occurred then. I suspect Adam's status was akin to a > clerk or aide-de-camp to Waters while Adam got > acclimated to Virginia (going through one full year's > cycle and surviving the climate and other threats to > life). > > (2) Headrights were also awarded for persons merely > visiting in the colonies -- it was the transit for > which the headright was earned, even though not > everyone transported stayed. > > (3) Headrights were also fungible, much like bearer > bonds are today. They could be sold (and often were) > by simple endorsement on the face or the back and > sometimes passed through several hands before being > redeemed. Ship captains also acquired headrights for > transporting individuals for free, often to fill out > the passenger spaces on their ships for later > redemption (investments) and/or to provide a > sufficient number of souls to meet contract > requirements for which the captain had been advanced > funds by a planter in Virginia. > > jc > > > > --- Douglas Deal <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > >> Barbara's response nicely summarizes the >> difficulties inherent in using >> land patents and headrights for genealogical >> purposes. The larger >> historical significance of the system is pretty >> clear, though. The idea >> was to reward--with land grants--those immigrants >> who paid for their own >> passage to the colony and for that of others, >> whether family members, >> servants, or (for several decades, at least) slaves, >> at the rate of 50 >> acres per person transported (self plus others). >> Those whose passage was >> thus paid did not get the land, except for a spell >> in certain other >> colonies, such as Maryland where it was part of a >> servant's freedom dues >> (until 1683, if I remember correctly). For most of >> the colonies, >> including Virginia, the headright system rewarded >> the wealthiest with >> even more wealth. In Virginia, it helped build a >> landed elite that, >> conveniently, was rewarded for bringing more labor >> into the colony. >> Political conflict in the decades before and after >> 1700 revolved, much >> of the time, around the abuses and inequalities that >> the practices of >> land distribution entailed. Anthony Parent's recent >> book, Foul Means, >> treats some of this story in detail. >> >> Doug Deal >> History/SUNY-Oswego >> >> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please >> see the instructions >> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html >> >> > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html