While recently researching the Joshua Fry-Peter Jefferson map of 1751-55, I was given the following info concerning Northern Neck land research at Library of Virginia: (I have no further info except my postscripts below.) The Northern Neck Proprietary Patents are available for patron research through the Library's online Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys database. Not only can you search by surname you can search by river name, county name, etc., for patents related to your area of research. Several surveys for the Northern Neck Proprietary are extant and microfilm copies are available for patron research in the Library's reading rooms, only. Patrons may order copies of Northern Neck surveys by sending in the Library's Archives Records Request form. Patents can be viewed online through a patent's catalog record. The Library's personal papers collection includes two collections that may be of interest to you. The Fairfax Family Proprietary Papers, 1688-1810, Accession 24062, are available for patron research in the Library's Archives and Manuscripts Reading Room, only. A finding aid is available for patron use through the collection's catalog record and as you peruse through the finding aid you'll see several references to surveys, Hampshire County, etc... Copies of a specific record may be ordered by using the Archives Record Request Form. The link to this printable form is found below. Please complete and return this form with prepayment of the appropriate nonrefundable service fee for each request. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for processing upon receipt of payment. http://www.lva.virginia.gov/whatwehave/ARSform.pdf The second collection that may be of interest to you is the microfilmed Northern Neck Proprietary Papers, 1675-1843, Accession 41008, Miscellaneous Reels 4617-4624. The original records are a part of the Robert Alonzo Brock Collection housed at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Although we are unable to makes copies from this collection for patrons, we do have microfilm copies available for patron research through the interlibrary loan program of public libraries. To review the catalog descriptions for each record please use the Library's online Archives and Manuscripts catalog. Please visit our web site at http://www.lva.virginia.gov and use the online catalogs and image databases to investigate our holdings. If you need further assistance, please contact ... Archives Research Services at 804-692-3888. Our normal business hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 AM to 5 PM, except holidays. Hope this helps a little, Neil McDonald PS - Byron, your included hyperlink would not work for me, error (HTTP 501 Not Implemented or HTTP 505 Version Not Supported) means that the website you are visiting doesn't currently have the ability to display the webpage, or support the HTTP version used to request the page. PSS - The above LofVA (lva) info seems to primarily address the 'proprietary' (Lord Fairfax's) land patents. Virginia's colonial government also made land grants within the huge Fairfax Tract, some were very large with these grantees in turn selling/granting small plots to settlers. It seems this government also made direct grants to individual settlers as early as 1730+/-. Beyond this were the independent settlers who obtained their lands via 'squatters' rights' that were honored years later in some cases, with such lands sometimes changing hands during the lengthy process -- a confusing mess that Lord Fairfax did not settle during his lifetime. See the following for more: http://web.mac.com/charness1/Michael_Ernst_Harness,_Sr./Lord_Fairfax.html Or possibly Dr. Bergstrom will be so kind as to make any helpful corrections and elaborations....? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Re: Is the gap an omission or are there no records for Northern Neck Grants made between 1732 and 1736? Best Regards, Byron Bowman To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html