"Escheat" means exactly what your dictionary says. The process is considerably more involved than how I'm going to try to explain it, but the land would escheat under two circumstances: it was not properly "seated" ("seated" means that the patentee must with 3 years of the patent build a wooden house of at least 12 x 12 ft, and plant at least one acre of ground), or if the patentee died without any known legal heirs (known as leaving the land "deserted"). In general, the escheatment process required a local judge and escheatment court to determine the circumstances, which often involved bringing in local witnesses and the collection of dispositions. If the local court determined that the land was escheated it was forwarded to the General Court for review and confirmation. If the General Court was still determined to have been properly escheated, then the land was made immediately available for re-patent to the first applicant (who was often the person who started the process in the first place). In your case, it looks like to me that it was William Phillips that instigated the escheatment process (i.e., he claimed land that someone else had either not "seated," or had "deserted"), and had the land re-patented to him in 1663. He probably (just a guess) then passed this on to John Phillips (a son?, or relative? Or?) either by deed or will. Lou Poole, Richardson, TX -----Original Message----- From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sally Phillips Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 2:03 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [VA-ROOTS] Early Patent Escheat What does the word "escheated" mean in the following deed abstract? Deed 1 July 1730 John Phillips and Margery his wife of Westover Parish, Charles City Co., to James Williams of same, for L 50, land with houses, part of 700 acres which William Phillips escheated and had patent granted for 2 Dec 1663; bounded by Moses Creek, Oyster Shell Poynt, Capt. John Edloe and said Williams, 175 acres. Wit: Jno. Minge, Isaac Williams, William Woodard Signed: John (J) Phillips, Margery (M) Phillips Recorded 5 Aug 1730 My dictionary defines escheat as the reversion of property to the crown or the state after failure of the person legally entitled to the property. Did William Phillips fail and did John Phillips get new patent? If property reverted to the crown, how did John P get it? There is no such grant or patent in the LOV online database. Thank you. Sally Phillips To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html