South CarolinaRe-posting of the 1772 SC Land Grant >From King George III of England To William Witherington, Sr. _____________________________________ South Carolina George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great-Britain, France and Ireland, KING, Defender of the Faith, and so forth, To ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS shall come, GREETINGS; KNOW YE, THAT WE of Our Special Grace, certain Knowledge and mere Motion, have given and granted, and by these Presents, for Us, Our Heirs and Successours, DO GIVE AND GRANT unto William Witherinton his Heirs and Assigns a Plantation or Tract of Land containing: Two Hundred Acres situated in Craven County on the N.E. side of Lynches Creek near the fork on a place called the Little Beaver Dam bounded on all sides by vacant land. And hath such Shape, Form and Marks, as appear by a Plat thereof, hereunto annexed; Together with all Wods, Under-woods, Timber and Timber-trees, Lakes, Ponds, Fishings, Waters, Water-couries, Profits, Commodities, Appurtenances and Hereditaments, whatsoever thereunto belonging, or in anywise appertaining; Together with Priviledge of Hunting, Hawking and Fowling in and upon the same, and all Mines and Minerals whatsoever; Saving and Reserving, nevertheless, to Us, Our Heirs and Successours, all White Pine-trees, if any there should be found growing thereon; and also Saving and Reserving, nevertheless, to Us Our Heirs and Successours, One Tenth-Part of Mines of Gold and Silver only; TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said tract of Two Hundred Acres of Land and all and singular other the Premises hereby granted unto the said Wm Witherinton, his Heirs and Assigns forever, in free and common Soccage. The said William Witherinton, his Heirs and Assigns Yielding and Paying therefor; unto Us, Our Heirs and Successours, or to Our Receiver-General for the time being, or to his Deputy or Deputies for the Time being, yearly, that is to say, on the Twenty-fifth Day of March, in every Year at the Rate of Three Shillings Sterling, or Four Shillings Proclamation-Money, for every Hundred Acres, and so in Proportion, according to the Number of Acres contained herin; the same to commence at the Expiration of Two Years from the Date hereof. Provided Always, and this present Grant is upon Condition, nevertheless, that the said Wm Witherinton, his Heirs or Assigns, shall and do yearly, and every Year, after the Date of these Presents, clear and cultivate, at the Rate of Three Acres for every Hundred Acres of Land, and so in Proportion, according to the Number of Acres herein contained; and also, shall and do enter a Minute or Docket of these our Letters-Patent, in the office of Our Auditor-General for the Time being, in Our said Province, within six Months from the Date hereof. And Upon Condition, That if the said Rent, hereby reserved, shall happen to be in Arrear and unpaid for the Space of Three Years, from the time it shall become due, and no Distress can be found on the said Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments hereby granted; or if the said William Witherinton, his Heirs or Assigns shall neglect to clear and cultivate yearly, and every Year, at the Rate of Three Acres for every Hundred Acres of Land, and so in Proportion, according to the number of Acres herein contained; or if a Minute or Docket of these Our Letters Patent, shall not be entered in the Office of Our Auditor-General, for the time being, in our said Province, within six Months from the Date hereof, That then, and in any of these Cases, this present Grant shall cease, determine, and be utterly void, and the said Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments hereby granted, and every Part and Parcel thereof shall revert to Us, Our Heirs and Successours, as fully and absolutely, as if the same had never been granted. Given under the Great Seal of Our said Province W i t n e s s : His Ency The Rt. Hy Lord C. G. Montagu Capt. General Governour and Commander in chief in and over Our said Province of South Carolina, this Nineteenth Day of November Anno Dom. 1772 in the Thirteenth Year of Our Reign. C.G. (L.M.S.) Montagu Signed by His Ency The Governour in Council: Geo Davidson, Pro C.G. And hath thereunto a Plat thereof annexed, representing the same, certified by John Bremar Deputy Surveyour-General on 12th August 1772 <Above Document Copied 2 August 2000 from a Photocopy of the Original Document on File at SC Archives> Order No. 4918 (no date provided) Grant to Wm Witherinton of 200 Acres Reference SC Archives, Royal Grants Volume 3-N, Page 95 DARLINGTON, SC DEEDS: WILLIAM WITHERINGTON, SR, Grantor to Caleb Owen, Grantee, Book A, Page 250. Date: Feb. 20, 1804 - 200 acres on both sides of Little Beaver Dam Note: This second deed of Feb. 20, 1804 is apparently the same 200 acre parcel of land identified in the above '1772 Grant' by King George III to William Witherinton. ***** Email Message from John L. Andrews of the ODDGS Hartsville, Darlington CO, SC on 6/20/2000 Witherington's Mill Pond is now called Clyde Mill Pond. It is located right at Gum Branch Baptist Church. The "old Camden Road" runs by the mill pond. A stream that begins in Chesterfield County called Beaverdam was dammed up to create the mill pond. I ran across a reference on a death certificate last week of a cemetery named "Beaverdam Cemetery." I'm sure it refers to the same area. I looked for this cemetery five or six years ago, but never could find it. It existed as late as the 1940's. I wonder if it began as a family burying ground for the Witheringtons and neighborhood families. Do you have anything in your records about such a cemetery? Darlington and Chesterfield Counties were both on the North side of Lynches Creek and Kershaw and Sumter Counties were on the South side of Lynches Creek. The North fork of the creek was the boundary between Chesterfield and Kershaw Counties. Two branches of the creek converged right at the Chesterfield - Darlington line (where the old Camden Road crossed over the creek at Tiller's Ferry). From that point on, Lynches Creek formed the boundary between Darlington and Sumter Counties. Little Beaver Dam is a tributary (in Chesterfield County) of Black Creek, as well as ANOTHER creek known as Big Beaver Dam. This last mentioned creek is a separate and different creek from the Beaver Dam that Witherington's Mill Pond was located on near Gum Branch Church. The "Chesterfield" Big Beaver Dam is located five miles up Black Creek from the Chesterfield-Darlington County Line. Little Beaver Dam is another 2.5 miles up Black Creek from Big Beaver Dam Creek. There is a 1806 (or so) map of the Darlington - Chesterfield County line area from Lynches Creek to the head of Cedar Creek. The map was made to establish the County line. Along the boundary are listed the various land owners who live on either side of the line. "Witherington" is listed just inside the county line near the "Darlington" Beaver Dam. Just across the line in Chesterfield County is "King." John Andrews, Old Darlington District Chapter, SCGS PO Box 175, Hartsville, SC 29551-0175 __________________ In a publication "South Carolina Baptist 1670- 1805" by Leah Townsend the following was found in the research of Virginia Witherington of Arkadelphia, AR (now deceased): WILLIAM WITHERINGTON Lower Fork of Lynches Creek Church was probably the branch meeting house built by First Lynches Creek Church in 1770 on Thomas Rouse's land near Little Lynches Creek located in Chesterfield District about 16 or 17 miles before Upper Fork of Lynches Creeks. Messrs. Evan Pugh and Edmund Botsford helped to constitute the church in 1789, and it united with the Charleston Association in the same year under the care of Rev. Joshua Palmer. By 1796, the church had a meeting place called Boggy Swamp where it gathered most of the time, with occasional meetings in 1797 at Witherington's Mill at Lower Fork of Lynches Creek. The church records in 1798 are incomplete. There was bitter dissension among church members during that year. Bro. Wm Witherington refused to commune, said he did not consider himself one of the church and also declared that if the land had been his over which Rev. Bonds had opened a path to the meeting house, he would "check him with the law". Fellowship was withdrawn from Mr. Witherington. Statistics of Lower Fork of Lynches Creek Church 1789-1804 show that the Messenger to the Association for the years 1793, 1794, and again in 1803 was William Witherington. Submitted 5 January 2002 by: Bill King 14106 Carolcrest Circle Houston, Texas 77079 Email: [email protected] Tel. 281-493-6767