Look at the conditions needed to keep land granted that early. Purchases weren't out right, they required development or else they could be re-sold by the Penns. Selling parcels prior to the deadline could help keep the land both undeveloped and unclaimed. What you need to do is determine why it "generally" is believed, and what did Granville Leach support his statement with. It's odd for someone to make a point of the legal age at all in a land transaction unless they weren't implying there was some claim to him not being of legal age. Is there anything else in Leach giving context to the remark? Why do people generally believe they know Joseph Jr's age? A quick look at Ancestry didn't show any references to the arrivals in PA, births, marriages etc, while they do have some extensive early PA references they're not complete. I would be checking the records for something more concrete then others generally believe. The Ashtons are pretty documented, where they lived, attended church etc is known. If there is nothing showing Jr. was born here I'd be seriously questioning the generally knowns. Liz Harrison In a message dated 6/2/2009 5:37:08 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Liz asked, "What actually would make more sense on this thread is to state what the point is of proving someone was at least 21 and what the link was to Philadelphia." Since I posted the question I will answer. The point is to identify my family, who the kids were, and how old they were, thus perhaps also determining where they were born! The land in question was purchased in Philadelphia, which is why the question was posted here. My ancestor Joseph Ashton Sr had land in Lower Dublin in 1681 -- it shows on the maps of the time. I found a land deed in which Joseph Jr purchased 500 acres of land in 1698, however, he was "generally" believed to have been b ca 1682 in PA, making him about 16 years old in 1698. IF he was older, that's a huge difference, and may also indicate he was born prior to his parents immigration, which may also aid in tracking the entire family down overseas. In 1703 Joseph Jr sold this same land (500 acres) purchased in 1698 to his father Joseph Sr. Granville Leach notes at this sale that "Joseph Jr was 'of age'" implying that he was at least 21 and that comment is probably why he was listed as b ca 1682. In 1708 Joseph Sr died. His will explicitly states, "I give & bequeath unto Joseph my Eldest Son 250 acres of Land . . . upon the same that 'I purchased'', and the remaining 250 was to be inherited by Joseph Jr's oldest son when he came of age. So we have a son who buys land, sells it to his dad several years later, Dad subsequently claims he bought the land and wills it back to his son and grandson. So if anyone can explain this to me, I'm very interested. Sharon **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222585042x1201462767/aol?redir=htt p://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=Jun eExcfooterNO62) ********* Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/PHILLY-ROOTS ********* ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222585042x1201462767/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=Jun eExcfooterNO62)