I know this is long but there are a few Ramey's in here....... J. <>< To: KY-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [KYF] Land War of Eastern KY, 1776 This is an article from the Paintsville Herald written by J. K. Wells on Nov. 22, 1977 The Land War The early history of eastern Kentucky was marked, not only by the savage warfare between the white and red men but as well, a chronic feud between the homesteaders and the large land companies. Up until 1776, patenting of Kentucky land had been light and sporadic, limited largely to Virginia's bonus to her French and Indian war veterans. In that year, the Loyal Land Co. , remembered best as the sponsor of Dr. Thomas Walker and Daniel Boone among others, and Colonel Richard Henderson's Louisa Land Co., backer of Mathias Harmon and his band, began surveying and patenting large Eastern Kentucky boundaries in a gigantic land speculation scheme. Simultaneously the migration from the Piedmont region into Kentucky commenced and while the non-resident land speculator ignored the possession of the homesteader, the homesteader ignored the paper title of the land companies. To meet this situation and at the same time encourage the small settlers, Virginia, in 1779, enacted a land law giving each squatter up to 400 acres around his cabin at $2.25 per 100 acres and an option on an additional 1,000 acres at $40 per 100 acres. The earlier patent was issued in July, 1788 to George Lewis and the second in September of the same year to John May and David Ross. Lewis, May and Ross were Tidewater Virginia planters and the patents were surveyed and apparently paid for and resold by the Lousia Land Co. Title to the Lewis patent vested ultimately in John Turner, William R. Fleming and the May-Ross patent in William J. Williams. By then the first wave of migratory homesteaders was in Johnson Co., settling and claiming bottom land within the large patents. In 1796, Reverend James Madison patented a 1,000 acre tract on Big Sandy River overlapping the Lewis Boundary. In 1812, John Graham patented 140 acre tract within the Lewis tract and David Trimble and Nathaniel Auxier patented small tracts within the May and Ross Boundary.Among the purchasers of tracts thus carved from the May-Ross patent were Benjamin Hylton, James Whitt, Nathaniel P'Simer, John, James and Isaac LeMasters, Alexander, Lydin and Andrew Pelphrey, Andrew Rule, David Harris, Jessie Price, John Colvin, Electious Howes, Elias Davis, Edmund Conley, Abind Fairchilds, John Litteral, Jacob Salyers, Harriston Litteral, David Conley, William Remy and John Tackett. Purchasers of portions of Lewis patent were James and Martin Franklin, Valentine Vanhoose, Armstrong Rowland, Montraville, Moses and Retherford Preston, Nathaniel Auxier, Joshua Collins, William Remy, John Witten, John Turner, Walter Elam, Winston Mayo, F. M. Stafford and Benjamin Spradlin. Homesteaders gobbled up the remainder of the patent tracts and the more desirable of the clear land. When in May, 1843, Johnson Co. was carved from Floyd, Morgan, and Lawrence Co., almost two-thirds of its land was under patent. Of the ultimate victory of these homesteaders, Johnson Co. was born and by their children it is populated. ==== KY-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List ==== Remember... no queries allowed on this list. KyGenWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/ ============================== Free Web space. ANY amount. ANY subject. RootsWeb's Freepages put you in touch with millions. http://cgi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/acctform.cgi