SOUTHERN COLONIAL LAND GRANTS VIRGINIA COLONIAL GRANTS CROWN GRANT CHRONOLOGY: 1606 1616: London Company controlled land Individual grants were promised but not actually made. 1616: London Company paid dividends of land at 50 acres/share. Ancient planters who arrived before 1616 received one share for their personal adventure. A few individuals also received land as compensation for services to the Company. 1617: Joint-stock grants authorized to private associations at 100a per share (many of these associations were called Hundreds) 44 of these grants were made through 1625 to associations or individuals, perhaps half actually settled. The associations had authority to make their own internal grants. 1618: The Greate Charter proposed and adopted in 1618.[1] Several types of grants authorized, though only 184 were actually issued prior to dissolution of the company: · Shareholders: 100a/share plus a second 100a when first 100a was planted. · 100a to Ancient Planters (free of quitrent if transported at their own expense) and another 100a when first was planted. Half-shares to arrivals after 1616 (if transported at own expense). · Arrivals after 1618 promised 50a if transported at their own expense. 1624: London Company dissolved. Royal Governors were instructed to follow the rules of the late company. Former stockholders could still claim 100a per share. Some grants were made rewarding service to the company, and later the colony. 50 acres was still awarded for every person transported thither. 1625-1699: Essentially all Crown grants were headright patents (except for proprietary grants.) 1699-1776: Fee-simple (treasury right) grants allowed as of June 21, 1699 at five shillings per 50 acres, and quickly became the dominant form. Headright grants continued, but headrights were now limited to His Majestys Christian subjects comeing to reside here, and their volume declined dramatically after about 1715. NORTHERN NECK (between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers) was a special case. 1649 King Charles II gave the unclaimed lands in the Northern Neck to seven Proprietors. No grants were made by the Proprietors, but some grants continued to be made by the Crown. 1688 Culpeper, who had bought the rights to the Northern Neck charter, was granted an exclusive proprietorship by James II. He promptly died and Lord Fairfax inherited. Very few grants made until 1690. 1690 Fairfax began making grants under conditions similar to the Crown grants. The only differences were the absence of headrights and the seating and planting requirement. Minor Numbers of Patents: · Some Indian land was leased to white settlers, most later confirmed by patent. · Minor numbers of patents were allowed for certain frontier defenders. · French & Indian war veterans were given bounties, but not implemented until 1779. Edwin's note: The above makes it sound much simpler than it really was. The actual process was a trainwreck. Charles II granted huge tracts of land to his favorites at the Court, and much of this land was already claimed by someone else. Lord Fairfax inherited 5 million acres from his mother, I believe the daughter of Lord Culpepper. Seventeen year old George Washington surveyed much of the land for Fairfax. The claims and counterclaims were fought in various courtrooms for a hundred years, well into the 1800's. In fact, I recently saw reference to a case still pending in the Federal courts. (more to come)