Concerning the ever changing county lines of old Brunswick/Lunenburg/Bedford. Go here-- http://www.directlinesoftware.com/Pool/appomatt.txt As if it is not confusing enough. These deeds are held under Appomattox county. But note the counties they were originally filed under. And note the landmarks. Some of them are places we would not consider Bedford or Campbell. etc. A friend of mine tipped me off to the "Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer" by Delorme. You can buy these at Barnes & Noble or Borders for 20 bucks. It shows most of the little creeks and mountains you see all the time in the old land patents. It was the best $20 I ever spent. You can buy the Gazetteer for most states. As you can see from the deeds, to us, there appears to be no rhyme or reason for what patents landed in what county. Who knows? Indians, wars, fires, floods? Records were shuffled around seemingly everywhere. Two centuries is a long time. The old Brunswick and Lunenburg lines seemed to fluctuate back and forth as the other counties evolved. So did Goochland, Albemarle, Amelie, and Amherst. And many others. So, don't confine your search to what you think is the correct county. Your ancestor's patent may be where you least expect it. One of my ancestors was John Irvine. He was granted a huge tract of land at Hat Creek, just north of Brookneal. I have searched a dozen counties for his grant to no avail. He was one of the founders of the Hat Creek Presbyterian Church in 1742, and donated the land for the original meeting house. The grant was supposedly "many thousands of acres from the Crown." (Gooch?) But I have never found it. Hat Creek John raised my orphan Christopher Irvine. I cannot prove their exact relationship. Probably uncle or great uncle. My other Irvines owned lands further west of John. Some, very early, near the junction of the Otter River and Flat Creek. Other lands across the Bedford line near Leesville. Even others north of Bedford City and west of Lynchburg, at Auslins (Oslin's?) creek and Hurricane mountain. There is even a Samuel Irvine near Candler Mountain around 1800. I have very little proof tying all these folks together. The Scotch-Irish were all named Christopher and David, and William and Robert. And they all had many sons and brothers and nephews named the same. It is very easy to make assumptions that are totally in error. So the hunt continues. Edwin