I live in the heart of "The Manor of Leeds", in the portion which the Chief Justice John Marshall owned. I have been interested in the history of the area and will be glad to try to answer your questions. The book by Josiah Look Dickinson is one of my standby references. He did a good job of compiling the ownership and location of many of the leases. Not an easy job since there is little or no reference in the leases as to physical location. I also have an original ledger kept by Charles Marshall, land agent for Denny Martin Fairfax, of the leases in the manor in 1795. There are several other books about the Fairfax Proprietary. I have an original lease dated 1787, recorded in Fauquier County in 1788. On the back, four transfers are documented yet none of them are recorded. In some cases, in the "loose papers" in the court house basement, one can find subsequent owners through chancery or a default settlement. From what I have seen the leases seldom lasted through the three lives. As for the Marshall family purchase of the vast manors it was a long process. Lord Fairfax died in 1781 and by will "gave the manors of Leeds and Gooney Run to his nephew, the Reverned (sic) Denny Martin, of County Kent, England." John Marshall represented Denny Martin in his dealings with the State of Virginia and was negotiating with him for the purchase of his property. The sale was agreed upon in 1793 with John Marshall, brother James Marshall and brother-in-law Rawleigh Colston as buyers. In addition, James Marshall purchased South Branch Manor and some small lots in Winchester from Denny Martin Fairfax before he died in 1797 when the Virginia estate passed to Gen. Philip Martin of Leeds Castle from whom the sale of Leeds and Gooney Run manors was consumated in 1806.(1) The Marshalls had a difficult time getting the 14,000 pounds for the 106,382 acres. Rawleigh Colston had one-fourth interest or 26,535 acres in the northern part of Leeds Manor. James and John Marshall sold to another brother-in-law, John Ambler, 6,000 acres along the Shenandoah River adjoining Colston, and 4,000 acres along Thumb Run in Fauquier Co..(2) James took the Gooney Manor and a part of the Leeds Manor while John took the balance of Leeds Manor. All leases in the purchase were honored by the syndicate and it took years to gain clear title to the property. Very little was sold out of the family for a generation or two. The three principles passed their holdings to their descendants who still own parts of the original. (I own 300 acres of the 4,000 acre tract sold to John Ambler passed down to me through four generations and my sons will be the sixth generation owners.) I can think of six original homes of the Marshall families in this area still in good repair and occupied. A number of others burned or fell into ruin. There are numerous descendants of James and John living in northern Fauquier County today. Bill Stribling (1) Dickenson's "The Fairfax Proprietary", p. 17-21 (2) ibid. p. 32

Bill, I just noticed a name you mentioned - Rawleigh Colston. I have a Raleigh T. Colston married to Gertrude Powell d/o Humphrey Brooke Powell Esq. b. 1795. I am looking for Wilson connections within the Powell family as well as others. I also have a Charles Colston who's wife Rebecca Travers is the daughter of my 10th great-grandparents who's line eventually gets down to a Wilson. Wondering what the "T" in his middle name stands for. I have Travers and Tarpley in my line and Rebecca Travers married John Taverner. Their daughter Ann Taverner married Benjamin Winn who I bet is related to Elizabeth Winn Smith that married Lloyd Noland and is the daughter of Sarah Beveridge, sister to William Beveridge (the brother-in-law-) mentioned below. Now regarding land owners. How does one locate an individual if they didn't own land. I have a copy of a deed between my 6th great-grandfather John Wilson and his brother-in-law William Beveridge, stating he was of Fauquier Co. and the brother-in-law of Middleburg, Loudoun. Deed was in 1800 for slaves and he died in 1821. I have a copy of the estate inventory account and no property is mentioned. There appears to be no will. In 1832 his wife Elizabeth Travers Chinn (Wilson) wrote a letter stating Middleburg but that could be in Fauquier Co. All children left Middleburg just about the time of mother's death 1834. Local history in Middleburg of Eugene Scheel states Rawleigh Chinn (the father) built a house for the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth to John Wilson in 1796 on Pickering St. This house later became the property of Benjamin Thompson. The house once belonged to Joseph Martin and burnt in 1934. They had to have lived somewhere. Janean ----- Original Message ----- From: <Bilannstrb@aol.com> To: <VAFAUQUI-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 3:23 PM Subject: RE: Land Owners > I live in the heart of "The Manor of Leeds", in the portion which the > Chief Justice John Marshall owned. I have been interested in the history of > the area and will be glad to try to answer your questions. > > The book by Josiah Look Dickinson is one of my standby references. He > did a good job of compiling the ownership and location of many of the leases. > Not an easy job since there is little or no reference in the leases as to > physical location. I also have an original ledger kept by Charles Marshall, > land agent for Denny Martin Fairfax, of the leases in the manor in 1795. There > are several other books about the Fairfax Proprietary. > > I have an original lease dated 1787, recorded in Fauquier County in > 1788. On the back, four transfers are documented yet none of them are recorded. > In some cases, in the "loose papers" in the court house basement, one can > find subsequent owners through chancery or a default settlement. From what I > have seen the leases seldom lasted through the three lives. > > As for the Marshall family purchase of the vast manors it was a long > process. Lord Fairfax died in 1781 and by will "gave the manors of Leeds and > Gooney Run to his nephew, the Reverned (sic) Denny Martin, of County Kent, > England." John Marshall represented Denny Martin in his dealings with the State > of Virginia and was negotiating with him for the purchase of his property. > The sale was agreed upon in 1793 with John Marshall, brother James Marshall and > brother-in-law Rawleigh Colston as buyers. In addition, James Marshall > purchased South Branch Manor and some small lots in Winchester from Denny Martin > Fairfax before he died in 1797 when the Virginia estate passed to Gen. Philip > Martin of Leeds Castle from whom the sale of Leeds and Gooney Run manors was > consumated in 1806.(1) > > The Marshalls had a difficult time getting the 14,000 pounds for the > 106,382 acres. Rawleigh Colston had one-fourth interest or 26,535 acres in the > northern part of Leeds Manor. James and John Marshall sold to another > brother-in-law, John Ambler, 6,000 acres along the Shenandoah River adjoining > Colston, and 4,000 acres along Thumb Run in Fauquier Co..(2) James took the Gooney > Manor and a part of the Leeds Manor while John took the balance of Leeds > Manor. All leases in the purchase were honored by the syndicate and it took > years to gain clear title to the property. Very little was sold out of the > family for a generation or two. The three principles passed their holdings to > their descendants who still own parts of the original. (I own 300 acres of the > 4,000 acre tract sold to John Ambler passed down to me through four generations > and my sons will be the sixth generation owners.) I can think of six > original homes of the Marshall families in this area still in good repair and > occupied. A number of others burned or fell into ruin. There are numerous > descendants of James and John living in northern Fauquier County today. > > Bill Stribling > > (1) Dickenson's "The Fairfax Proprietary", p. 17-21 > (2) ibid. p. 32 > > > > > ==== VAFAUQUI Mailing List ==== > Visit the Fauquier County USGenWeb Home Page! > http://www.rootsweb.com/~vafauqui/fqva.htm > Be sure to bookmark it!!! >

Virginia estate inventories did not typically identify farms. The inventory was of personal not real property. The exceptions are when slaves, equipment, and/or crops are listed by the names of the farms. This usually applied to the wealthy, who owned multiple properties. To find out approximately where someone lived, start with the tax records--both personal and land lists. That will give you at least a division, either 1/2 or 1/3 of the area. IF you can find church membership records those might further identify a neighborhood where your ancestor lived. Find the man on the census records, who were his neighbors for 20 houses on either side? Identify the large parcel land owners. Can you find where their property was located? Most importantly, "work" the deeds of that area. It's unusual to be able to locate one family in isolation from their neighbors. Ms. Marty Hiatt, CGRS "Document what you find, listen to what you are told, and especially, love and respect your work." John Morris CGRS is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license after periodic evaluations by the Board. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janean Ray" <JRay38@neo.rr.com> To: <VAFAUQUI-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 2:10 PM Subject: Re: Land Owners > Bill, I just noticed a name you mentioned - Rawleigh Colston. I have a > Raleigh T. Colston married to Gertrude Powell d/o Humphrey Brooke Powell > Esq. b. 1795. I am looking for Wilson connections within the Powell family > as well as others. I also have a Charles Colston who's wife Rebecca Travers > is the daughter of my 10th great-grandparents who's line eventually gets > down to a Wilson. Wondering what the "T" in his middle name stands for. I > have Travers and Tarpley in my line and Rebecca Travers married John > Taverner. Their daughter Ann Taverner married Benjamin Winn who I bet is > related to Elizabeth Winn Smith that married Lloyd Noland and is the > daughter of Sarah Beveridge, sister to William Beveridge (the > brother-in-law-) mentioned below. > > Now regarding land owners. How does one locate an individual if they didn't > own land. I have a copy of a deed between my 6th great-grandfather John > Wilson and his brother-in-law William Beveridge, stating he was of Fauquier > Co. and the brother-in-law of Middleburg, Loudoun. Deed was in 1800 for > slaves and he died in 1821. I have a copy of the estate inventory account > and no property is mentioned. There appears to be no will. In 1832 his > wife Elizabeth Travers Chinn (Wilson) wrote a letter stating Middleburg but > that could be in Fauquier Co. All children left Middleburg just about the > time of mother's death 1834. Local history in Middleburg of Eugene Scheel > states Rawleigh Chinn (the father) built a house for the marriage of his > daughter Elizabeth to John Wilson in 1796 on Pickering St. This house later > became the property of Benjamin Thompson. The house once belonged to Joseph > Martin and burnt in 1934. They had to have lived somewhere. Janean > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <Bilannstrb@aol.com> > To: <VAFAUQUI-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 3:23 PM > Subject: RE: Land Owners > > > > I live in the heart of "The Manor of Leeds", in the portion which > the > > Chief Justice John Marshall owned. I have been interested in the history > of > > the area and will be glad to try to answer your questions. > > > > The book by Josiah Look Dickinson is one of my standby references. > He > > did a good job of compiling the ownership and location of many of the > leases. > > Not an easy job since there is little or no reference in the leases as to > > physical location. I also have an original ledger kept by Charles > Marshall, > > land agent for Denny Martin Fairfax, of the leases in the manor in 1795. > There > > are several other books about the Fairfax Proprietary. > > > > I have an original lease dated 1787, recorded in Fauquier County in > > 1788. On the back, four transfers are documented yet none of them are > recorded. > > In some cases, in the "loose papers" in the court house basement, one > can > > find subsequent owners through chancery or a default settlement. From > what I > > have seen the leases seldom lasted through the three lives. > > > > As for the Marshall family purchase of the vast manors it was a > long > > process. Lord Fairfax died in 1781 and by will "gave the manors of Leeds > and > > Gooney Run to his nephew, the Reverned (sic) Denny Martin, of County Kent, > > England." John Marshall represented Denny Martin in his dealings with > the State > > of Virginia and was negotiating with him for the purchase of his property. > > The sale was agreed upon in 1793 with John Marshall, brother James > Marshall and > > brother-in-law Rawleigh Colston as buyers. In addition, James Marshall > > purchased South Branch Manor and some small lots in Winchester from Denny > Martin > > Fairfax before he died in 1797 when the Virginia estate passed to Gen. > Philip > > Martin of Leeds Castle from whom the sale of Leeds and Gooney Run manors > was > > consumated in 1806.(1) > > > > The Marshalls had a difficult time getting the 14,000 pounds for > the > > 106,382 acres. Rawleigh Colston had one-fourth interest or 26,535 acres > in the > > northern part of Leeds Manor. James and John Marshall sold to another > > brother-in-law, John Ambler, 6,000 acres along the Shenandoah River > adjoining > > Colston, and 4,000 acres along Thumb Run in Fauquier Co..(2) James took > the Gooney > > Manor and a part of the Leeds Manor while John took the balance of Leeds > > Manor. All leases in the purchase were honored by the syndicate and it > took > > years to gain clear title to the property. Very little was sold out of > the > > family for a generation or two. The three principles passed their > holdings to > > their descendants who still own parts of the original. (I own 300 acres > of the > > 4,000 acre tract sold to John Ambler passed down to me through four > generations > > and my sons will be the sixth generation owners.) I can think of six > > original homes of the Marshall families in this area still in good repair > and > > occupied. A number of others burned or fell into ruin. There are > numerous > > descendants of James and John living in northern Fauquier County today. > > > > Bill Stribling > > > > (1) Dickenson's "The Fairfax Proprietary", p. 17-21 > > (2) ibid. p. 32 > > > > > > > > > > ==== VAFAUQUI Mailing List ==== > > Visit the Fauquier County USGenWeb Home Page! > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~vafauqui/fqva.htm > > Be sure to bookmark it!!! > > > > ______________________________