Kentucky became a state in 1792 - up to that point it was part of Virginia. It's hard to track legal documents if you do not know the formation of Virginia cities and counties and thr states that spun off from Virginia. Virginia started with 8 'shires' or counties. Those developed into 100 in the 1950s but has been reduced as some of them have incorporated and become independent cities. Many families lived in 5 or 6 different counties and never moved! If a patent says 'adjoins his own land', then obviously he did own land ther before the patent. This land could be been purchased or it could have been a patent - some pages of the old patent books are illegible or destroyed. You might check county records to see if there is a purchase recorded. Bev ========Original Message======== Subj: RE: [VAROOTS] Cavaliers and Pioneers Date: 9/5/2003 11:18:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time From: <A HREF="mailto:rex@tyler.net">rex@tyler.net</A> Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com">VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com</A> To: <A HREF="mailto:VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com">VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com</A> Sent from the Internet (Details) Paul, You have been most helpful in helping unravel just what these records mean or should I say what they don't tell us about our very early ancestors. But there are two more puzzling items about these records, patents and/or grants or conveyances by other means such as deeds or the certificates you mention: I noticed the description of the property in a number of instances referred to land which "adjoins his own land." If that means what I think it means, then it would indicate that the grantee in this particular patent or grant already owned land adjacent to this land. Logically, I would then surmise there was an earlier grant or patent to this same grantee. If so, why can't I find the earlier grant or patent indexed in the records? What part of the records am I overlooking? The second item that puzzles me- and again at the risk of showing my ignorance of VA and KY history (which I admit) - there are any number of grants or patents recorded in VA which refer to land in KY. One in particular, a grant to Samuel Kirby 26 April 1792 of 584 acres located in Jefferson Co, KY. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Jefferson Co on the opposite side of KY from the VA/KY line? If I am reading that correctly does that mean that either the colonial land office of VA or the Commonwealth of VA issued patents and/or grants to land lying in KY? If so, did the grantee live in VA or in KY? How would VA be able to dole out land lying in KY? I haven't located or looked at an old map of colonial VA just yet but did it extend all the way to the western side of KY. If so, why would the description of the land refer to a particular county in KY. Or could it be that the location of the land shown on the VA land site was supplied by someone long after the original patent or grant? I was unable to access the actual document since I don't have the TIFF reader (but will solve that problem today -maybe) I guess my real question is simply whether or not a person found as a grantee in the VA land records actually lived in VA on the date of or at about the time of the patent or grant? In other words where did Samuel Kirby live in 1792 - VA or KY? Or did he live in VA, move to KY and then apply for the grant in VA? Does this mean that just because a person is listed as a grantee of a patent or grant in VA land records that person may not have lived in VA? Straighten me out here Paul. This is crucial to my search for ancestors. Rex -----Original Message----- From: Paul Drake [mailto:pauldrake@charter.net] Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 7:51 AM To: VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [VAROOTS] Cavaliers and Pioneers When land escheated for whatever reason (usually for failure to "seat"it) the regranting of that tract quite usually was by "certificate" and not again by grant. You will find many such certificates mentioned in Nugent and in the works by others following her efforts. Notice that assignments or patent rights usually only appeared in the records of the county in which the land was situate. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Good advice, Bev. ----- Original Message ----- From: Ms2001@aol.com To: VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 11:33 AM Subject: Re: [VAROOTS] Cavaliers and Pioneers Kentucky became a state in 1792 - up to that point it was part of Virginia. It's hard to track legal documents if you do not know the formation of Virginia cities and counties and thr states that spun off from Virginia. Virginia started with 8 'shires' or counties. Those developed into 100 in the 1950s but has been reduced as some of them have incorporated and become independent cities. Many families lived in 5 or 6 different counties and never moved! If a patent says 'adjoins his own land', then obviously he did own land ther before the patent. This land could be been purchased or it could have been a patent - some pages of the old patent books are illegible or destroyed. You might check county records to see if there is a purchase recorded. Bev ========Original Message======== Subj: RE: [VAROOTS] Cavaliers and Pioneers Date: 9/5/2003 11:18:24 AM Eastern Daylight Time From: <A HREF="mailto:rex@tyler.net">rex@tyler.net</A> Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com">VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com</A> To: <A HREF="mailto:VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com">VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com</A> Sent from the Internet (Details) Paul, You have been most helpful in helping unravel just what these records mean or should I say what they don't tell us about our very early ancestors. But there are two more puzzling items about these records, patents and/or grants or conveyances by other means such as deeds or the certificates you mention: I noticed the description of the property in a number of instances referred to land which "adjoins his own land." If that means what I think it means, then it would indicate that the grantee in this particular patent or grant already owned land adjacent to this land. Logically, I would then surmise there was an earlier grant or patent to this same grantee. If so, why can't I find the earlier grant or patent indexed in the records? What part of the records am I overlooking? The second item that puzzles me- and again at the risk of showing my ignorance of VA and KY history (which I admit) - there are any number of grants or patents recorded in VA which refer to land in KY. One in particular, a grant to Samuel Kirby 26 April 1792 of 584 acres located in Jefferson Co, KY. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Jefferson Co on the opposite side of KY from the VA/KY line? If I am reading that correctly does that mean that either the colonial land office of VA or the Commonwealth of VA issued patents and/or grants to land lying in KY? If so, did the grantee live in VA or in KY? How would VA be able to dole out land lying in KY? I haven't located or looked at an old map of colonial VA just yet but did it extend all the way to the western side of KY. If so, why would the description of the land refer to a particular county in KY. Or could it be that the location of the land shown on the VA land site was supplied by someone long after the original patent or grant? I was unable to access the actual document since I don't have the TIFF reader (but will solve that problem today -maybe) I guess my real question is simply whether or not a person found as a grantee in the VA land records actually lived in VA on the date of or at about the time of the patent or grant? In other words where did Samuel Kirby live in 1792 - VA or KY? Or did he live in VA, move to KY and then apply for the grant in VA? Does this mean that just because a person is listed as a grantee of a patent or grant in VA land records that person may not have lived in VA? Straighten me out here Paul. This is crucial to my search for ancestors. Rex -----Original Message----- From: Paul Drake [mailto:pauldrake@charter.net] Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 7:51 AM To: VAROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [VAROOTS] Cavaliers and Pioneers When land escheated for whatever reason (usually for failure to "seat"it) the regranting of that tract quite usually was by "certificate" and not again by grant. You will find many such certificates mentioned in Nugent and in the works by others following her efforts. Notice that assignments or patent rights usually only appeared in the records of the county in which the land was situate. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237