Early Land Grants of West Virginia

Some history of early settlements and land grants in West Virginia by W. S. Laidly, Esq., who has devoted much study to the subject. A long list of names is given, perhaps most of the settlers of the time.

It is rare that so many names of the early settlers of any region can be gotten at this day. Their descendants, who were legion, overflowed to the Ohio and Kanawha Valleys, and went to help build up several Western States, especially Ohio. Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

There has been some discussion on this subject through the publications of the West Virginia Historical Society and there may be more. It is not now our purpose to continue here this discussion, but to speak by the records of those that were among the earliest, if not the first settlers.

Spotsylvania County was formed in 1720
Orange in 1734
Frederick was established by law in 1738 but was not organized until 1743
Berkeley County was founded in 1772
Jefferson in 1801
Hampshire and Hardy were included in Frederick County. It is known that in 1732, that Jost Hite with sixteen families went into the Shenandoah Valley and from that date there has been a record kept and the settlement reaches back to that date, beyond question with the further question, of whether there was others there before that date, unsettled.

The first patent or grant of land west of the Blue Ridge was made to Jost Hite. 20 Aug. 1734, see Grant Book No. 15, page 276. In this grant, it is said, that it is designed to be included in a county to be called Orange, being part of the forty thousand acres purchased by the said Jost Hire from Isaac and John Van Meter, who had obtained orders of our said Lieutenant-Governor, in Council, to take up the same, upon certain conditions therein expressed, which orders were made June 17, 1730. The grant to Hite was for one thousand and twenty acres (1,020).

Then follows a large number of other grants to others, "designed to be included in a county to be called the county of Orange, being part of the forty thousand acres purchased by Jost Hite from Isaac and John Van Meter, who had obtained orders from our said Lieutenant-Governor, in council, to take up the same upon certain conditions therein expressed, which orders were made the seventeenth day of June, 1730."
The assignment of the said "orders" was made to Hite and Hite had the surveys made, and the surveyor was Col. James Wood, afterwards Clerk of the Court of Frederick, and these survey were assigned by Hite to those who purchased of him, and the grants were issued directly to the said purchasers, with the above clause therein, which designates the same as purchasers of Hite, of the 40,000 acres, he obtained from Van Meter
Grant to John Smith. 420 acres on Turkey Spring of Opeckon creek, dated 21 Aug., 1734;

Grant to Rus Smith, 150 acres. 21 Aug., 1734;
Grant to Henry Willis, 2030 acres, on Stony Lick and dated Aug. 21, 1734;
Grant to Thomas Shepherd, 220 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
Grant to Samuel Taylor, 200 acres, on South side of the Cohongolulu, dated 3 Oct. 1734:
Grant to Thomas Johnson, 150 acres, on Turkey Spring of Opeckon, dated Oct. 3, 1734;
to William Jasper, 62 acres, on Opeckon Run, dated Oct. 3. 1734;
to Neil Thompson. 139 acres, dated 3 Oct., 1734;
to Isaac Pennington, 500 acres, dated 3 Oct., 1734;
to Richard Pendall, 300 acres, dated Oct. 3, 1734:
to Stephen Hoillingsworth, 472 acres, dated Oct. 3, 1734;
to John Welton, 442 acres. Oct. 3, 1734:
to Israel Frond, 300 acres. Oct. 3, 1734;
to Robert McKay, jr., 828 acres, Oct. 3, 1734.
to Peter Woolf, 600 acres, Oct. 3, 1734:
to Samuel Morris, 378 acres, dated Oct. 3, 1734;
to David Perkins. 519 acres, Oct. 3, 1734:
to William Jay 100 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Richard Morgan, 210 acres, Oct. 3, 1734,
to Richard Morgan, 290 acres, Oct. 3, 1734:
to Thos. Johnson. 298 acres, Oct. 3. 1734;
to John Van Meter, 885 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to George Williams, 489 acres, Oct. 3. 1734:
to Daniel Burnett. 490 acres, Oct. 3. 1734.;
to Josiah Jones, 164 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Benjamin Harden, 1142 acres. Oct. 3, 1734;
to Thos. Branson, 1370 acres, Oct. 3, 1754:
to William Vestal, 285 acres, Oct. 3, 1734:
to Morgan Bryant, 1250 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Paul Williams. 270 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Abraham Pennington, 600 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Isaac Garrison, 1000 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Robert Slaughter, 536 acres, in Spottsylvania;
to Peter Stephen, 600 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Geo. Bowman, 100 acres. Oct. 3, 1734;
to Richard Paulson, 834 acres, Oct. 3, 1734:
to Robert Worthington, 3000 acres, Oct. 3, 1734;
to Morgan Morgan, 1000 acres, on the _____ branch of the Opeckon, between the lands of John Mills and _____ Hobzson, dated 12 November, 1735; to Alexander Ross, 2373 acres, 12 Nov. 1735.

The following is a list of grantees of lands conveyed by Jost Hite and recorded in Orange County, before the county of Frederick was organized:

On March 24. 1730 there were deeds recorded to Stephen Hunsonbeller. Christian Nisoranger, Thos. Wilson, Jno. Van Meter, Thos. Chester, Lewis Starry, Robt. Dorarfe, Geo. Harris.
On Oct. 27, 1737, deed to Jno. Leamen. On April 27, 1738, dated to James Wood, and to William Williams, Jacob Neswanger, Lewis Stephens. In Feb., 1739, to Hendery Hunt, Christian Blank.
In May, 1740, to Peter Writtenhouse, Jacob Christman, John Hite, William Reed, Jno. McCormick, Samuel Walker. Chas. McDowell and James Beans in 1741.

In 1742, Robert Allen, Jno. Harron, Geo. Hite, David Vance, Jas. Hoge, Abraham Wiseman, James Vance, Peter Make, Jacob Hite, John Peuter, Thos. Bronson, Samuel Glass. David Logan. Fred Forman, Nath Thomas:

To Emanuel Grubb in 1743, and John Grubb, Thos. Ashby, Win. Brock, Robt. McKay, and Abraham Hite in 1744.

We have endeavored to not repeat the names either on the grants or on the deeds. It will be noticed that there were deeds recorded in Orange in 1743 and 1744, and Fredrick Co. was organized in 1743, where it would be supposed that deeds would be recorded after that date.

Source: The West Virginia Historical Magazine, Quarterly, January 1903, Vol. 3, No. 1
[Webmasters note: The 3 articles, Early Land Grants, Frederick County Voters, Property Surveyed by George Washington were all part of the same article.  All give reference to Virginia. The opening statement on the Early Land Grant page, is from the Historical Magazine.]