Early Land Grants and Settlers 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

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:

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.

In 1748, Thomas, Lord Fairfax sent George Washington to Frederick County to survey lands for him, which surveys were made and a record kept thereof.

A most remarkable thing, for a boy only sixteen year old to be a competent surveyor, but more remarkable that he would go away out in a new country, infested with Indians, with few of the conveniences of civilization, where he was not known.

He made surveys in 1748 and 1750 and the following are those for whom he made such surveys, viz:

From Norris History of Lower Valley, while he does not admit they are the first settlers, yet the full names he is able to give, or does give, are as follows:

There were others that then in 1732 that came, but their names are not known.

In 1734 there are mentioned.

In 1738 the Varices, Glasses, Hoges, Wilsons, Frys, Aliens, Johnstons and others, came and settled about the Opequon Presbyterian Church, above Winchester. There was another settlement of Quakers in another vicinity, viz: the Perkinses, Luptons. Walkers, Beesons. Barretts, Neets, Dillons, Fawcetts and others. This, perhaps, will be sufficient to show that after 1732, this part of the country settled up very rapidly, and the above brings us down to about 1750.  

West Virginia AHGP

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.]