ABSTRACTS OF VIRGINIA's NORTHERN NECK (LAND) WARRANTS & SURVEYS, 1697-1784 (HAMPSHIRE, BERKELEY, LOUDOUN, FAIRFAX, KING GEORGE, WESTMORELAND, RICHMOND, NORTHUMBERLAND AND LANCASTER COUNTIES) by Peggy Shomo Joyner.
1987, xv, 225 pp. Published as the fourth and last volume in a series of Northern Neck Warrants & Surveys, this collection has become a standard reference work for researchers in the period of colonial Virginia history.
Contents:
Hampshire, 1750-1784 (pp. 1-78); Berkeley (1734), 1750-1781 (pp. 79-96); Loudoun, (1729), 1744-1779 (pp. 97-104); Fairfax, (1697), 1739-1779 (pp. 105-120); King George, (1667), 1722-1770 (pp. 121-127); Westmoreland, (1650), 1722-1778 (pp. 129-134); Richmond, (1662), 1697-1778 (pp. 135-140); Northumberland, (1653), 1719-1750 (pp. 141-142); Lancaster, (1664), 1723-1756 (p. 143); Guy Broadwater Surveys, 1749 (pp. 145-150);
Miscellaneous Wills from Land Office Records, 1656-1840 (pp. 151-160); Jonathan Clark Notebook (Improvements in the Northern Neck), 1786 (pp. 161-186); Placename index, name index.
The Northern Neck Proprietary, also called the Fairfax Proprietary, or Fairfax Grant, was a land grant first created by the exiled English King Charles II in 1649 and encompassing all the lands bounded by the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers in colonial Virginia. This constituted up to 5,200,000 acres of Virginia's Northern Neck and a vast area northwest of it.
The grant became actual in 1660 when Charles was restored to the English throne. By 1719, these lands had been inherited by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1693-1781). By that time the question of the boundaries of the designated lands had also become highly contentious. It was decided in 1746 that a line between the sources of the North Branch of the Potomac and the Rappahannock River (the "Fairfax Line") would constitute the western limit of Lord Fairfax's lands. The early 17th century decade was witnessing a wave of pioneer settlement throughout the region.
To obtain land a person purchased a warrant from the proprietor's agent specifying the precise location of the desired land. The warrant was then given to a surveyor, who surveyed the land. The plat, warrant, and any related papers were returned to the proprietor's office, and if the title was clear, a grant was recorded and then issued. At any point after the warrant was purchased the land could be assigned (sold) to another person, and years could elapse between the purchase of the warrant and the issuance of a grant.
The volume is arranged first by county, then alphabetic by grantee. Please note: The index provided at the end of the volume contains only those persons whose reference occurs outside the alphabetic listing in the volume. It is NOT a complete index of names or places.
[Nnw4] $27.00 (printed version)
The above title is also available as a digital e-book in PDF format:
[ENNW4] $20.00 electronic version; please note: this is a large .pdf file and will be sent as a .zip file.
Fairfax County was established in 1742 from the northeastern lands of Prince William County. Its name was taken from Thomas Fairfax, sixth baron Fairfax of Cameron, proprietor of the Northern Neck. At that time it also included all of Loudoun County (taken from Fairfax in 1757). An adjustment in the Loudoun-Fairfax line was made in 1798, and a portion of Loudoun County was returned to Fairfax's jurisdiction. in 1801 the area of present Arlington County was ceded by the state of Virginia from Fairfax County lands to become part of the federal government's District of Columbia.
Settlers were moving into the Fairfax area as early as the middle of the seventeenth century. the first land patent in the region dates from 1651. when the county was established officially in 1742, the population base already numbered 4,125, with fully one-third of these as black slaves.
The county suffered heavily from destruction and theft and a considerable portion of its records were lost during the Civil War.
THE FAIRFAX LINE
FAIRFAX CO., VA 1810 CENSUS transcribed by John Vogt. 10 1/2 x 8 1/2, x, 35 pages. This is the first surviving
census for Fairfax, since both the 1790 and 1800 censuses have been lost. The transcription is in the rough alpha order of the original document for easy reference.
Fairfax was an important and populous county in the Northern Neck and adjacent to the nation's capital. It rural nature persisted well into the nineteenth century, and it was the home of greats from the Revolution such as George Washington and George Mason.
FAIRFAX CO., VA 1749 COURT ORDER BOOK
by Charles & Virginia Hamrick. 2003, iv, 64 pp., index of names. The authors have provided a faithful and accurate transcription of this early court order book.
VIRGINIA MERCHANTS: ALEXANDER HENDERSON, FACTOR FOR JOHN GLASSFORD AT HIS COLCHESTER STORE, FAIRFAX CO., VA, HIS LETTER BOOK OF 1758-1765
by Charles & Virginia Hamrick. 1999, x, 313 pp., index of names. The authors have provided a transcription as
well as facsimile reproduction of a letter book for John Henderson, who operated the store at Colchester, Virginia,
one of a group ultimately spoken of as the "South Potomac Stores." The owner, John Glassford was pne of the most
prominent and prospersous of the Scottish "tobacco lords." This work elucidates the workings of the merchant and
business class in Virginia during the period of the enormous growth of the colony prior to the Revolution.
Fairfax Co. 1815 Directory of Landowners
by Roger G. Ward. 2005. 21 pages, map, 5 1/2X8 1/2.
Fairfax Co. Revolutionary Public Claims
transcribed by Janice L. Abercrombie and Richard Slatten.. 2005. 23 pages, 5 1/2X8 1/2.