Whence I Came

Knowing the lands of Mr. John White helps us to understand more about his life.  However, this is not an easy task since most of the colonial wills and deeds for Hanover and New Kent Counties were unfortunately destroyed during the Civil War.  In order to learn about Mr. John White's lands, it is necessary to scour The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, the principle source of land information for early Hanover and New Kent Counties. Cover of St. Paul's Parish Vestry Minute Book    T he first known procession of lands within St. Paul's Parish occurred in 1708/09.  The vestry divided the parish into smaller sections called precincts, and then ordered that a procession of the property boundaries within each precinct be carried out.  The land owners from a given precinct "walked" the boundary lines together confirming where one person's land ended and another's began.  When the procession was completed, a list of all the property owners within the...

1695 to 1705 Record Analysis for John White 1695 Court Order to Maintain Roadways The 1695 New Kent County Court order for Mr. John White is an excellent record.   It provides an honorific name to follow, as well as a specific geographical region within New Kent County.   More importantly, the time span from 1695 (original court order) to 1705 (confirmation of the court order) shows that Mr. John White had an interest in this geographical area for at least ten years.   Figure 1 illustrates an approximate boundary of the court order described area.   The boundary was drawn on an 1867 map of Hanover County r etrieved from the Library of Congress .  Figure 1 A  Represents the mouth of Elder Swamp at Chickahominy River B  Represents the unknown Little Creek, branch of Matadequin Creek C  Represents the approximate area for Pole Green Quarter D  Represents the mouth of Beaverdam Creek at Chickahominy River This geogr...

1701 Map of Virginia Counties (Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624) New Kent County - St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Parishes To establish a base for the analysis of John White in St. Paul’s Parish, it was first necessary to review the records of St. Peter’s Parish and New Kent County.   In 1704, St. Peter’s Parish was divided creating St. Paul’s Parish in the western lands.   Both parishes comprised the western portion of New Kent County until 1720 when Hanover County was formed [1] .   There are a few records from this time period when both parishes were part of New Kent County that help provide a base for understanding Mr. John White of early St. Paul’s Parish.   The records that have survived are listed below, in chronological order: Date Source Record March 8, 1675 Minutes of Council and General Court of Virginia [2] “Upon petition of Thomas Hancock it is ordered that he secure soe much of the estate ...

Many conflicting genealogies exist involving the John Whites of St. Paul’s Parish, Hanover County, Virginia.   These clashing White family histories have formed an entangled web on the internet.   And during my several years of researching these Whites, I viewed this web as a snare to be avoided.   Without the aid of straight forward wills or Bible records, the John White connections of St. Paul’s Parish seemed lost in history.    R ecently, I had an awakening.   I could no longer continue to ignore the John White quagmire.   I had to sort the John Whites of St. Paul’s Parish out for my own peace of mind.   Why?   Because YDNA tells me that I am a relative to the descendants of these John Whites, although we have different surnames.   With the necessary grit, I began an investigation of the precincts where John White was listed as a land owner.   The land proceedings of the St. Paul’s Vestry Record proved allowed me to see t...