What Became of the Land for "John White's Orphans, Robert Brane in Possession Thereof"?
The first extant St. Paul's Parish procession record after Mr. John White's 1744 death is for the year 1751, followed by a procession order in 1755 and a return in 1756. Below is a comparison chart showing the names of the land owners in the Yellow Community between the processions of 1744 and 1756. Fortunately, there appears to have been a pattern of recording the names within the precinct beginning each time with John Howard and followed similarly. Changes in ownership can be determined by analyzing the names going across the table. For example, in 1744, John Muirfield owned a tract of land within the Yellow Community. But in 1751, Anthony Winston and John White took possession of Muirfield's land. They held this tract of land through 1756. The mention of Whites as property owners are highlighted in yellow.
For clarification, although the above chart shows that a John White, along with Anthony Winston, purchased land from John Muirfield located in the Yellow Community, the purpose of this entry is to analyze what became of the land that Mr. John White left for his "orphans". The Muirfield property will be analyzed in a future entry.
On first look, it would appear from the 1751 procession record that Robert Brane ended up owning Mr. John White's land in the Yellow Community. However, the 1755 procession record provides more detail on Robert Brane. He didn't actually own the land. Rather, Mr. John White's orphans owned the land and Robert Brane was just in "possession thereof" as he had married the orphans widowed mother, Katherine. Most likely, this was the property where Mr. John White had been living at his death in 1744 and where his widow and orphans continued to live.
In colonial Virginia, an orphan was any fatherless child. It didn't matter if a child's mother was alive - they were still considered an orphan. In those cases where a father died and left his children property, a guardian was appointed, even though the mother was still alive and took care of their daily needs. Unfortunately, the Hanover County, Virginia court records no longer exist for this era to verify if Robert Brane was appointed guardian to Mr. John White's orphans. But the 1755 procession record implies that at a minimum, Robert Brane was living on the orphans' inherited property and was seeing to their interests in regards to its legal processioning.
Although a will for Mr. John White has not surfaced, there is a 1758 Louisa County, Virginia deed which references the existence of a will with these word, "...John White late of the Parish of St. Paul in the County of Hanover by his last will and testament...". Specifically, the deed pertains to "...six of his, the said testator's, children..." who were to inherit equally "...part of the estate...". The names of the adult children, given in order, were Edith, Elisha, William, Tillah, Helena Marie, and Martha. The purpose of the deed (transcription provided below) was so that the children of John White could loan their share, "both real and personal", of their deceased father's estate to their mother, "Katherine Brain".
With this added information, things start to make sense. It would appear that when Mr. John White died in 1744, he left behind six young children and provided for them both real and personal property which was to be divided equally. It was also customary in 18th century Virginia for a dying man of property to provide for his wife's well being in his last will and testament. Often times, there was wording that allowed a widow to remain living at her existing home for the remainder of her natural life. Sometimes, wording was added which stipulated that if a widow were to remarry, she would lose the right to continue to live on the subject property. Unfortunately, we don't have a will for Mr. John White to review for such considerations. But it is clear, from both the 1758 deed and St. Paul's Parish record, that widow Katherine did remarry to Robert Brane and lived on the property that was willed, by her deceased husband, to her six children.
By 1758, all of Mr. John White's orphans were adults and his daughters had married. Why did they feel it was necessary for them to prepare, agree, and sign the above deed? One possibility is that Mr. John White's last will and testament did not make allowances for Katherine to remarry. As a result, she may have lost her legal right to continue to live upon the property without her children's consent.
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| St. Paul's parish, H. co. (1940). The vestry book of St. Paul's parish, Hanover county, Virginia, 1706-1786. Richmond: Division of purchase and printing. |
On first look, it would appear from the 1751 procession record that Robert Brane ended up owning Mr. John White's land in the Yellow Community. However, the 1755 procession record provides more detail on Robert Brane. He didn't actually own the land. Rather, Mr. John White's orphans owned the land and Robert Brane was just in "possession thereof" as he had married the orphans widowed mother, Katherine. Most likely, this was the property where Mr. John White had been living at his death in 1744 and where his widow and orphans continued to live.
In colonial Virginia, an orphan was any fatherless child. It didn't matter if a child's mother was alive - they were still considered an orphan. In those cases where a father died and left his children property, a guardian was appointed, even though the mother was still alive and took care of their daily needs. Unfortunately, the Hanover County, Virginia court records no longer exist for this era to verify if Robert Brane was appointed guardian to Mr. John White's orphans. But the 1755 procession record implies that at a minimum, Robert Brane was living on the orphans' inherited property and was seeing to their interests in regards to its legal processioning.
Although a will for Mr. John White has not surfaced, there is a 1758 Louisa County, Virginia deed which references the existence of a will with these word, "...John White late of the Parish of St. Paul in the County of Hanover by his last will and testament...". Specifically, the deed pertains to "...six of his, the said testator's, children..." who were to inherit equally "...part of the estate...". The names of the adult children, given in order, were Edith, Elisha, William, Tillah, Helena Marie, and Martha. The purpose of the deed (transcription provided below) was so that the children of John White could loan their share, "both real and personal", of their deceased father's estate to their mother, "Katherine Brain".
With this added information, things start to make sense. It would appear that when Mr. John White died in 1744, he left behind six young children and provided for them both real and personal property which was to be divided equally. It was also customary in 18th century Virginia for a dying man of property to provide for his wife's well being in his last will and testament. Often times, there was wording that allowed a widow to remain living at her existing home for the remainder of her natural life. Sometimes, wording was added which stipulated that if a widow were to remarry, she would lose the right to continue to live on the subject property. Unfortunately, we don't have a will for Mr. John White to review for such considerations. But it is clear, from both the 1758 deed and St. Paul's Parish record, that widow Katherine did remarry to Robert Brane and lived on the property that was willed, by her deceased husband, to her six children.
By 1758, all of Mr. John White's orphans were adults and his daughters had married. Why did they feel it was necessary for them to prepare, agree, and sign the above deed? One possibility is that Mr. John White's last will and testament did not make allowances for Katherine to remarry. As a result, she may have lost her legal right to continue to live upon the property without her children's consent.
1759 through 1784
Although Mr. John White's orphans were all adults by 1759, the processioning record for the land they inherited from their father during the years 1759 and 1763 continued to read, "John White's orphans Robert Brane in possession thereof". 1763 was also the year that Robert Brane paid Quit Rent on 200 acres in Hanover County to His Majesty (Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly and Magazine of Virginia Genealogy vol. 54 2016). The only time Robert Brane was ever mentioned in the St. Paul's Parish processioning record was always for the land in the Yellow Community. So, why would Brane pay the taxes on property he didn't own? One possibility is that Brane and Katherine enjoyed the full benefit of the property (farmed or timbered) so they agreed to pay the taxes. It should also be noted that the 1763 Quit Rent Roll is the only record which shows that Robert Brane paid land taxes in Hanover County.
It is not until 1767, and then again in 1771, that the reference to "John White's orphans" disappears and only the name Robert Brain/Brane is used.
1779 is the procession year where Robert Brane's name temporarily went missing from the Yellow Community. Instead, one of the "orphans", Elisha White, was listed as an interested property owner of Precinct 3 in Brane's place. A William Holt was also recorded as having an interest in Precinct 3 (page 549), and may have been a relative. Mr. John White's daughters, Edith and Helena Marie, married John Holt and Joseph Holt, respectively, as noted in the above 1758 Louisa County deed. To date, it has not been determined how William Holt was connected to John and Joseph Holt.
Three years later, in 1782, the first known Hanover County, Virginia tax record was recorded. Fortunately, the 1782 record not only includes an alphabetical listing, but a listing of names and acreage by date were recorded. Robert Brane's name is missing from this tax record. But Capt. Elisha White's name was recorded on April 19, and was listed adjacent to Nathaniel Smith, whose name Elisha was listed after in the 1779 procession. Below is a snippet of the 1782 listing for Elisha White which shows that he was taxed for 200 acres - just like Robert Brane in 1763. Other names reminiscent of the 1779 procession include Barker and Carter.
The final extant procession record for St. Paul's Parish represented property owners in 1784. Robert Brane was listed once again for the Yellow Community, and Elisha White was not. However, the Hanover County tax records tell a different story. Elisha White paid the taxes on the 200 acres of land in the Yellow Community from 1782 till 1801. Elisha died sometime between 1801 and 1802 as his estate began paying taxes on the 200 acres in 1802. In 1803, title of the land was transferred to Elisha's widow, Lucy White.
Summary
The land that Mr. John White left to his six "orphans" was comprised of 200 acres and initially held in the "possession" of their mother, Katherine, and her second husband, Robert Brane. Presumably, the Branes lived and cared for the property until Katherine's death sometime between 1779 and 1784 when Elisha White (one of the orphans) began showing up in "possession" of the land, according to processional and land tax records. It can be inferred that Elisha White purchased the interest of his siblings to the 200 acres in order to keep it whole. After Elisha White's death, title to the land was transferred to his wife, Lucy. A future entry will analyze what became of the 200 acres after Lucy's death.
copyright@2018 Deborah Thurman Parks
1779 is the procession year where Robert Brane's name temporarily went missing from the Yellow Community. Instead, one of the "orphans", Elisha White, was listed as an interested property owner of Precinct 3 in Brane's place. A William Holt was also recorded as having an interest in Precinct 3 (page 549), and may have been a relative. Mr. John White's daughters, Edith and Helena Marie, married John Holt and Joseph Holt, respectively, as noted in the above 1758 Louisa County deed. To date, it has not been determined how William Holt was connected to John and Joseph Holt.
Three years later, in 1782, the first known Hanover County, Virginia tax record was recorded. Fortunately, the 1782 record not only includes an alphabetical listing, but a listing of names and acreage by date were recorded. Robert Brane's name is missing from this tax record. But Capt. Elisha White's name was recorded on April 19, and was listed adjacent to Nathaniel Smith, whose name Elisha was listed after in the 1779 procession. Below is a snippet of the 1782 listing for Elisha White which shows that he was taxed for 200 acres - just like Robert Brane in 1763. Other names reminiscent of the 1779 procession include Barker and Carter.
The final extant procession record for St. Paul's Parish represented property owners in 1784. Robert Brane was listed once again for the Yellow Community, and Elisha White was not. However, the Hanover County tax records tell a different story. Elisha White paid the taxes on the 200 acres of land in the Yellow Community from 1782 till 1801. Elisha died sometime between 1801 and 1802 as his estate began paying taxes on the 200 acres in 1802. In 1803, title of the land was transferred to Elisha's widow, Lucy White.
Summary
The land that Mr. John White left to his six "orphans" was comprised of 200 acres and initially held in the "possession" of their mother, Katherine, and her second husband, Robert Brane. Presumably, the Branes lived and cared for the property until Katherine's death sometime between 1779 and 1784 when Elisha White (one of the orphans) began showing up in "possession" of the land, according to processional and land tax records. It can be inferred that Elisha White purchased the interest of his siblings to the 200 acres in order to keep it whole. After Elisha White's death, title to the land was transferred to his wife, Lucy. A future entry will analyze what became of the 200 acres after Lucy's death.
copyright@2018 Deborah Thurman Parks
