What Happened to Mr. John White's Lands?
In the previous post, the general locations of Mr. John White's four different tracts of land in St. Paul's Parish were identified. Each tract was located in a distinctly different location within the parish. So, what happened to these lands?
Based upon the St. Paul's Parish Vestry Record, Mr. John White conveyed two of these tracts of land sometime between 1719 and 1731 to John White Jr. and Samuel White. Unfortunately, there are no extant parish procession records or deeds between 1719 and 1731, so the actual year of these transactions cannot be confirmed. But we do know that by 1731, John White Jr. was in possession of the land surrounding Beaverdam Creek in the Green Community, and Samuel White became the owner of the land in the Blue Community. An analysis of what happened to John White Jr.'s land and Samuel White's land will be outlined in a future post.
After Mr. John White transferred his lands in the Green and Blue Communities to John White Jr. and Samuel White, respectively, he was left in possession of a tract of land located near Grassy and Stony Run Creeks (Purple Community) and another in the Yellow Community, located in the southeast portion of St. Paul's Parish. The below procession chart and map illustrate these changes in ownership by 1731/32.
Based upon these two entries in The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, it can be inferred that Mr. John White died sometime between March 29 and April 16, 1744.
1731
Based upon the St. Paul's Parish Vestry Record, Mr. John White conveyed two of these tracts of land sometime between 1719 and 1731 to John White Jr. and Samuel White. Unfortunately, there are no extant parish procession records or deeds between 1719 and 1731, so the actual year of these transactions cannot be confirmed. But we do know that by 1731, John White Jr. was in possession of the land surrounding Beaverdam Creek in the Green Community, and Samuel White became the owner of the land in the Blue Community. An analysis of what happened to John White Jr.'s land and Samuel White's land will be outlined in a future post.
After Mr. John White transferred his lands in the Green and Blue Communities to John White Jr. and Samuel White, respectively, he was left in possession of a tract of land located near Grassy and Stony Run Creeks (Purple Community) and another in the Yellow Community, located in the southeast portion of St. Paul's Parish. The below procession chart and map illustrate these changes in ownership by 1731/32.
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| Transfer of Ownership for Mr. John White's Lands |
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1731 Ownership Map of Mr. John White's Four Tracts of Land
Hotchkiss, J. (1886) Map of Hanover County, Virginia. [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2003683403/.
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1735
The 1735 St. Paul's Parish procession record shows that sometime between 1731 and 1735, Mr. John White divested himself of the land within the Purple Community. This left Mr. John White with one tract of land within St. Paul's Parish - the tract of land within the Yellow Community.1744
The 1744 procession record provides the first change in ownership for Mr. John White's lands in the Yellow Community. In the return for the procession of Precinct 17, the following note was added - "...add John White Junr m k". If John White Junr had been added to this procession of landowners as a result of Mr. John White's death, the typical wording for such an occurrence would have been, "...instead of John White add John White Jr." The implication is that John White Jr. was added as a new landowner to the Yellow Community. Below is the transcribed procession entry for Precinct 17:
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| The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish - page 308 |
The meaning of the initials "m k" after John White Jr.'s name is unknown. If the initials had been "n k", one might think they stood for New Kent. Such a determination would require seeing the original record.
When Did Mr. John White Die?
The below vestry record tells us that Mr. John White was deceased by April 16, 1744 when the vestry, with whom he had served, held a meeting at his home to elect a new vestry member, John Dixon.
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| The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish - page 178 |
The last mention of Mr. John White before April 16, 1744 was in the below procession of Precinct 16 (land surrounding Beaverdam Creek) on March 29, 1744. He was not listed as a property owner, but he was mentioned, along with John Melton, as being responsible for seeing the procession performed. Perhaps this was because he had owned land in the area for almost 40 years and would have known most of the acceptable property boundaries.
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| The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish - page 308 |
Summary
Sometime between 1719 and 1731, Mr. John White conveyed the Green Community land to John White Jr. and the Blue Community land to Samuel White. The 1735 parish procession record informs us that Mr. John White no longer owned land in the Purple Community. The only land in St. Paul's Parish that Mr. John White did own in 1735, and until his death in 1744, was in the Yellow Community. The next entry will address who took possession of the Yellow Community lands after Mr. John White's death.
