Whence I Came

Horsley's Mill was referenced in The Vestry Book of St. Paul's Parish, Hanover County, Virginia 1706-1786  as a landmark in two procession years; 1731 and 1739.  In both years, Horsley's Mill was a starting point in describing the precinct it bounded: Ordered into one precinct for processioning all the Lands below Horsley's Mill, upon a Strait Line to Chickahominy Swamp, and to the Extent of this parish downwards... Which meant that the precinct included all the land between Horsley's Mill Pond, the Chickahominy Swamp, and the border with St. Peter's Parish (New Kent County).   In 1731, land owners within this precinct included Mr. Joseph Baughon (Vaughan?), Simon Woody, William Bostick, John Philips, William Leak, Richard Leak, Anthony Waddy, Walter Leak, Walter Chapman, Col. John Fleming, William Reynolds, John Hopkins, John Goodwin, Robert Wood, Henry Crumpton, Henry Kerby (Kirby?),  Thomas Longwood, John Thorp, Richard Crafford (Crawford?), Abraham Burnet, D...

Since we now know the Green Community was located along the Chickahominy River loosely bounded by Beaverdam and Powhite Creeks, we should be able to find the general location of the Yellow Community.   If we look at the below table which shows the St. Paul's Parish procession precinct information for Mr. John White's lands, we can see from the precinct numbering pattern from 1711 to 1719, that the Green and Yellow Communities were adjacent or very near to one another.  And since there is no known record for how Mr. John White obtained land in the Green Community or a description of the land, the key to narrowing in on a more specific location is the available property information for the other landowners listed in the precinct processions. Neighboring  Land Owners As mentioned in a previous entry , the early neighboring land owners for Mr. John White's property in the Yellow Community were  T hurmond/Thurman, Jerrard/Garrett, Trotman, Woody, Howard, M...