In seeking to more precisely locate the old John ROPER Plantation in Blissland Parish, New Kent County, I have been studying the Virginia Land Patents in the vicinity of Wahrani Swamp, also sometimes called "Warreny Creeke", Warreny Swamp", "Warrony Creek", "Warren I. Swamp", etc.

It occured to me that some other genealogists with an interest in families who settled in this area might appreciate having access to the compilation of Patents for properties along the stream.

Generally, Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants and Northern Nexk Grants and Surveys can be searched and accessed using the search facility found at this Virginia State Library page:

http://eagle.vsla.edu/lonn/

But given the limited indexing capabilities and the many creative spellings appearing in these Patents, a chronological compilation may be helpful to others. It is also important to bear in mind that the earliest Patents for land along Wahrani Swamp are in James City County, while the later creation of New Kent County left these properties within New Kent.

For the purposes of assisting genealogists in finding a particular tract, I am giving only the following summary information in this post -- Name of Patentee, County of Patent, Date of Patent, Number of Acres.

Each patent also describes the property and in many cases, these descriptions identify the names of neighbors at the date of the grant. Also, some of the patents show the names of the persons "transported" or "imported" into the Colony for which the grant described in the Patent was compensation.

I will NOT try to identify the neighbors or the persons transported in this post, though from time to time I will attempt to transcribe individual Patents mentioned and append these descriptions as "Replies" to the original post.

To the extent that any participants in this New Kent Message Board forum are able to furnish useful genealogical information about the Patentees identified, it would probably be interesting and helpful to all to recive that information in the form of Replies to this original post or to the applicable transcription.

I am sure that I have MISSED some transactions along the Wahrani Swamp. If you run across Patents that I have missed, please post an addendum or correction as a Reply!

Here are the Wahrani Patents

Richard PEIRCE, James City County, 12 September 1636, 600 acres
William TAYLOR, James City County, 9 November 1638, 1,200 acres
William WIGG/NIGG, No County Given, 13 Apr 1639, 350 acres
Samuell TRIGG? and Raphael JOYNER, James City County, 17 Apr 1639, 300 acres
William BASSET, James City County, 18 Apr 1639, 150 acres
Edward TRAVIS, James City County, 25 April 1639, 300 acres
Henry PORTER, James City County, 10 August 1640, 350 acres
William TAYLOR, James City County, 1642, 1,200 acres
Henry FILMORE, James City County, 6 February 1643, 1,000 acres
Joseph KNIGHT, James City County, 1 July 1643, 2,000 acres
William HOCKADAY, York County, 6 August 1646, 500 acres
William BARRETT, No County Given, 7 June 1648, 700 acres
William HOCCADAY, No County Given, 10 October 1648, 1,346 acres
Edward KNIGHT, James City County, 25 September 1650, 400 acres
Joseph KNIGHT, James City County, 25 September 1650, 1,600 acres
Robert SORRELL, James City County, 10 April 1651, 80 acres
Richard JACKSON, No County Given, 5 April 1653, 400 acres
Robert BOUTH, York County, 14 April 1653, 880 acres
John AYTON, James City County, 15 October 1653, 2,000 acres
Robert SORRELL, No County Given, 20 November 1653, 700 acres
William WIG, James City County, 26 September 1654, 650 acres
William HALL, New Kent County, 3 October 1655, 350 acres
Francis BURNELL, New Kent County, 10 October 1655, 300 acres
Francis BURNELL, 15 Dec 1655, New Kent County, 1,000 acres
Philip CHARLES, No County Given, 8 April 1656, 140 acres
Richard HAMLETT, James City County, 10 March 1658, 497 acres
Philip CHARLES, James City County, 17 March 1658, 1,690 acres
Maj. Wm. HOCCADAY, New Kent County, 12 June 1658, 1,280 acres
Garrett PIGG, New Kent County, 12 June 1658, 350 acres
John HOGG, 27 Aug 1659
Alexander TYRE and James READ, New Kent County, 18 March 1662, 313 acres
William DRUMMAND, James City County, 26 March 1662, 1,209 acres
John HOGG, New Kent County, 16 March 1663, 40 acres
John MERRYMAN, James City County, 24 May 1664, 150 acres
Capt. David PARKE, No County Given, 7 June 1666, 700 acres
John GLEN, New Kent County, 9 July 1666, 65 acres
Thomas MAPLES and WIlliam HITCHMAN, James City County, 10 September 1668
Thomas MAPLES, James City County, 10 October 1668, 536 acres
Theo. HONE, JR. and THOMAS HONE, James City County, 5 October 1675, 736 acres
Henry HARTWELL, James City County, 30 May 1679, 736 acres
William DRUMMOND, James City County, 167?, 1,442 acres
Evan JONES, New Kent County, 20 April 1682, 148 acres
Ralph WORMELY, New Kent County, 20 October 1688, 300 acres
William EDWARDS, James City County, 23 October 1690, 736 acres
Ralph WORMELY, New Kent County, 23 October 1690, 300 acres
Henry DUKE, James City County, 20 April 1694, 736 acres
Edward WADE, James City County, 20 April 1694, 83 acres
John YOUNG, James City County, 20 Apr 1694, 376 acres
Thomas GREEN, James City County, 25 August 1731, 801 acres
Edward HIX, New Kent County, 11 January 1804, 51 acres
James SAUNDERS, New Kent County, 16 January 1828, 41 acres
George ROPER, New Kent County, 3 March 1831, 45 1/4 acres

* * *

Please bear in mind that the same land may be repatented one or more times due to failure of seating, escheat, assignment etc.

Wahrani Swamp can be found in Eastern New Kent County near the James City County line:

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.asp?S=12&T=...

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.asp?S=12&T=...

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.asp?S=12&T=...

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.asp?S=12&T=...

These old Patents can be a MARVELOUS source of genealogical information!

Have been working on platting the land paterts of "present New Kent county" for some time now. Have built up a data base of ALL know patents. Am using Deedmaper, and have maped about 25% of them. You have made an assumptiom, that the present Wahrani is the old Warreny or one of the many spellings. As I research, I have been trying to locate maps showing the creeks of New Kent and James City. The best old maps have been a 1670 maps of the York River, as well as Hermans 1670 map of Virginia and Maryland. There are at lease a dozen creeks , branches and swamps, that I do not know the correct GIS for. Would love to share notes with anybody. I have already mapped New Kent in 1863, with all the property owners, acres, and names of property, etc.

I am really DELIGHTED to hear about your mapping project!

Based solely upon the mention of neighbors and geographic features in the Edward HIX New Kent County Patent dated 11 January 1804 for 51 acres (which abuts Wahrani Swamp to the East and mentions a John ROPER to the North, as well as an Elizabeth JONES), I placed this tract between Wahrani Swamp and ROPER Church Road immediately to the South of Old Stage Road.

Based upon this construction, I made inquires of several property owners along Old Stage Road during a visit to New Kent County this past May and was shown several old JONES family graves on the POTTS farm very near the intersection of Old Stage Road and ROPER Church Road.

I posted information about these graves in several posts at the RootsWeb JONES Message Board:

"Grave of Dr. Vernon P. Jones (d 1880 - New Kent, VA)"
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=message&r=rw&p...

"Grave of Burwell Bassett JONES (d 1881 - New Kent, VA)"
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=message&r=rw&p...

"Grave of Elizabeth Parrish JONES (d 1854 - New Kent, VA)"
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=message&r=rw&p...

For this reason, I am fairly confident that at least the later references to Wahrani Swamp are consistent with the present designation of that stream. But I HAVE seen some references in the older Patents that seem to suggest that one or more other nearby streams may have been once viewed as different branches of Wahrani.

I am particularly interested in locating the original land of John ROPER, vestryman of Blissland and later St. Peter's Parish, who died Dec 1697/8.

There is at least some indication that the ROPER land near Ropers Church Road and Old Stage Road might have been that land.

I would be very interested in learning if your 1863 mapping reflects any continued ROPER ownership of land in New Kent, though it appears to me that the last New Kent ROPER may have died with only daughters before that date. Does the 1863 map reflect the location of the ROPER Church for which ROPER Church Road was apparently named?

My discussion at the RootsWeb ROPER Message Board explains what I know of the history of these last few New Kent ROPERs:

"George ROPER (d Mar 1843 - New Kent)"
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=message&r=rw&p...

I would also be particularly interested in learning whether the Herman 1670 map with which you seem to be familiar has any indications reflecting a ROPER Plantation in New Kent.

For the benefit of those less familiar with the online Patent images of the Virginia State Library, the Edward HIX Patent is here:

http://eagle.vsla.edu/cgi-bin/lonn.gateway?bib=0056-09660&am...++++++++++++++

Two other Patents that I have identified thus far seem to also describe ROPER property in this area:

James SAUNDERS, New Kent County, 16 January 1828, 41 acres
George ROPER, New Kent County, 3 March 1831, 45 1/4 acres

Hermans map does not show ownership in that area.
In 1863, Wm. Roper, est. was charged with 30 ac.
Wm. H. Roper, est was charged with 90 ac.
I have thes located on my maps of 1863 ownership. I cannot tell you about street names. This did not come about until about 10 years ago when we went to the enhanced 911 emergency telephone system. You could not send emergency equipment to rural route and box numbers.
email me an address an will send you the maps.
Maps that cover that area, are Herman, Jefference/Fry,
and LaFayette. By 1862, Wahrani was on the county maps.
But by this time most land patents had been recorded.

Dallas,

I'm fascinated by the property mapping you are undertaking, as we have been attempting to trace the history of our New Kent property. We own (a portion) of the former Meritt property at Rt 615S and Rt 60. The earliest portion of the house appears of colonial age and Mountcastle family history seems to support that. The property was supposedly named Roxbury at one point (not to be confused with our Mountcastle neighbors - Little Roxbury (M. H. Harris's Kaimes?)).

Earliest New Kent County land transfer records are for 1885, when J. Harris sold the property to George Washington and Adelaine Lafayette Mountcastle. Can your research shed any light or direction?

According to my records you own parcel 8 on land tax map 40, which in 1863 was owned by Caroline N. Pollard and was part of the Roxbury farm before it was cut off by the railroad.

Yep, that's us. This clarifies a good bit in our research and explains why the train station off our property was named Roxbury, then Mountcastle (or Mt. Castle, depending on map). Was she related to the revolutionary soldier Robert Pollard, whose third wife was Susanna Howle Pollard? I notice that the Pollard family disappears completely from New Kent County in the 1870 census. Thanks!

Could there be a connection between your MONTCASTLEs and POLLARDs. The parents of Adeline Lafayette Montcastle(1852-1937) were Major (given name, not rank) Allen POMFREY(1810-1858) and Margaret Adeline EDLOE(1819-1881).
Major's brother (William Pleasant Pomfrey1816-1884) was married to Elizabeth Susannah HOWLE(1825-1889). Elizabeth Susannah appears to have a sister named plain Susannah (b 1828) or Hannah M. I know nothing about her. Could this be the Susanna HOWLE you mentioned?

We do know that George Washington and Adeline 'Fayette' Mountcastle bought our place in 1885 from a John Harris. They added to the original structure in 1886, as they eventually had eleven children. Hadn't drawn the Pomfrey connection - thanks for that! Also need to work out the ownership path from Catherine N. Pollard to John Harris. Strange that we haven't found any photographs of Roxbury Plantation, as all the surrounding historic homes are well recorded.

I have a pin and ink drawing of Roxbury, I acquired for my book.