Thomas Hooper of Stafford County furnishes to Robert CarterJanuary 1, 1715, his report "of What Quantity of Land I think may beunpatented in the Bodys of Stafford and Richmond Countys; And whatmay be Surplus; And how far above the Seatments in those Countys theLand is Patented."
In obedience to Your Commands, Requiring me to give an
Account of What Quantity of Land I think may be unpatented
in the Bodys of
may be Surplus; And how far above the Settlements in
those Countys the Land is Patented.
To all which after the Acknowledging my incapacity for theperformance
of so Difficult a Task I shall with due Submition Humbly offer my Rude
Conceptions asfolloweth --
First as to what Lands may be unpatented in the Bodys of thoseCountys.
I must Confess myself to be too much [ . . . ] to Seek in the knowledgeof what Lands --
are already patented in those parts to give any Accot: with Certainty of whatLands
may yet be unpatented by reason there is Several large Tracts of Land particularly in
Stafford County which by Comon Report are under patents that as to Bounds Scitu=
=ation or place arealtogether unknown to any persons in these parts the Patentees
and imediate owners living out ofthis Colony and no certain Account to be given of --
them: I have Endeavored as far as possible toget what information I could in
this particular both by Enquiry and other means but cannot find anyCertainty --
in all my proceedings worthy to be laid before yor: View, I have Endeavored accord=
=ing to my notions of the Situation of the Back or unihabited parts of both
Countys to draw a
acknowledge it to be so imperfect anduncertain, that I can in no way think
it worth relying on: It is a Vast Tract of Land Contained wthinthe limits
of those Bounds and so Desart & Wild in a great many parts, that I must think
no one person so well acquainted therewith as to give any Certain Accot: worthy to
be depended on, inrelation to the matter now before me; besides there is nothing,
renders this design more uncertainand Dark then the Charter or Grant Patent
Called the Brent Town
Land
Mr. Brents notions (and those in that Interest)are allowable, that Patent will
include all the Lands within Six Miles both of Rappa
fromthe very Mountains down to the Old patents on Rappa and Potomac
as low as the Falls of Rappahannock and
but a small string of Land on Rappahannock which as much of it, as is of any Vallue
is already taken up to within 15 or 16, Miles of the Montains and all on --
Potomac may bereckoned under old Patents almost to the Falls thereof. --
this with Submition is as much as myweak Capacity can offer on this Head.
I shall therefore proceed to the Second,
Which is what Surplus Land may be Contain'd in those Landsalready Granted
with in those Limits. --
And here I must likewise Confess my Self as much to Seek to offeranything --
Satisfactory as in the foregoing particular Only this I may presume to Say
And as to the last part Which is how far the Lands patentedabov [e]
the Settlements in both Countys I shall presume to Offer as followeth
In Richmond County the Land may be said to be all patented andSeated in
Several places as far above the Falls of Rappahannock as the Deep Run which
goes out of Rappahannock about 12 Miles above the Falls thereof and heads with
the South Run of Acquia Creek going outof Potomac River about four
Miles above Potomac Creek an inconsiderable parcel of --
Barren Land which lyes in small parcells, And here I presume it may
be about 18 or 20 Miles across the Neck from the Mouth of the Deep --
Run to some part of Potomac River between
Acquia Creeks, from the Deep Run where there is now two or three --
Settlements going forward, up Rappahannock River there is not above 3500 Acres
of Land now patented until oneComes to the Great Marsh Run which is
computed to fall into Rappahannock River about thirty miles above theFalls --
thereof and here on Rappahannock River Colonel Phillip Ludwell
holds about
6000Acres, 2000 Whereof lies on the lower side of the Mouth of the --
Land under patent on Rappahannock River or in Richmond County.The --
Marsh Run is Computed to Run into the Woods about three Miles and then --
begins the Great Marsh which holds near a Mile in length and in some --
places a quarter and More in breadth,about a Mile above the great --
Marsh lyes two others of no great Extent on this Run and the Branches
going out of it, I compute about 7000 Acres of Land to be already taken
up and four or fiveSettlements going forward, Here it is to be noted that
the Marsh Run heads against the head Branches ofthe Main South West
Run of Occaquan River, And that from the Mouth of the Marsh Run --
to the Mouth of Occaquan River the Neck may be computed to be very
near forty Miles a Cross
O [n Peto]
wmack River in Stafford Countythe Land is all in Generally Patented
[ . . . ] de, to within two Miles orthereabouts of the Falls thereof, Excluding the --
Land for which Major West
And the upper plantation is computed to beabout five miles below the Falls, there
was formerly a plantation Where Major Ousley
the Falls which is now deserted and grown up to a Thicket, here I must not
omit mentioning that Captain McCarty
of
7000 Acres of Land about 25 Miles above the Falls of Potomac River --
comonly called the Sugar Lands; As for the back Settlements in Stafford county, there
is nonethat I know of, above three Miles from Potomac River above Occaquan
R
Pohick Run , and it holds Generally so as low as Acquia Creek that there is
none above four or five Miles from Navagable Water, but what are upon the
Main Runs of Occaquan,where there are at least ten or twelve lately begun
but as I hinted before by Some personsReputed to be within the Bounds of
the Brent Town Charter -- -- thus
Worthy Sir --
I have presum'd to Commit my rude Notions to --
Paper,Always esteeming it my Duty to Exert my
best Abilitys for y [our serv]
icewhen [ . . . ] please
to lay Your comands upon me; Hoping that if I have
beenwide of giving the Satisfaction you Expected --
it will be imputed to the Intricacy of theSubject
and not to my want of Zeal for Your Service, being
as in Duty Bound,