Person:James Leath (2)

Records in Virginia

January 1736 - James Leith was one of the early settlers on Hite and McKay's grant as witnessed by his name on Hite and McKay's certified list of settlers on their land made in January 1736.

James Leith settled land east of the South Shenandoah River on Jeremy's Run in present-day northern Page County. The area had been part of Orange County when it was organized in 1734. That part of Orange County which lay west of the Blue Ridge was formed into new counties in 1738, Frederick and Augusta. At first the area where James Leith settled was within the Augusta County lines, but several years later this county's boundaries were changed to follow the Fairfax line and James Leith's land ended up in Frederick County.

Abt. 1743 - James Leith (listed as "Jas. Leide") is found on a petition from the settlers on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River near Massenutten Mountain to the Orange County Court requesting a road from Massenutten area to Thornton's Mill (which was probably across the Blue Ridge in Rappahannock County). This petition was not dated but probably was about 1743 since this road was granted by the Orange County Court in June 1743.

November 1743, James Leith was named with Robert McKay and Caleb Jobe to lay off a road from Massenutten to Caleb Jobe's mill as per the petition of Robert McKay, Jeremiah Sutton, and others to the Orange County Court requesting such a road. Robert McKay and Philip Long were appointed overseers. [1]

7 December 1743, James Leith was listed as a buyer at the sale of the estate of John Hobson deceased, David Kincade administrator in Orange County. [Orange County, Virginia Will Book 1, 1735-1743, Dorman, pg. 61].

1.   Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).

   James Leith, father of George and Ephraim Leith had come from Chester County Pennsylvania by 26 January 1735/36 and settled in the South River area. In his deposition in the Hite/Fairfax lawsuit, Barnaby Eagon stated: "James Leith the father of Ephraim Leith was among the first settlers on the South River.
   
   http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wvpioneers/shenvalleypioneers.html

2.   Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).

   James Leith born in Scotland in 1685. He died in 1740 in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Researchers name two wives and confusion begins there. One wife named is Helen Farquharson born in Scotland around 1695. The more accepted wife is named Ann French born in 1681 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey. She died in 1751 in Frederick County, Virginia. They married in Woodbridge June 29, 1711..
   
   James Leith would have immigrated from Scotland to the colonies arriving in New Jersey before 1711 when he married..
   
   The family research I reference by Virginia Erwin Page works with the birth of George between 1715-1720 and would then be the child of Ann French. James died before his wife, Ann French, thus a second wife had to be someone he married while he was quite young.
   
   http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/47239187/person/6947289965/mediax/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7CpgNum

3.   .

   http://rschier.familytreeguide.com/getperson.php?personID=I00620&tree=T1&PHPSESSID=194a27f8b6687d3f851768a53bfd9e7c