Talk:Notebook. Sifers in Southwest Virginia

Hasty [23 January 2013]

From Teressa Hasty, personal communication, August 31 2009.

I think that Abner and his children settled west of Wash. County and probably had no interest of going east again and Abner sold it back to the Sifer family. I guess the question would be who acquired the “patent” in 1783? Obviously it wasn’t Abner. Willis or Sifers? Andrew appears to be the oldest and he fought in the Revolution. But so did Henry. Land granted for military service in the Revolution wasn’t given in Washington County, but maybe unpatented lands were given out with priority to military service?

Off the subject, there was a Johannes Seiferts age 30, listed as a passenger who came in on the Frankland in 1766 with a woman Anna Christian Seiferts age 28 to the port of Charleston, SC. The captain was Isaac Winn and he was asking for payment of their passages. He also petitioned the court a short time later stating that 20 of the passengers that HAD paid their passage was released after coming ashore before they were taken to swear their oath of allegience. One of the 20 names was John Seyferts. I didn’t know if SC was a possibility as I had always thought the port of entry was Philidelphia. I also found a lot of Seifert activity in the late seventeen hundreds in Northumberland County, PA.

I think you have touched on two things of interest for Abner Willis history.

a) How he came to acquire unpatented land in Virginia in 1783,

Since this acquistion was via a treasurey warrant, as the UVA archivist notes, it was a simple purchase, and had nothing to do with military service. Abner would not have been of age in 1783, and so this acquisition requires some explanation. Ifyou assume everything is as it is said to be in the record, then the Abner Willis who acquired this warrant in 1783 could not be the Abner Willis who had the parcel surveyed in 1820. That would mean we are dealing with two separate Abner Willis. It is possible that the Abner Willis who acquired the warrant in 1783 was the father of Abner who had the property surveyed. There's no other indication of Abner I that we can see in the records, (so far), so perhaps We might guess that Abner I (as we might style him) died shortly after 1783. Abner II may have inherited the property, but may not have realized that the property had not been properly surveyed. That would explain why its not surveyed until 1820.

This would not prove that Abner I existed, or that he was the father of Abner II, but that would explain the facts on the surface. There may be other more complicated explanations, but I can't immediately see any simpler explanations.

b) why he moved out of Washington County,

I've no idea

c) why did he ratain title to the land in Washington County for so many years?

I've no idea

Q 15:45, 5 September 2009 (EDT)

I found the Willis 1783 grant info located in the Sifers notebook under the category of Hasty.

This is the Locust Cove Grant. This is the land that was purchased in 1783 by Abnor Willes who on that date was given the right to survey but he did not obtain the grant until 1812. The purchase was made in 1783 and we have it traced down to Eve's brother Andrew's children. So WHO is Abnor Willes?--ruthnevada 16:23, 10 January 2013 (EST)

I think this Abner Willis info could be easier found if it was placed on the Abner Willis page.--ruthnevada 13:42, 11 January 2013 (EST)

Obviously the Treasury Warrant # 17137 that is dated June 14th, 1783 and listed in Abner Willis' Cove Creek deed was not a warrant initially obtained by an Abner Willis. My guess is that it is there to reference the land being deeded. Upon further research into the deeds that were granted December 1, 1812 by Abner Willis and a John Siffer (Abner's father-in-law or brother-in-law), I found that there were separate deeds granted to Abner for 150 acres, and to a John Siffer for 20 acres. Both separate deeds were for land on Cove Creek in Washington, County, Va., and both deeds referenced the SAME warrant number 17137 that was issued on June 14th, 1783 to John Donnell. John Donnell purchased 10 land warrants on that day for land that amounted to be thousands of acres. Possibly this land was assigned and there record was lost after almost thirty years or maybe not all of the land was used and some of it went back to be reassigned? At any rate, there was no Abner Willis that made a land purchase in 1783 and the mystery of the 1783 land patent has been solved.--ruthnevada 13:59, 11 January 2013 (EST)

URL (Click on link) http://image.lva.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/GetLONN.pl?first=334&last=&g_p=G63&collection=LO Grant

Author Siffer, John. grantee.

Title Land grant 1 December 1812.

Summary Location: Washington County.

Description: 20 acres on Cove Creek a water of the North fork of Holstein River adjoining Andrew, and James Lammey.

Source: Land Office Grants No. 63, 1812-1813, p. 334 (Reel 129).

Part of the index to the recorded copies of grants issued by the Virginia Land Office. The collection is housed in the Archives at the Library of Virginia.

Other Format Available on microfilm. Virginia State Land Office. Grants A-Z, 1-124, reels 42-190; Virginia State Land Office. Grants 125- , reels 369-.

Subject - Personal Siffer, John. grantee.

Lammey, James.

Lammey, Andrew.

Subject - Topical Land titles. -- Registration and transfer -- Virginia -- Washington County

Subject -Geographic Washington County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.

Genre/Form Land grants -- Virginia -- Washington County.

Added Entry Virginia. Land Office. Register. Land grants, 1779-

Library of Virginia. Archives.

System Number 000820936--ruthnevada 14:10, 11 January 2013 (EST)