Transcript:Land Record, Abner Willis to Elswick Cifers, Locust Cove Creek, Smyth County, VA, 1835

Contents 1 Source 2 Related 3 LVA Description 4 Transcript 5 Notes		Willis Tapestry Register Data Notebooks Analysis Bibliography Graphics YDNA. Willis Index
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Source

Original Source:Smyth County court records, 1835 (need exact source)

Intermediate Source:Teressa Hasty personal communication to WMWILLIS

Related

Person:Abner Willis (1)

Transcript:Land Grant, Abner WIllis, 1811, Locust Cove Creek, Washington County, VA

LVA Description

Original Grant Description

[The following data have been given corresponds to a different record than that shown below; Working to correct problem, but LVA system is undergoing revisions, and access is currently difficult. WMW, 21 Aug 2019]

Grant

Willes, Abner. grantee.

Land grant 1 December 1812.

Washington County.

Description: 150 acres on the south side of the Little Pine Mountain near the head of a branch of Cove Creek.

Source: Land Office Grants No. 63, 1812-1813, p. 332 (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-.

Transcript

Document

Summary

Indenture made 14 October 1835 between Abner Willis and Evey his [wife...missing in text, presumed error when recorded in Smyth County] and Elswth Cifers for the sum of $31 A certain parcel in Smyth County containing 150 acres, which land was granted to the said Abner WIllis by the Commonwealth of Virginia, by patent bearing the date 4 June 1783 From a Maple S15E122 poles on a rich hill S80E48 N30E102 N208 to a stake S57W213 to the beginning

Notes

This is the parcel that the couple lived on when first marriage. Note the following

a. Eve is referred to in the document as "Evey" ---not "Eve", and not "Eva" as she is referred to in most records. This is the first time I've seen her given name as "Evey", and this is probably Abner's pet name for her. Perhaps others knew her this way as well.

b. This looks to be an item that was recorded in the Smyth County records, but based on documentation originating in Russell County. There's a curious omission in the text near the beginning where it reads "Abner WIllis and Evey his" ---where "wife" is omitted. Later on the catch phrase "Evey his wife" is given in full, but not the first timw its used. This looks to me like a recordation error on the part of the Smyth County clerks. In itself this is trivial, but it may condition our understanding of more critical points in the text---there may be other "ellipses", in the text, where information has been lost. This is near the beginning of the period when Smyth County clerks began work (1833), and perhaps there was an experience problem with them. Clerks work is tedious, I imagine, and there may have been a learning curve.

c. The text clearly states "which land was granted to the said Abner WIllis by the Commonwealth of Virginia, by patent bearing the date 4 June 1783"

d. Platting the pints as given in the indenture yields a nonsensical parcel. It seems likely that there is an error in the recordation.

Which seems to imply that Abner is the one who received the patent. Something may be missing here, like the assignment chain, as Abner would have been no older than about 10 in 1783. Note that the text says that the patent was dated 1783, not that the land was granted to Abner in1783. I'm not sure if that's pertinent or not. I think this patent was probably given to someone else, and assigned to Abner at a much later date. By 1810 there really would have been little in the way of unpainted land available---so I think someone else occupied the land, had a patent for it, surveyed it, but action was not taken on the land until much later. This should havbe been outlined in the deed assignment chain---but perhaps its been omitted by the clerks in the same way as "his wife" was dropped at the beginning of the record.

Some of the dates in the document look to be 1833 and others 1835. The first date (Russell County) is clearly 1835, so I think that the 1833 dates are really 1835's---the 1833 ones are a bit hard to tell what the final digit is. Looks like a 3 but could be a five.

Teressa hasty's comments on original warrant action in 1810:

It mentions the treasury warrant # 11737... was granted to John Donnell. John Donnell, on June 14th, 1783 purchased several tracts of land from the treasury office, his warrants were numbered 17137-17146. They contained several acres each. He was the only person that day to have purchased several parcels. For example, #17137 was for 1265 acres and was paid for in pounds. On Abner's Cove Creek grant for 150 acres dated December 1, 1812, the "patent" # is listed and the year 1783 is referred to but there is no mention of any money that Abner paid for that land. Another interesting bit of info is that if you click on December 1, 1812 that is listed below Abner's name search, it will give you the list of people who obtained warrants on that date. On the same day that Abner Willis has shown up (after his April , 1811 survey has been completed) to get his deed, a John Siffer also obtains a deed for 20 acres of land on Cove Creek. They must have traveled together! To the left of Abner's warrant are some words that I have a hard time figuring out. There is an 1800 date and I believe there is a name Colbert? Fugate.