Analysis: John Frazier and Robert Moody in Beverley Manor

Robert Moody and John Frazier tracts in Beverley Manor

On 22 February, 1749, Robert Moody and John Frazier received patents for two adjoining tracts in Beverley Manor, in the Beverley Patent, but neither of their tracts are shown on the tract map as drawn by J.R. Hildebrand. Both appear to be original patents, and in theory should have been shown, but as shown below, the land granted to Moody and Frazier had been previously granted to Rev. James Anderson, and was later re-issued to them.

Exhibit 1: Chalkley's records of grants to Robert Moody and John Frazier

Record of Beverley's grants to Robert Moody and John Frazier in Chalkley's:

• Page 461.—22nd February, 1749. Same (From William Beverley) to Robert Moody, 473 acres in Beverley Manor, head of Long Meadow. Corner John Frazier. Delivered: Samuel Frazier, 11th November, 1773. Teste: Thomas Stewart and John Brown.

• Page 464.—22nd February, 1749. Same (From William Beverley) to John Frazier, 472 acres in head of Long Meadow Run, Beverley Manor. Corner John Thompson. Corner Robert Moody.

Analysis: Based upon the Chalkley's listings above, it is clear that Robert Moody and John Frazier's tracts are adjoining tracts in Beverley Manor. Although no other tracts (besides John Frazier's) are shown adjoining Robert Moody's tract, it does show that John Thompson's land is adjoining John Frazier's tract (see John Thompson analysis below). It is also clear that this property is "in the head of Long Meadow Run", which is pictured below:

Note that the land of Rev. James Anderson is located at the bottom end of Long Meadow Run, also known in that section of Beverley Manor as "Beaver Creek". We will focus on the property of Rev. James Anderson and the adjoining property of William Thompson, as shown below:

Exhibit #2: Land granted to Rev. James Anderson in Beverley Manor.

Rev. James Anderson (b. 17 Nov. 1678 in Glascow, Scotland, d. 16 July 1740, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) was granted 1,000+ acres in Beverley Manor (some sources claim the land was granted by Gov. Gooch) in 1738. This land is shown on the J.R. Hildebrand map, above. Rev. Anderson was sent by the Synod of Philadelphia to intercede with Governor Gooch on behalf of the Presbyterians of Virginia.*

• *- Source: Genealogies and Sketches of Some Old Families who Have Taken Prominent Part in the Development of Virginia and Kentucky Especially: And Later of Many Other States of this Union, by Benjamin Franklin Van Meter, pg. 7.

An early survey was done on the property sometime between September-December, 1738 as listed below:

• (62) ____ber 5, 1738, survey for ye Reverent James Anderson, beginning at a Red Oak and White Oak by Midow Side ye Midow bearings, S. 50 W. 4, Run; N. 40 W. 164 to 2 Chesnuts, Oaks and 1 White Oak; S. 50 W. 560 to a White Oak and 2 Locus standing on ye side of a hill by a branch, thence S. 40 E. 230 to a branch running to ye right to 2 White Oaks in ye head of a velley; N. 50 E. 280 to 1 small Hiccory, thence S. 40 E. 40 to 1 White Oak; N. 50 E. 288 to a Red Oak and Hiccory, thence--
• (66) ( ), beginning at 2 White Oaks in ye Rev. James Anderson's line 23 poles from where we begun and runneth, thence N. 60 E. 143 to 1 White Oak to George Anderson's N. E. 182, 40 8 ch. Robison's Midow Branch to 1 White Oak and blazed Red Oak Seawright. Survey for Geo. Hutchison, beginning at 1 White Oak and runneth--

About the same time, in 1738, Rev. Anderson delivered the first sermon ever preached west of the Blue Ridge at the home of John Lewis, a prominent early settler of Augusta County, VA.* Unfortunately, Rev. Anderson died shortly after the land was surveyed, in 1740, at his home in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is unclear if any of his children ever took possession of this land (or if it was sold back to William Beverley), because (as will be shown below) because 945 acres of this same land were later granted from William Beverley to Robert Moody (473 acres) and John Frazier (472 acres) on 22 February, 1749.

Exhibit #3: Which John Thompson has property adjoining John Frazier's tract?

Analysis: According to the J.R. Hildebrand map, the only John Thompson that has property in Beverley Manor has property that was acquired in 1765. several years too late to have been adjoining John Frazier's property. But there was another John Thompson, son of William Thompson that acquired 300 acres of his father's property in 1751 as listed in the following transaction:

• Page 376. 1751 & 1756--29th May 1751, Same to John Thompson, 300 acres, part of 947 above, same; Robert Moody's line; corner Wm. Palmer; corner Alexander Thompson. Delivered: Wm. Thompson, ye father, June, 1756.

Note that in this transaction, John Thompson's 300 acres is listed as adjoining the Robert Moody, and to the northeast, is the former property of Rev. James Anderson!

In addition to the property transfered to his son, John, William Thompson also transfered 337 acres of his 947-acre tract to another son, Alexander:

• Page 371. 29th May, 1751. William Thompson, Gent., and Jane, to Alexander Thompson, 337 acres in Beverley Manor, part of 947 acres from Wm. Beverley,

An "adjusted" J.R. Hildebrand Map, showing the property of William Thompson, AFTER the distribution of the two tracts to his sons, John and Alexander, is presented below:

Note that the map above is an approximation of the land from William Thompson, granted to his two sons, John and Alexander, based upon the information contain in the Chalkley's transactions listed above, and not exact.

Exhibit #4: "Adjusted J.R. Hildebrand Map", showing the approximate location of Robert Moody and John Frazier's property:

You'll notice that the 300 acres acquired by John Thompson from his father, William Thompson, is now adjoined by the property of Robert Moody and John Frazier, which agrees with the Chalkley's information above. (Note that this is a rough approximation of the location of the land granted to Robert Moody and John Frazier, and not exact. Since Rev. James Anderson's original tract was stated as "1,000 acres +", approximately 55 acres are still unaccounted for, taking Robert Moody's 473 acres and John Frazier's 472 acres into account)

Exhibit #5: Thomas Thompson's land (granted on 15 May, 1754) shown adjoining Robert Moody's land

To further prove that Robert Moody's land is in the correct place, note the following grant from William Beverley to Thomas Thompson (note Thomas Thompson's 230 acres of land which is adjoining Robert Moody's land to the south:

From Chalkley's:

• Page 218.—15th May, 1754. Beverley to Thomas Thompson, 230 acres in Beverley Manor, cor. to tract surveyed for Robert Caldwell, line of Samuel McCune's new survey; Robert Moody's line, north side of the Indian Road.

Note also that Thomas Thompson's tract is north of the "Indian Road" shown on the Hildebrand Map, running through several tracts, including Archibald Stuart's (which shows the Indian Road reference).

Exhibit #6: Samuel Frazier's sale of part of John Frazier's land to James Frazier in 1762:

John Frazier died between 1753 and 1758 in Augusta County, Virginia. In 1762, his son Samuel Frazier sold 234 acres to his brother James for £5:

• Page 298. - 18th May, 1762. Samuel Frazier to James Frazier, his brother, £5, 234 acres, part of 472 acres on Long Meadow of Middle River of Shannandoe in Beverley Manor between said Frazier and Robert Moody.

This transaction again verifies that John Frazier and Robert Moody's tracts were adjoining each other.