Virginia Land Laws : Cabin Rights

It was during the Revolutionary War that Virginia addressed the land expansion to the west for the first time under its own laws. "Taking up Land" meant building a cabin and raising a crop of grain of any kind, however small. This entitled the occupant to four hundred acres, and after 1779 the pre-emption right to as much as one thousand more adjoining acres. [Most of the first patents of Kentucky were under these laws.] This pre-emption right was to be secured by a land office warrant which became known as "Cabin rights". The word "patent" as used here means the official certificate of a government grant or franchise. [No longer under the King!] As an adjective it means protected or conferred by letters patent.

"Tomahawk Right" was claimed from deadening trees about the head of a spring and marking the bark of some trees with the initials of the one who made the improvement. Unless followed by a settlement these rights were held invalid. If some one else desired to make a settlement on the land and secure a title, he would buy up the rights rather than quarrel with the one who made them.

Virginia Land Laws after 1713 (Part II)

The failure to seat and plant the lands granted according to prescribed conditions, or to pay the quit-rent reserved, was declared to be a forfeiture both of the grant and the rights on which it was founded. In case of a petition for lapsed land, the patentee was required to appear and make sufficient proof that he had sufficiently seated and planted the land.

Surveyors for the frontier counties were required to reside in their respective counties, in order to be acquainted with the territory and avoid conflicting entries and mistakes in the surveys.

Certain steps were necessary in order to secure a title, or patent, to a tract of vacant land, and unless those necessary steps were taken, the claimant would eventually find himself dispossessed of his holdings. These steps were as follows:

1) A definite tract needed to be selected.

2) Some marks showing the intended boundaries needed to be established, either in designating natural objects such as springs, forks of streams, points of hills, cliffs, piles of stones; or the setting up of stakes, marking trees or planting stones.

3) Some improvement needed to be made to show signs of occupation.

4) A report of intention needed to be made to the county surveyor, and assurances that he understood the intention and made an entry of the same in his entry book needed to be fixed.

5) The entry and quit-rent fees had to be paid by someone (back taxes), either by the prospective owners or by the settlement promoter.

6) The surveyor needed to make a survey of the land and record the survey with a plat.

7) The surveyors report needed to be filed with the secretary for the colony.

8) The report needed to lie two years to see whether a conflicting claim would be filed.

9) The petition for the grant needed to be considered by the Governor and Council in executive session and an order made for the patent to be issued.

10) The patent itself was a grant from the King for the certain tract or parcel of land described in the survey written on parchment by the secretary and signed by the then acting Governor of the Colony.

11) The complete description in duplicate was then recorded in a patent book and the parchment delivered to the person named in the grant.

Every tract of land whether large or small had its patent, which in the Colony of Virginia was a grant from the King. While the King personally had no hand in the ordinary procedure, these original papers were important documents. In case of an inclusive survey, the patents to the smaller individual tracts were supposed to be surrendered for the larger one.

Virginia Land Laws after 1713 (Part I)

An act was passed that in the future all surveys should be made by a surveyor duly sworn and commissioned. {By William and Mary College} The breath of each tract (survey) taken up should be at least one third its length, except where the courses were interrupted by streams, swamps, or bounds of previous patents. Next, this act stated that the surveyor should note on the plat how much of the tract was plantable and how much was not. For all previous grants [prior to 1713], one third should be accounted plantable, the remainder not. The grantee should be obliged to clear and tend three acres at least, for fifty acres of plantable land, and so proportionately for the whole tract. This was to take into account to reclaim three acres for every fifty acres of swamp, sunken ground or marsh, if any such was found to be in the survey. When three acres for every fifty acres in the tract was improved, the grantee was to put and keep on the land three head of neat cattle for every for every fifty acres of barren land. If the whole tract were barren and unfit for cultivation, the grantee was to erect a dwelling house, twenty feet by sixteen and to put and keep thereon three head of neat cattle for every hundred acres. If the land was fit for neither cultivation nor pasturage, to put and keep thereon one able hand for every hundred acres, to be employed in mining or quarrying stone. Thus, every three acres cleared and tended, or reclaimed should suffice to save from forfeiture forever, fifty acres in any part of the survey.

Wow, you can see that the colony of Virginia wanted the land to be used in the most effect way. This principle, improvements for valid patent became the standard process for land expansion westward for generations to come.

Virginia Land Laws (Part VII) Surveyor's fees

The surveyor's fees were to be paid in tobacco, collected by the sheriff, if necessary. For every survey made, plainly bounded as the directs, and for a plat of such survey, after the delivery of such plat, where the survey was not more than one thousand acres of land, cost 500 pounds of tobacco. For every one hundred acres contained in one survey above the first thousand acres would earn an additional 50 pounds of tobacco. For surveying a lot in town would cost 20 pounds. For a survey when hindered or stopped before completing the survey, to be paid by the party requesting the survey 250 pounds tobacco. For running every dividing line between parties cost 250 pounds. For surveying an acre of land for a mill was 100 pounds of tobacco. For land formerly patented and required to be resurveyed, the same fee as for land not before surveyed was charged. For an inclusive survey, as second fee was not paid for the part previously surveyed, but only for the new part. For an inclusive survey of several adjacent tracts previously surveyed the plat was made for ten shillings. For lands surveyed for one party and assigned to another, the assignee shall pay, if the other did not. For the benefit of the public, the tables of fees (costs) were to be set up in the secretary's office and in the courthouse of each county.

Indians were not allowed to alienate their lands to any but some of their own nation. All conveyances from them were declared void and heavy penalties were imposed on those who should purchase or procure conveyances from them. (the Indians) But, encouragement was given to those who would cultivate trade with the Indians.

These land laws were in force until 1713.

Virginia Land Laws (Part VI) The Surveyors

Surveyors were commissioned by the master of William and Mary College, which was founded 1693 under royal charter by King William III and Queen Mary II. The government confirmed only such surveys as had been made by surveyors so commissioned. Both surveyors and chain carriers were required to be sworn before the county court. Surveyors were required to see that every tract surveyed should be plainly bounded, either by natural bounds, marked trees or other artificial landmarks. These surveyors were to deliver plats of surveys to those for whom they were made within six months after the survey was made. They were not to deliver such plats to any other person till six months had elapsed. They were also required to enter every plat and survey in a book to be furnished him for that purpose within two months after the survey was made, The entries were to include all streams crossed in the course, and the boundaries and adjacent plantations. In June of each year, the surveyors were to return to the county clerk's office to be recorded there lists of all surveys, specifying for whom made, the quantities surveyed, and where situated.

A penalty was imposed on the surveyor for refusing to survey. It was provided that all entries should stand good till the surveyor gave notice that he was ready to survey. If the party [the one requesting the survey] failed to attend the surveyor within a month after such notice, his entry should be void. The county court might appoint inspectors of the surveyors' books to report on their condition and take care of them in case of the death or removal of the surveyor.