Early land patent research leads to discovery of new 1600s site

[Bill D. (VA)]

The significance of this post isn’t so much about the recovery of artifacts as it is about my excitement with the success of a new research tool I’m starting to utilize. By using 17[SUP]th[/SUP] century land patent maps (which are hard to find BTW) in combination with current aerials and topo maps, as well as my experience, it appears I can really narrow down the location of previously undocumented and hopefully unhunted 1600s sites.

My first attempt at using this method started out with a plat map for a 300 acre land patent from 1642 that I found on the web. By viewing a topo map of the area I quickly noticed that a large majority of this parcel was land that sloped down to a creek on 2 sides. On the remaining ground there was an obvious ridge in the back of an open field next to the woodline and near one of the creeks. This seemed to be the best spot for a house on the property. By the way, it was a requirement in early Virginia for the new landowner to build and start planting within 3 years of receiving the patent which meant a high probability of a house site somewhere on the property. After securing permission I headed directly for the high ground and walked right into the iron patch and early brick. It wasn’t long before I was able to validate the age of the site based on the early finds I was recovering. No coins and very few buttons were dug, but a nice assortment of period artifacts including 2 trapezoidal buckles, several musketballs, leather ornaments and tacks, what may be a small cannonball, and a few other odds and ends. One of the pipe stems I eyeballed had a 9/64” stem bore diameter which equates to early-to-mid 1600s. I also dug this interesting lead disk which appears to have an “S” (or a snake?) on the front and 2 attachment points on the back. I believe this may have been a crude, early button and not a bale seal. I’m also unsure as to what the brass item is on the far right of the group pic. It resembles a fork with 2 tongs, but that’s not what it is.

I’m about finished up with this site, and am anxious to move on to the next land patent on my list. This could be a very interesting season that’s about to unfold. Can’t wait!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Cry Of The Eagle: History And Legends Of The Cherokee Indians And Their Buried Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[Wes-N-VA]

Bill, you never cease to amaze me with your research and your finds. By far, one of the best colonial diggers in our area. The time and energy you put into your passion is awesome and the finds you make are incrediable. You have brought back some very early Virginia history to life! My three kids keep me very busy, but I try to make a small dent into our local history as well. Thank you for always replying to my post and assisting me with my questions! Your a good one to learn from....thanks and continued success!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bill D. (VA)]

Bill, you never cease to amaze me with your research and your finds. By far, one of the best colonial diggers in our area. The time and energy you put into your passion is awesome and the finds you make are incrediable. You have brought back some very early Virginia history to life! My three kids keep me very busy, but I try to make a small dent into our local history as well. Thank you for always replying to my post and assisting me with my questions! Your a good one to learn from....thanks and continued success!

Thanks for the kind words Wes. You've been very successful too at putting yourself onto some early and productive sites. Just a matter of time before you end up with a hammered silver or two. Keep hittin' it hard.

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice recoveries Bill and good job on the new research method. I'm sure it will pay off for you!

 

[metalev4]

Nice early recoveries Bill. Your research prowess never ceases to amaze me. Looking forward to hunting with you this spring.
-Evan

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

Great job locating that site, Bill. You're bound to find plenty more goodies there, maybe even add to your hammered silver totals.

As the saying goes, "luck favors the prepared."

Best of luck, no go forth and reap those research dividends!

-Ox

 

[CASPER-2]

Great job locating that site, Bill. You're bound to find plenty more goodies there, maybe even add to your hammered silver totals.

As the saying goes, "luck favors the prepared."

Best of luck, no go forth and reap those research dividends!-Ox

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Nice going! it pays to put in the hours. Good Luck on your future digs!

L.C. Baker

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Bill,

Better late than never on replying to a thread - Those complete early spur buckles are terrific. I can't remember the last time I dug a complete buckle from that period. I also like the Tudor Rose leather ornaments. Can't wait to see what else you come up with over the next few weeks. Best of luck.

 

[DMN]

Saw a post previous to mine. I guess 'never mind' is in order.

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Bill - You made a great point about the house location next to a creek.. When hunting for house/building sites using maps like google earth,etc or just in general trying to find a house/building site out in rural areas, they normally built them right next to a creek or a good flowing stream - from my experience most of my house sites i hunt are right next to a creek or stream or sometimes even a old dry stream or creek bed.. Of course over 150++ years the land and what people do with the land changes! but, always good to eyeball streams,creeks or what have you when using google earth or something.. I can't count how many times i've been successful for finding sites using Google Earth and just looking down and picturing where an old house site could have been on a property i'm researching...

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Bill - You made a great point about the house location next to a creek.. When hunting for house/building sites using maps like google earth,etc or just in general trying to find a house/building site out in rural areas, they normally built them right next to a creek or a good flowing stream - from my experience most of my house sites i hunt are right next to a creek or stream or sometimes even a old dry stream or creek bed.. Of course over 150++ years the land and what people do with the land changes! but, always good to eyeball streams,creeks or what have you when using google earth or something.. I can't count how many times i've been successful for finding sites using Google Earth and just looking down and picturing where an old house site could have been on a property i'm researching...

When I refer to "creeks" I mean either spring streams, drainages, or navigable water. Almost all travel during the very early days was done over the waterways as roads were practically non-existent at that time. So they not only needed to be located close to a fresh drinking water source, but also to creeks that gave them access to the river. And like you said, many of the creeks that used to be navigable 350 years ago have either dried up, are silted in, or have become marsh land, so you can't just go by the way things look now. I use a combination of many resources to identify the creeks and streams including Google Earth, and both modern and historical topos. Detailed CW era maps can help too. One problem that always seems to crop up with the early land patents is that their boundaries were described using the geographic features of that time. This included many creeks, swamps, etc. But the names for those given in the patents have in most cases been changed many years ago which makes it very difficult to identify where they are today. But I do have a couple of obscure reference sources to help with that. Anyway, its quite a challenge, but to me that's just as much fun as actually digging the artifacts out of the ground.

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

In order to discover the early homesteads, you must think like an early settler! Your hypotheses usually prove correct because you know to adopt the perspective of the settlers. I'm looking forward to seeing what else you find!