From Early Colonial Virginia:

Prince William County formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George and named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, second son of George II.. Prince William County Territory included the areas of Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun and Fauquier and was reduced to its present size in 1759. Its first courthouse was built in 1731 on the south bank of the Occoquan at Woodbridge and was relocated five times, finally resting in Manassas. In 1749 the town of Dumfries became the first town of the county and became a major port rivaling Alexandria, Baltimore and New York in tonnage shipped. The town reached its peak in the 1760’s and in 1762 became the capital seat of the county, which it remained for the next 60 years. The county’s principal product was tobacco. Just east of Dumfries was land patented by John Graham (1711-1787), who came to VA from Scotland about 1733. Sixty acres of Graham’s plantation was taken in 1749 to form the town of Dumfries. Graham was the county clerk of Dumfries and a successful merchant.

The Potomac Path or King’s Highway became a major transportation route linking the northern and southern colonies. Lafayette, Washington and Rochambeau were travelers on this road stopping at the Woodbridge Plantation of George Mason; Rippon Lodge, home of Col. Richard Blackburn and the Stagecoach Inn at the port of Dumfries Henry Lee III, known as “Light Horse Henry” and the father of Gen. Robert E. Lee, lived just north of Dumfries on the Leesylvania Plantation which was patented in 1658.

The Potomac Path followed an ancient Indian trail and was later known as the King’s Highway. It was of great importance for overland travel in the early days of the Republic. Washington and Rochambeau traveled this route to Yorktown in 1781 as did the French Army on its return the following year. Ripon Lodge built in 1725 by Col. Richard Blackburn stands nearby. The citizens of Prince William assembled at Dumfries on June 6, 1774 and adopted the Prince William County Resolves. Later, that same year, the first companies of Minutemen in VA was organized with William Grayson, a native son, playing a primary role in securing Virginia’s ratification of the Constitution.

Neabsco Creek was the site of a fort built in 1679 and the site of the burial of Rose Peters in 1690. Iron mining began here as early as 1734. Remains of a colonial furnace, foundry, and mill have been discovered. The Neabsco Iron Foundry was located near Leesylvania and served to equip the Commonwealth’s militia during the Revolution.

In 1608 Captain Smith found the “King’s House” of the Dog Indians in present Prince William County. In 1729, “King” T.M.Carter built a landing on that spot to ship copper ore and a town of Colchester was established there in 1753. Early land patents were received by Thomas Burbage who obtained 3,000 acres between the Occoquan and Neabsco Creek known as Burbage’s Neck. The land later passed to Martin Scarlet who died in 1695, a pioneer settler and member of Burgess. George Mason II gained 534 acres of Occoquan River frontage including a ferry landing and the site of the first Prince William Courthouse.

In 1664 the county of Stafford was formed from Westmoreland. Earliest land patents for the area of Quantico date to 1654. Great plantations “Dipple” and “Berea” were built nearby. Virginia Naval elemets were based in this vicinity during the Revolutionary War. A charter was enacted in 1788 for the town of Carborough. Alexander Henderson, colonial merchant, born in Glasgow, Scotland 1738 came to Colchester in 1756. He later moved to Dumries in 1787. He died in 1815 and is buried there with his wife Sarah Moore Henderson (1751-1816). Nearby was the “Belle Air” plantation. William Grayson, lawyer, member of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention organized the county’s first revolutionary militia unit in 1774. He commanded a Virginia regiment and served as Aide-de-Camp to Washington.

Tackett’s Mill where on March 11, 1748, Washington and George William Fairfax crossed the Occoquan above the falls near here. Washington to enter the sevice of Lord Fairfax and Fairfax to meet his constituents in Frederick County. By evening the reached Nevil’s Ordinary on the south fork of the Dumfries Road.

The town of Occoquan became prosperous when John Beallendine built his dwelling “Rockledge” in 1758. By 1765 it was a thirving industrial settlement with grist mills, foundry and tobacco warehouses. Neabsco Mills Ironworks operated under three generations of the Taloe family of Richmond County betweek 1737 and 1828. The 5,000 acre plantation was worked by resident free laborers, indentured servants, and slaves. The workers produced pig and bar iron for sale at home and export to Great Britain and also engaged in shipbuilding, milling, leatherworking, shoemaking and farming. The complex was important during the Revolution.

The Carolina Road was created from an Iroquiois Indian hunting path abandoned by the Indians in 1772, and derived its name from trade between Frederick, Maryland and Georgia. Later the road was used by settlers emigrating to western lands. Because of the notorious gangs of thieves besetting travelers the road was also known as Rogue’s Road. Its most famous traveler was Lafayette who rode triumphantly by here 24 August 1825 on his way to Oakhill, home of ex-President Monroe. Nearby Burnside, Waverly, Mill Park, Mt.Atlas, Evergreen, Snow Hill and other plantations formed from the huge Carter Bull Run tract were served by the Carolina Road. The Dumfries Road was a major trade route between the Potomac and the Shenandoah Valley before 1740.

Harold’s List of Upcoming Genealogy Events

In the cemetery at Ganotown United Methodist Church, Ganotown, West Virginia are buried descendants of the Barney family who originally immigrated to Maryland in the early 1700s. The church is located at 1883 Back Creek Valley Road (Route 7), near Glengary in Berkeley County. A few blocks further on, there are more Barney descendants buried at the Presbyterian Church.

The early CABELL family of Virginia and its connections with the STINSON family of Buckingham County, Virginia is documented beginning on page 173 of “So Obscure A Person.”

http://mvgenealogy.org/PDFs/Upcoming_Genealogy_Events.pdf

Virginia Certificates of Rights to Land for Settlement & Preemption Rights: Under the Virginia Land Law of 1779, residents of the Kentucky District could purchase Certificates of Settlement and Preemption Warrants if they met certain residency requirements. The State of Kentucky has an online database of these records indexed by Preemption Warrant number, the individual acquiring the Warrant & Certificate of Settlement, immediate assignees, and tract location. Included is the information on the resulting patent number and series for the Kentucky Preemption Warrants. Counties in present-day Virginia and West Virginia are included in this index.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution accepts these Virginia Certificates of Rights to Land for Settlement as qualifying for Patriot Status to join their organization: DAR Membership

Kentucky Land Office

A free trial of “Crossover Mac” is available at their site. It is simple to download to your computer, and installing the PAF software onto the iMac was also simple. I believe that I downloaded the free version of PAF from the LDS site, instead of using my PAF CD. If you like “Crossover Mac,” it costs $40, which I think is for a yearly subscription. I have also installed my CD of Personal Ancestral File Companion (PAF Companion 5.4.11), and although I have not used it much, it seems to work perfectly too. I have installed my CD of Windows Office 2007 which includes Word 2007, Excel and PowerPoint, although I have not used them much except for Word. It is wonderful to be able to run these programs on my new iMac without having to install a Windows operating system.

Here is the Personal Ancestral File 5.2 Page at Crossover Mac: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name?app_id=267

Upcoming Genealogy Events 2009-2010

I would like to address the issue of the Thomas Jefferson DNA Study and give my first hand account regarding the misleading headline in the science journal Nature dated November 5, 1998. It has had a very negative impact on the legacy of Thomas Jefferson and has raised many concerns …” Herbert Barger, Jefferson Family Historian, concerning “The Jefferson-Hemings DNA Study.”

People have become so accustomed with the use of DNA to solve crimes and identify the missing and dead, that they have been misled to believe that DNA can find their surname ancestor. When DNA is used in criminal investigations, the DNA is from a current or recently living individual and the DNA matches do not lie.

Again, when DNA is used in Genetic Genealogy, it too comes from living people. The DNA used for Genetic Genealogy testing does not come from a deceased ancestor of 1776. Yet every day, so-called genealogists are jumping to conclusions on their and others’ lineages on the basis of Genetic Genealogy testing. However, many of the lineages claimed by DNA participants are seriously flawed. I have read a number of them and I know that from experience. I have even witnessed cases where the lineages were altered by the DNA Administrator after conflicting DNA testing results were received.

I have recently read on a message board of one person whose husband has impeccable documented lineage to the Phillips family of Virginia, yet his DNA claims he is a descendant of the Fitzhugh family. So what is the conclusion the genealogist jumps to? That Mr. Fitzhugh was having some hanky-pank with Mrs. Phillips whilst Captain Phillips was sailing Fitzhugh’s tobacco to England. Because the DNA of a man living today, does not match the DNA of another group of living men, genealogists consistently make these lame-brained conclusions, impugning the character of their own ancestors whose DNA is not available. There are many dozens of reasons why DNA does not match family lineages that have absolutely nothing to do with hanky-pank, such as adoptions, apprenticeships, step-children, etcetera. It could also have something to do with an occurrence in the lineage in 1875, and not back to 1700.

Apparently, even the DNA conclusions on the familial connections of Thomas Jefferson and his wife’s enslaved half-sister Sally Hemings were as flawed, according to Herbert Barger who worked on the study. If I understand correctly, DNA from a descendant of Sally Hemings who claimed to have descended from a brother of Thomas Jefferson was used to match his DNA to a descendant of another child of Sally Hemings, and VOILA! That alone proved Thomas Jefferson to be the father of Sally Hemings’ child and possibly children. How scientific can this be, as Thomas Jefferson left no documented male descendants? He had NO sons, yet apparently male lineage DNA was used to prove him as the father of his slave’s children. Here is a most interesting and scholarly discussion of the misuse of DNA in the rush to prove Thomas Jefferson the father of the children of his slave, Sally Hemings. http://jeffersondna.com/media/summary-of-washington-post-article/.