Men and Manors
In the South Branch Valley

Between 1745 and 1797, the South Branch Valley lay within the boundaries of the Fairfax "Northern Neck" land grant, bordered on the north by the Potomac River and in the south by the Hardy-Rockingham county border, extended through Cabins, WV to the headwaters of the northern branch of the Potomac. Within this South Branch portion of his proprietary lands, Lord Fairfax created at least four separate tracts or manors including the South Branch Manor, the South Fork, the Wappacomo or Great South Branch of the Potowmack, and the Peterson Creek Manor. Each was subdivided into lots of a few hundred acres, most to be leased out for the term of 21 years (the life of the tenant) or more, at an annual fee of 25 shillings per hundred acres.

The two primary manors, consisting of about 55,000 acres each, were located along the South Branch of the Potomac. The Wappacomo, or Great South Branch of the Potowmack (sic), lay on both sides of the South Branch River from its mouth on the Potomac to the southern end of the Trough near Old Fields. The "South Branch Manor" extended from the southern tip of the Trough along the river south and west to the Petersburg area to the Royal Glen Gorge and included the lower portions of Mill Creek and Lunice Creek. The third tract lay on the South Fork from its mouth near Moorefield, south to Brake. This tract included only 18 lots. Another 10,000 acres situated along Patterson Creek was divided into 31 lots, extending from Headsville to just southwest of Russeldale on today's maps.

The best description of the South Branch Valley manor lands, their somewhat complicated history, geography, tenure agreements, and the names of the earliest settlers associated with these manors (ca. late 1740s-1750s) appears in two excellent articles by Charles Morrison entitled "Early Fairfax Land Grants and Leases Along the South Branch of the Potomac," in West Virginia History, V37 (Oct 1976), pp. 1-22 and "Early Land Grants and Settlers Along Patterson Creek," in West Virginia History, V40 (Winter 1979), pp. 164-199. Morrison indicates that the rental lists for the South Branch Manor found in the Library of the WV Dept of Archives and History are incomplete, not completely accurate, and undated (though internal evidence shows them to be prior to 1763). But they do include many of names of the lessees or those associated with him, perhaps as witness or bondsman.

The Patterson Creek, South Fork and Wappacomo manors have been mapped by lot number. Armed with a list of names of the lessees or deed holders, one could actually "find" the location of the deed on a plat of these three manors. Unfortunately, there seems to be no plat or reconstructed map for the South Branch Manor. Various maps and research notes regarding these manor lands, primarily the works of Charles Morrison and Galtjo Geertsema, can be found in the Hardy County Public Library.

It is important to remember that other families and individuals may have been living in the greater South Branch Valley on non-manor lands. Many had claimed the land prior to the Fairfax survey. And, of course, new settlers continued to arrive throughout the remainder of the eighteenth century. To add to the confusion, parts of the Fairfax grant in this area lay in Frederick County (north of the Trough), and those south lay in Augusta County. Since leases for this land was considered a private transaction with Lord Fairfax, they were not generally recorded in the county deed books, though references can be found in Hampshire, Hardy, Frederick and Augusta County records. Many of the Northern Neck land records are available at the Virginia State Library and the Library of the West Virginia Department of Archives and History. A few published abstracts of Northern Neck warrants, surveys and grants are also available, specifically in works by Peggy Shomo Joyner and Gertrude E. Grey.

The original data as recorded by Charles Morrison is listed alphabetically. By rearranging this data using numerical lot numbers or grouped by creek name, it is possible to discern geographical proximity and sometimes the actual location of a given farmstead or "plantation." This is useful in genealogical research because often it is the names of such neighbors that appear as witnesses on wills, estate appraisers, adjacent neighbors on land deeds, or bondsmen on other documents. Family researchers may also notice how often the maiden name of a wife appears as a neighboring name to the husband's family. Those listed below are thought to be among the earliest, settling in the late 1740s and early 1750s. I have listed them in numerical order by lot number. Locations are based on notes in deed records or other sources, and from reconstructed maps.

It appears that the South Branch Manor lot numbers began at the south end of the Trough (#1) near Old Fields, south to Moorefield (#20s), southwest to Petersburg (#60s) and west to the "Manor Line." The following list gives the lot number (where available), name of the renter, acreage (abbreviated as "a.") and approximate location (such as "South end of the Trough". E and W probably refer to East or West side of the river. Two or more names may appear on one lot if it was subdivided.

Lot #	Name	Acreage	& Approximate Location (from Morrison or other sources)
1	John Renick	215a	(South end of Trough)
2	Abraham Hite	668a	(also 71 a - no location given)
3	Christian Snider	190a
3	John Snivey/ Sively	77a
5	Harry Glebe	210a
7	Daniel McNeal	320a
8	Matthew Gilmore	155a, etc.
9	James Christian	52a
9	John McNeal	437a
13	Christopher Cocke/ Cox	133a
	Joseph Inskip	133acre,etc.
14E	George Reed/ Reid	135a, etc.
15W	John Lawrence	124a
15E	Patrick Linch/ Lynch	166a
17	Hampton Manor (Noah Hampton?)	96a
17	John Renick	122a	(also on Lot 1)
19	Jonathon Heath	105a
20	Charley Lynch
—	Linches Mill	280a	"Mill Track" mouth of South Fork in Moorefield
21	Henry Maun	78a
21E	Samuel Beall	212a
22	Charles Loyns/ Lynch	81a
—	Conrad Moore	62a	(Site of Moorefield)
23	Charles Lynch	116a
24	Stephen Heart/ Heard	50a
24	Simon Hornback	137a
25	James Cunningham	150a
25	Samuel Hornback	150a
26	Henry March/ Marsh	103a, etc.
27	John Bishop	83a
27E	Richard Cartright/ Cutwright	86a
28	Moses Hutton	580a, etc.
29	David Castleman	119a
31W	Michael Alt	24a	(also has 78 acres on 73W)
33	E[dward] Williams	235a
33	Isaac Hornback	235a
35	Ratliff or Westfall	95a
36E	Luke Collins	322a	(corner to 36 E)
37W	Wm Ashby	45a
40	Michael Sea	216a	(including an island in the river)
42	Wm Cunningham	242a	(also has lot 57 W)
43	Robt Cunningham	338a
43	John Pancake	52a, etc.
44W	John Kimble	100a, etc.
45	John Briggs	55a
46	Anthony Baker	45a	(near Durgontown-Baker Rock)
46	John Miller	45a
48	John Harness	271a
49E	Jacob Harness	249a
49E	Alexander Liggett	175a, etc.
50	Matthias Hite	8a, etc.
52	Jacob Hinkle	130a
52W	Henry Landers	130a
55	Andrew Byrn	76a
55	Christopher Huffman	168a
55	Seighman Hour	59a
55	John Miller	76a
57W	Wm Cunningham	68a
58	Adam Hyder	104a
59	Anthony Badgely	20a
59	Lewis Bush	77a
60E	Rudolph Hyer/ Hire	165a
61	Randolph Shobe		(Petersburg area )
61E	Leonard Hyer/Hire	223a	Ft. George here or adjacent lot (east side of river, opposite Petersburg)
63	Jacob Shobe	169a
63W	Michael Hornback	16a
64	Martin Power (s)	130a
65	Christopher Hermantrout/ Armentrout	266a
66	Martin Shobe	300a
66	Henry Steel	105a
67	Jacob Stooky	120a
70W	John Cochran	55a
71	John Robinson	139a
73W	Michael Alt	78a	Also Lot 31W
76	Benjamin Bean	114a
77W	James Cooberly	129a
82	McKenny Robinson	55a
84	Valentine Power	41a

No lots given but all appear to be living in Petersburg area:

——	Thomas Arby	1500a	Along Mudlick Run
——	George Burn/ Byrne	193a	Along Mill Creek
——	Michael Hahn	60a	Mill Creek
——	Benjamin Jones	311a	Mill Creek
——	Edward McGuire	1045a	Mill Creek
——	Daniel Richardson	465a	Mill Creek at Manor Line
——	John & Henry Wilson	258a	Mill Creek
——	Leonard Harness	202a, etc	Looney's Creek
——	Abraham Kuykendall	120a	Looney's Creek
——	James Scott	400a	Looney's Creek
——	Joseph Watson	322a, etc.	Adjoining his own land on Luney's Creek
——	Job Welton	172a	Looney's Creek
——	John Welton	244a	Looney's Creek
——	Jacob Westfall	140a	Looney's Creek
——	John Westfall	42a	Looney's Creek
——	George Whitman	90a, etc.	Claylick Run, draft of Looney's Creek
——	David Welton	373a	Flats

Other names without lot numbers or creeks; some may have been witnesses or bondsmen.

	Maunis Alkier	405a
	James Anderson
	Henry Batten	100a
	Wm Bonner
	Bryan Bruin	425a, etc.
	Richard Byrn	100a
	Michael Carr	89a
	Samuel Cartwright	137a	W (27?)
	Peter Casey	620a
	Channell
	Robert Clark	16a
	James & Jonathon Cockburn/ Coburn		(Near mouth of Mill Creek at Petersburg according to George Washington diaries)
	John Collins	119a
	John Conrad
	Couchman/ Coughman
	Friend Cox	195a
	Christian Dasher/ Tosher	200a, etc.
	Samuel Delay
	John & James Delm/ Delham	31a
	Samuel Dew	182a
	Robert Ferguson	100a
	Adam Fisher		(Neighbors of Harness, Parson, See)
	John Fisher
	John Foxcroft	352a, etc.
	John Francis	181a
	Christian Funk	42a
	John Wm. Geinitz	51a
	Eve Glaze	133a
	Henry Hamilton	106a
	Noah Hampton
	Conrad Harness
	George Harness	160a
	Isaac Harness
	Michael Harness	249a	(West side of river, south of Fisher, across from golf course today)
	William Haton	63a
	Jacob Helmick	100a
	John Hogban	60a
	Daniel Hole	88a
	Anthony Hornback	81a
	Daniel Hornback	152a
	Joel Hornback
	Houghton
	John Howard
	John Inskip	89a
	James Keith	110a
	Henry Kerr	215a
	Humphrey Keys	170a
	Peter Kuykendall
	Henry Lancisco/ Lanciscus
	William Lane	209a
	Thomas Larry	89a
	John Legate/ Liggett	181a
	Enock Leonard	150a
	Job Little	60a
	Jacob Long	158a
	Luny/ Looney
	Nehemiah Martin	150a
	Philip Mason	82a
	Nicolas Mass	32a
	Robert Maxwell	18a
	Jacob May	175a
	John McCulloch
	Elizabeth McCullough
	Thomas McGuire	463a
	Daniel McLaughlin	100a
	Philip Moore	138a
	G.[George] Murray
	William Naylor
	William Norman	119a
	John or Joseph O'Bannon/ OBannion
	Adam O'Bryan	85a
	Robert Owen	100a
	Andrew Pancake	285a
	Robert Parker	232a
	Baulden Parsons	161a
	James Parsons	145a
	Thomas Parsons	22a	(Neighbor to See & Fisher)
	Peter Peters	214a
	Martin Peterson
	Thomas Price
	Henry Pringle
	Samuel Pringle
	Peter Rambo	182a
	Benjamin Ratliff	131a
	John Reagar
	John Reed	100a
	Solomon Reed	396a
	Peter Reid
	George Renick	367a, etc.
	William Renick	108a
	Daniel Richards	140a	(Also at Mill Creek)
	Benjamin Robinson	49a
	John Ross	100a
	Philip Ross	150a
	John Royce	228a
	William Ruby	90a
	James Rutledge	500a	Adjacent South Branch Manor
	Benjamin Scott	35a
	David Scott
	John Scott	351a
	Frederick See
	George See
	Felix Seymour	450a
	James Seymour
	Abram Shobe
	Rudolph Shobe	186a
	Lawrence Shock/ Schrick	46a
	Herman Shook
	Charles Smith	155a
	E[dward] Smith
	William Smith	400a
	John Spohr/ Spohre	215a
	Philip Swank	78a
	James Tarpley	20a
	Tapley Taylor	349a
	Michael Thorn	405a
	Peter Thorn
	Robert Travis	55a
	Andrew Trumbo	232a
	Garratt VanMeter	298a
	Isaac & Joseph VanMeter	129a
	Jacob Van Meter	235a, etc.	Adjoining his own land on Spoor'/Spohr's Run
	John VanMeter
	Joseph VanMeter	288a
	Andrew Waggener	100a
	John Walker
	Cornelius Ward	20½ a
	Henry Welton
	Jesse Welton	243a
	Jonathon Welton
	Mary Welton
	Solomon Welton	412a
	William Welton
	Abel Westfall
	Thomas Wheeler	106a
	John Williams	270a, etc.
	Mary Williams
	Richard Williams	232a
	William H. Wilson
	Andrew Wodrow	100a
	John Wood	9a
	Thomas Wood	312a
	George Yokum
	John Yokum	119a
	Mathias Yocum		Near mouth of South Fork
	Ebenezer Zane		Near Old Fields
	Elizabeth Zane
	William Zane

The twenty lots along the South Fork were numbered sequentially beginning at the upper end of the South Fork at the Fairfax line and ending (#20) at the South Branch Manor Line near the mouth of the South Fork where Moorefield is located today.

Lot #	Name	Acreage	& Approximate Location
1& 2	Peter Reed	680a	(Starting near Brake, mouth of Dumpling Run)
3	Michael Stump	366a
5	Anthony Reagar	375a
6	Anthony Regarr/Reager	498a
7	Herman Choke/Shoker	400a
	(Elias Cellars mentioned in Washington survey)
9	Abel Westfall	400a
10	Abram Vanderpool	432 or 462a
	(Occupied by Michael Catt Lives on at time of original survey)
11	Leonard Naff/Neff/Nave	432a
12	Michael Stump	510a
13	Jacob Westfall	400a
14	James Simpson	400a
15	Philip Moore	238a
17	Henry Shepler	294a
	(Washington describes Lots 16 and 17 under single survey, mentioning Henry Harris and Widow Wolfe houses on the tract)
18	George Osborne	396a
	(Washington also gives "Jeremiah Osborne")

Recreated map in Hardy Co. Public Library shows many of the lots straddling the river, others side by on either side of the river. Lots along the Wappacomo were numbered sequentially beginning with #1 at the Trough and ending with #64 at the mouth of the South Branch. #6 was at the mouth of Buffalo Run, #18 at Romney, and #28 at Hanging Rock (Wapocomo).

Lot #	Name	Acreage	& Approximate Location
1	Peter Kirkendall	420a
2	Henry VanMeter	405a
3	Conrad Hoffman	398a
4	William Miller	433a
5	Mathias Kirkendall	337a
6	Jonathan Cockburn	250a
7	John Kirkendall	448a
8	Benjamin Kirkendall	291a
9	John Decker	400a
10	Giles Sullivant	415a
11	James Fannin	347a
12	Garrat Decker	380a
13	Peter Tostee	403a	Both sides of river at mouth of McDowell's Run
14	Reuben Keyser	406a	(lease)
15	William Buffington	413a
16	Maj. Samuel Eyrle	323a
17	William Watson	217a
18	Laid off in a Town called Romney	350a
20	John Collins	425a	NW of Romney on east side of river
21	Peter Casey	356a
22	Benjamin Foreman	300a	east slope of Mill Creek Mtn.
24	John Colvil	369a
25	John or Benjamin Foreman	400a
26	Benjamin Foreman	400a
27	John Blew	304a
28	Lodowick Castlemain	300a
29	Lodowick Castlemain	404a
30	Michael Pruntee	312a
31	John Welton	243a
32	Peter Peters	232a
34	Rev. Jacob Townshend	203a
35	Oliver Cremer	385a
36	William Cartman	400a
38	John Cunningham	430a
41	George Cowin	219a
42	Thomas Rennick	270a
44	John Parker	350a
45	James Ross	400a
46	James Ross	236a
48	Thomas Bromsey	416a
49	Edward McGuire	346a
50	Jasper Sutton, et al.	400a
51	John Martin's heirs	400a	(lease)
52	George Hogg/Hoge	400a
53	George Hogg/Hoge	400a
54	Francis Ross	400a
55	Francis Ross	456a
56	Thomas Walker	238a
57	Robert Rutherford	231a
58	Edward Ruth	251a
60	Thomas Bryan Martin	312a
61	John French	246a
62	John French	300a
63	Thomas Bryan Martin	360a
64	John Hopkins	310a	Mouth of the South Branch at the Potomac

The thirty one lots along Patterson Creek north of Petersburg consist of lots 1-13 fronting or on both sides of the river itself. Lots 14 to 31 run adjacent to these river lots on the west. Names listed in 1762 survey as those who occupied or claimed lots of Patterson Creek Manor.

Lot #	Name	Acreage	& Approximate Location
1	Thomas Douthitt	162½	About 35 miles south of Burlington on west side of Patterson Creek
2	George Corn	299a
3	Solomon Hedges	625a	Just northwest of Russelldale
4	Benjamin Rutherford	529a
5	Lord Fairfax	561a
6	Edward Corn and Philip Langly	421a	At Burlington on both sides of the river
7	Timothy Corn	333a
8	Windle Miller	280a
9	John Ramsey	278a
10	Joseph Barker/Parker	295a
11	Robert Bell	330a
12	Charles Savours and Samuel McMurray	371a
13	Nicholas Seavours	292½a	Just south of Headsville on Patterson Creek
14	John Moffitt	296a
17	John Hared	201

Wild Meadow Run was Hamptons Run; Mill Creek was Ed. Corns Run; Staggs Run was Parkers Mill Run

Lot #	Name	Acreage	& Approximate Location
1	George Parker	399a
2	John Adam Long	293a
3	Nicholas Reaner	277a
4	John Ratan	354a
5	Abram Johnson	293a
6	David Thompson	312a
8	Power Hasel	328a
10	Nicolas Crist	167a
11	Joseph Hamlin	289a
12	John Parker	312a
13	Mathew Rogers &	379a
	Jacob Good	394a
15	Joseph Walter	238a
21	Joseph Robinson	332a
22	Philip Martin	283a	(Nephew of Lord Fairfax)
X	Capt. John Greenfield	200a

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