Early Land Acquisition in Augusta County, VA

Acquisition of Land from Chalkley's (unless listed otherwise):

• John Dickinson was conveyed 546 acres "on a branch of Jackson's River called the Falling Spring" from John and David Stanley, which was originally patented to Adam Dickinson on 1 June 1750, as listed in the disposition below:

• Colonel John Dickinson, a veteran of the Battle of Point Pleasant and resident of Bath County, Virginia, had two tracts of land along the Kanawha River surveyed in November 1784. A tract of 502 acres at Campbells Creek included the famous salt spring; Joseph Ruffner purchased this property in 1796. A tract of 704 acres lay in the area of present Belle. In 1796, about three years before his death, Dickinson conveyed this tract to his sons-in-laws, Samuel and John Shrewsbury. The West Virginia Encyclopedia.

• Page 37 - John Dickinson, 217 acres, Branch of Jacksons River. June 29, 1763. [Abstract of Land Grant Surveys, 1761-1791, Augusta & Rockingham Counties, Virginia, by Peter Cline Kaylor, pg. 15].

• Page 63 - John Dickinson, 22 acres, Cowpasture River. Nov. 26, 1766. [Abstract of Land Grant Surveys, 1761-1791, Augusta & Rockingham Counties, Virginia, by Peter Cline Kaylor, pg. 25].

• Page 89 - John Dickison, 18 acres, Cowpasture River. 1767. [Abstract of Land Grant Surveys, 1761-1791, Augusta & Rockingham Counties, Virginia, by Peter Cline Kaylor, pg. 33].

• Page 219 - John Dickinson, 95 acres, Cowpasture River. Mentioned Donnelys Ridge. April 26, 1773. [Abstract of Land Grant Surveys, 1761-1791, Augusta & Rockingham Counties, Virginia, by Peter Cline Kaylor, pg. 78].

Disposition of Land from Chalkley's:

• Page 307.--20th May, 1767. John Dickenson to Benj. Estill, £100, 546 acres on a branch of Jacksons River called the Falling Spring, patented to Adam Dickenson on 1st June, 1750, and conveyed by Adam to John and David Stanley and by them conveyed to John Dickenson; also a survey adjoining above containing 250 acres. Mortgage for payment of £100. Teste: William Hugart, Wm. McClenachan, Jas. McDowell.

• Page 326.--20th May, 1767. John Dickenson, gent, and Martha to William Thompson, 24th June, 1784.

• Page 48.--22d August, 1767. John Dickenson and Martha to Gabriel Jones, £250, 546 acres on Falling Spring, a branch of Jackson's river, bought by John from John and David Stanleys, who bought it from Adam Dickenson to whom it was patented 1st June, 1750.

▼ Will of John Dickinson

From "Abstracts of the Wills and Inventories of Bath County Virginia, 1791-1842", Bruns, pg. 18-19:

• pg. 143. Will of John Dickenson of the Cowpasture. dated July 23 1797.

Wit: Robert Sitlington, James Kelso, Joel Shrewsbury and Edward G. Snyder.Probated September 1799 courtExec: "trusty son Adam" and three sons-in-law John and Samuel Shrewsbury and Joseph KinkadeInstructions: "My will and desire if that no spiritous liquer may be made use of at my interment"Beq: "to my dear and loving wife Martha" for life home plantation "from the cross fence above my mother's meddow... down to the lower end of the big field or bottom with all the buiidings such as they are" and all furniture.1 bed each to unmarried children Adam, Jean and John "when they marry if ever".to wife wagon and team, her own mare, young horse and colt and "the whole of the cowbeasts", except 4 cows with calves to Adam, Jean and John when they marry.hogs to be equally divided among wife and Adam and John when they marry."Old Negro Ned I will to be free and live where he now lives during his good behavior".to wife Negroes Harry, Fillis, Bob, Tom and Peter.to daughters Mary and Martha Shrewsbury 5 pounds (after the land and property they have already received).to daughter Nancy Kinkade two tracts, 1,050 acres and 268 acres on Elk River and Sandy Creek branch, in addition to "what she has already got".to sons Adam and John the home plantation and 19 acres bought from Hugh Hicklan to be divided equally on their mother's death (provision made for arbitration if they can't agree).to Adam 4 cows and calves and Fillis' son Jonathan.to daughter Jean a featherbed, 4 cows and calves, a good young mare valued at 30 pounds, 10 pounds cash worth of household furniture, and two tracts of 1,000 and 44 acres on Fifteen Mile Creek.to Adam and John land below Mr. Roggers where Thomas Harvey now lives "for timber when needed".all other land to be sold and proceeds divided equally between Adam, John, Nansey and Jean.all debts collected to be equally divided in halves; one-half divided between wife and six children; other half to eight grandchildren, Mary's John, Samuel, william, Martha and Elizabeth, Martha's John and Martha and Nancy's John.Joseph Rufner's bond: 1) 400 pounds to Adam and John each to build a house, with their mother "to have a convenient part of either of the m as she may chose to live in"; 2) bond of $1,000 pounds worth of salg, 300 pounds to "my sopoesed daughter Catherine Humphries" and 100 pounds to her son John, to my sister Mary Davis or to her grandson John Littlepage 100 pounds, to niece Abigail McClung 100 pounds "if in case her husband William makes me or by heirs any reasonable part or satisfaction for my former right of the meddow lands where he now lives", if not to daughters Nancy and Jean, balance of bond to the daughters and Adam and John; bond of 1,000 pounds worth of salt, 700 to wife and six children, balance to grandsons John, son of Samuel Shrewsbury, John son of John Shrewsbury, and John son of Joseph Kinkade.Sell Negro man Bill and buy timber tract for wife for her life and then to Adam and John.

• Pg. 148 - Inventory - Col. John Dickinson - $2,610

Submitted Sept. 17, 1799 by Joseph Mays, George Shaw, James Kelso and Robert Sittlington.7 featherbeds, kitchen and household furniture, old waggon and 4 pair gears, 4 ploughs, horses 6, cattle 34, hogs 11, sheep 6, Negroes Harry, Bill, Tom, Peter, Bill and Jonathan.

▼ Processioning List of 1767-68"Processioning" was the process or periodically reviewing and agreeing upon property lines between settlers. Processioning Lists can be useful in determining the area of a settler and the neighboring settlers at a specific time period:

• Page 451.--1767-68: Processioned by Samuel Hamilton, in Cowpasture, from his house down the river to James Baird's: For Samuel Hamilton, Andw. Sutlington, John Dickenson, William Sprowel, John Donaly, Hugh Caffey, Joseph Watson, Andw. Muldrough, Wm. Dougherty, John Clendenning, William Maze, James Beard. Processioned by John Botkin: For Samuel Wilson, Abraham Haptonstall, Robert Duffield, James Burnsides, Robert Carlyle, Richard Botkin, John Carlyle, Samuel Black, Edward Hynds, John Botkin, David Bell.

▼ Records of John Dickinson in Augusta County, VA

From Chalkley's Augusta County Records:

• Vol. 1 - MAY 24, 1762. - (249) On motion of John Dickinson, gent., it is ordered to be certified that he a known and commonly reputed to be the only son and heir of Adam Dickinson, late of this county, deceased.

• Page 54 - Thomas Bullett, 280 acres, Falling Spring Valley. Adjoining John Dickinson. December 1, 1766. [Abstract of Land Grant Surveys, 1761-1791, Augusta & Rockingham Counties, Virginia, by Peter Cline Kaylor, pg. 21].

▼ Information on John Dickinson

From "Annals of Bath County, Virginia" , by Oren F. Morton, pg. 38-39, 53, 60:

At the age of 22, John DICKENSON was a captain of horse, and during the next 25 years he saw very much military service on the frontier. He was appointed Overseer of roads in Augusta County in 1754. In 1756, he was appointed a Justice of Augusta County, but in 1779 he declined further service. In 1763, he was granted a tavern license. After being wounded in at least two skirmishes with the Indians, he was severely wounded in the shoulder at the battle of Point Pleasant, and for this injury he was granted a pension of 50 pounds per year. In 1777, with the rank of colonel, he returned to Point Pleasant at the head of a regiment of militia.Colonel DICKENSON was a large holder of real estate, owning land on the Greenbrier and even in North Carolina. John and Martha (USHER) DICKENSON had children: Mary married Samuel SHREWSBURY; Martha married John SHREWSBURY; Nancy; Adam; Jean; and John. The only grandson in the male line to finish his days in Bath County was John Usher Dickenson, who returned about 1850 and was the first proprietor of the hotel at Millboro.

From "Documentary history of Dunmore's war, 1774, Volume 1", By Reuben Gold Thwaites, Louise Phelps Kellogg, , pg. 272:

Col. John Dickinson was a son of Adam, a pioneer settler of what is now Bath County, Va. He served actively on the frontier during the French and Indian War, and from his fort Arthur Campbell was captured (1751). During Pon- tiac's War, Dickinson aided in a retaliatory pursuit of Cornstalk's party, after the massacre of Carr's Creek. In 1777 a raid upon the Shawnee towns was planned, for which Dickinson acted as colonel from Augusta County. This was brought to naught by the slaying of Cornstalk in the fort at Point Pleasant. Colonel Dickinson remained one of the distinguished citizens of Bath County, until his death in 1799. (See West Virginia Historical Magazine, ii, p. 54.)

From VAgenweb.com site for Bath County, VA:

This other John BYRD purchased from Adam DICKENSON, in 1754, 215 acres of land on Jackson's River and an adjoining tract of 317 acres to William DEAN. William DEAN sold his tract, in 1765, to his brother, John DEAN. John BYRD was constable at Augusta (later Bath) County, Virginia in 1755.Col. John DICKENSON (1731-1799), married, ca.1758, to Martha USHER, daughter of Edward and --?-- (PERRY) USHER. John DICKENSON was the only son of Adam DICKENSON who, in 1754, sold tracts on the Jackson River to John BYRD and to William DEAN.

▼ Sources

Account of Col. John Dickinson