I am beginning to process the documents copied at the Library of Virginia during my recent travels. This deed documents the 1838 sale of the land my husband's 3rd great-grandfather, John Meredith, willed to his eldest son, Thomas James Meredith in 1834.
This Indenture made the 17th July 1838 between Thomas J. Meredith of the County of Richmond of the one part and George W. Flowers of the county of Lancaster of the other part each of the state of Virginia: witnesseth that the said Thomas J. Meredith for and in consideration of the sum of Three thousand five hundred dollars to him by the said George W. Flowers agreed to be paid hath granted bargained and sold and by these presents doth grant bargain sell and convey unto the said George W. Flowers his heirs and assigns a certain tract or parcel of Land containing one hundred and seventy four acres or the same more or less lying and being in the County of Lancaster and on Dymers Creek and being the same tract of Land devised by the last will and testament of John Meredith decd: to the said Thomas James Meredith --
To have and to hold the said tract or parcel of Land with the appurtenances thereto belonging from and after the first day of January next To him the said George W. Flowers his heirs and assigns forever: and the said Thomas James Meredith for himself and his heirs exors & admons doth hereby convenant and agree to and with the said George W. Flowers his heirs and assigns that he said Thomas J. Meredith and his heirs the said tract or parcel of land with its appurtenances unto the said George W. Flowers his heirs and assigns against him the said Thomas J. Meredith and his heirs and against all persons whomsoever shall and & will by these presents forever warrant and defend. In witness whereof the said Thomas J. Meredith hath hereto set his hand & affixed his seal the day and year above written --
signed sealed and delivered } Thomas J. Meredith {Seal}
in presence of }
Ro: T. Dunaway
B. M. Walker
James E. Waddey
The grave yard on the premises hereby conveyed is excepted & reserved to the said Thomas J Meredith his heirs and assigns forever say one fourth of an acre.
witness Geo: W. Flowers
Ro: T. Dunaway
At a Court held for the County of Lancaster on the 16th day of September 1839. This deed from Thomas J. Meredith to George W. Flowers was proved by the oaths of Ro: T. Dunaway, Benjamin M. Walker & James E. Waddey witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded.
Teste,
Benjamin M. Walker cl
Notes ~ This deed narrows the locations possible for John Meredith's land, land he had inherited from his father, William Meredith. His home was referred to as Plum Hill in an obituary appearing in a Richmond newspaper. No such name exists in the area today, but Place-names of the Northern Neck of Virginia by Mary Ruth Miller (Richmond, VA: Virginia State Library 1983) mentions Plum Tree Swamp as a marsh, located in Northumberland or Lancaster Counties in the vicinity of Fleets Bay. The deed's mention of Dymers Creek supports a Fleets Bay location. Dymer Creek is located in Lancaster County and separates Fleets Bay Neck and Poplar Neck before it empties into the Bay.
The mention of a graveyard intrigues me. My assumption is that William and Caty Yerby Meredith (John's parents), John, at least one of his three wives, and other Meredith siblings were buried there. I've found no other mention of a Meredith graveyard before this. The map above does indicate two cemeteries that are not visible on Google Earth.
Sources
Lancaster, VA, Deed Book 39:78, Thomas J. Meredith to George W. Flowers, 17 Jul 1838. Library of Virginia Film #13. Digital image.
Map from the Virginia Department of Health's Shoreline Sanitary Survey for Indian, Dymer and Tabbs Creek, dated 11 June 2011. (http://www.vdh.state.va.us/EnvironmentalHealth/shellfish/shoreline/survey016.pdf. Accessed 31 Jul 2011.)
Lancaster, VA, Deed Book 39:78, Thomas J. Meredith to George W. Flowers, 17 Jul 1838. Library of Virginia Film #13. Digital image.
Map from the Virginia Department of Health's Shoreline Sanitary Survey for Indian, Dymer and Tabbs Creek, dated 11 June 2011. (http://www.vdh.state.va.us/EnvironmentalHealth/shellfish/shoreline/survey016.pdf. Accessed 31 Jul 2011.)
