 | History of Roanoke County |  |
Early Land Grants
The early land grants of Roanoke County are indicative
of the first settling of this section of Virginia.
Many of the grants have retained in some
manner or other the names of the grantees, and important
points in the county to this day are known
by the original grants. A history of the county
would be incomplete without detailing a few of the
more important grants, which are as follows:
December 15th, 1740, to James McAfee, Sr., three
hundred acres. This land was at the north of "McAfee's
Knob," the highest mountain peak in the
county. In the same neighborhood, two tracts of
three hundred and fifty acres were granted to Robert
Poague, and conveyed to James McAfee February
17th, 1748.
Erected on the lands of James McAfee was a fort,
which was doubtless used at some time as a dwelling.
It was torn down some twenty-five or thirty
years ago. It was at this fort that the first white
child was born within the limits of the county, a
member of James McAfee's family, in 1764.
On July 25th, 1746, one hundred and fifty acres
was granted to James Carvin on Carvin's Creek.
A number of grants were made to Thomas Tosh
from 1747 to 1767. He was an ancestor of the late
Colonel Thomas Lewis and Major Andrew Lewis,
both having recently died.
In September, 1748, three grants of four hundred
acres were made to Mark Evans. The place was
called "Cedar Spring" and was known as the "Naked
Farm," afterwards called the "Barrens." "Cedar
Spring" is the source of "Lick Run," which passes
through Roanoke City, and is now owned by Joseph
Moomaw. The land included in this grant embraced
a large portion of the estate of General Edward
Watts and was called "Oaklands," now better
known as "The Watts Farm," just north of the city
of Roanoke.
On November 3d, 1750, eight hundred and forty-five
acres of land lying on both sides of Tinker
Creek was granted to James Patton.
Two tracts of sixty-six and fifty-four acres, respectively,
on Tinker Creek were granted to Israel
Christian, who donated the site on which Fincastle
stands on June 27th, 1764. His son, General William
Christian, figured conspicuously in the Indian
wars of Virginia and Kentucky. Christiansburg,
the county seat of Montgomery County, was named
after Israel Christian.
On May 12th, 1759, two hundred and twelve acres
were granted to Ervin Patterson, and on September
10th, 1765, an additional three hundred acre tract
was granted to the same party. Both tracts were
south of Roanoke River, and some thirty years ago
were owned by Ferdinand Rorer, and is known as
"Solitude."
Other early grants were as follows:
April 6th, 1769, three tracts on Catawba to John
Armstrong.
April 6th, 1769, three hundred and eight acres near
Tinker Creek to Robert Breckenridge.
February 1st, 1780, one hundred and fifty acres
near Back Creek to Robert McIlhenny.
May 1st, 1784, one hundred and eighty-eight
acres to Robert McIlhenny.
September 1st, 1782, thirty-five acres on Catawba
to John Ledgerwood.
November 18th, 1786, one thousand three hundred
and eighty acres near "Sugar Loaf Knob" to James
Neelly.
September 3d, 1791, one thousand and eighty-three
acres on Peters Creek at its mouth to John
Neelly.
April 16th, 1792, one thousand one hundred and
seventy acres on Mason's Creek to William Carlton.
December 5th, 1794, one thousand five hundred
acres on Tinker Creek to William Anderson.
September 6th, 1799, one hundred acres on Carvin's
Creek to Benjamin Denton.
November 20th, 1800, two hundred acres on Catawba
to John Ledgerwood.
December 14th, 1805, three hundred and twenty-one
acres on Tinker Creek to Peter Noftzinger.
| History of Roanoke County | |