On 2 Sep 1724, Col. Spotswood, late Lt. Gov. of Virginia, sent a letter to the Board of Trade and Plantations which gave an accounting of how he had acquired land in Virginia. Most of the information was enclosed in a second letter he had previously written to others, of which a copy had been made to send the Board. [Spotswood's land holdings were being seriously questioned and he did not yet have title to much of his land.]
25 Nov 1724. The Board reiterated its request to the Attorney General and to the Solicitor General for their opinions about the "exorbitant" grants of land made in Virginia by the late Lt. Gov. of Virginia, Col. Spotswood.
[At first, Spotswood had been correctly viewed as a strong supporter of the interests of the Crown. Now, the suspicion was growing that Spotswood's primary interest was in himself. The two new counties and the land grants that he was making in them raised concern in England.]
1 Dec 1724. Col. Alexander Spotswood, late Lt. Gov. of Virginia, attended the Board meeting (in London) and asked that he should be given copies of any complaints which might be made against him. The Board agreed to do so. [Spotswood was in deep trouble in England over his land holdings, which were to be the cornerstones of his economic empire. He went to England to pursue a resolution of these problems. When he arrived, he almost immediately found a wife and they started a family. Whether marriage was any part of his motivation for going to England is unknown. He remained in England for four or five years before returning to Virginia.]
[The legislation which created the new counties of Brunswick and Spotsylvania contained very ambiguous clauses or was totally silent on some questions pertaining to land acquisitions in the counties. Testimony was taken in London from people who recommended one or two thousand acres be the maximum for any one person. Spotswood was in the process of filing for 59,000 acres in Spotsylvania County.]
[The interpretation, as it finally settled down, was for a maximum of 1,000 acres. No previously granted land could be included. There was a freedom for seven years from quit rents and the head right fee was waived. Those who took more than this were not allowed the exemptions from the levies. The two clauses said different things, that is, they were contradictory. "You could not take up more than a thousand acres. If you took up more than a thousand acres, you had to pay the full fees." This meant that Spotswood's claims were very much in doubt. This Virginia Council was very confused and they stopped issuing patents and asked for a clarification.]
Meanwhile, our Second Colony Germans were looking at land and probably had tracts already selected. Rumors must have been prevalent about the status of pending land acquisitions which would have left them wondering about their future. In the end they got the land for free with no quit rents for seven years. It is no wonder that Spotsylvania County grew by leaps and bounds.
(21 Sep 00)
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