To obtain a certificate showing entitlement to a certain number of head rights, one had to go to court and testify that he was applying for head rights. Generally, a person gave the names of the people for whom he was applying. Sometimes he gave specific information, such as the date he came. In due course, certificates would be issued. If he were buying land from the Crown, he could have 50 acres for each head right. This process was NOT "naturalization". The two activities are sometimes confused, but they were distinct actions.
People living in the Northern Neck could also obtain head rights, but they could not use them in the Northern Neck. They could sell them to someone who wanted to buy land from the Crown. Lt. Gov. Spotswood felt this was an injustice to the Crown (he was an agent of the Crown) because the purpose of the law granting land for head rights was to encourage settlement on the Crown's lands. Several of our First Colony people obtained head rights which they sold. Others in the Germantown group obtained head rights, but failed to do anything with them. At least they never show up as payment for any land. (If the head right was used, the name should be in a patent.)
The value of a head right was less than five shillings. Either a head right, or five shillings, would get you fifty acres of land. During the 1720's, when land was free in Spotsylvania and Brunswick Counties, the value of head rights was close to zero. If you obtained one during this period, you could hold it indefinitely.
Eventually, the head right concept disappeared from use. The remaining uses of them were often within a family. If your family had paid for their own transportation, they were entitled to head rights. One family member might collect these together and purchase land. For this reason, we give careful consideration to the relationship between people who are named as head rights, and those who used the head rights; however, there is no guarantee of any relationship.
It was the custom, not the law, that the anyone who paid for the transportation of another person obtained that person's head right. In the case of the Second Colony, Spotswood wrote in his official letters that the members of this group were "free persons", i.e., they were not servants. And it seems to be the case that he sued the members, trying to recover from them the transportation costs. In other words, they had borrowed from him their transportation money, and were supposed to pay it back. This would be consistent with "free persons"; however, when he had to pay money later to settle one of his claims to land, he used the names of the 48 Second Colony people, for whom he had apparently paid the transportation. In this case he
was
treating them as servants, as though he were entitled to their head rights in return for his having paid for their transportation. (Spotswood was a master of trying to have his cake and eat it too.)
(01 Jul 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.