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Lands of Nicholas Davies, Fry and Company, and
Others in Northeast Bedford and Southwest
Amherst Counties Virginia
By Thomas T Bannister
July 2005
From its passage through the Blue Ridge, James River flows
southeasterly about 23 miles - as the crow flies - to Lynchburgh.
To the north of the River lies Amherst County, to the south
Bedford County. Along this reach of the River, in both Counties,
patents granting crown land began to be issued about 1743. Among
early patentees were a number prominent in colonial Virginia. Of
particular interest to the writer were Nicholas Davies and a
consortium later referred to as "Fry and Company". Here reported
is an effort to locate and map the lands of Davies and Fry and
Company. Incidental to the effort, lands granted many others have
also been mapped.
Nicholas Davies
Nicholas Davies was born in England ca 1709, came to Va in
1728, and became an agent of Col Tho Randolph of Tuckahoe. In
1733 Davies married Randolph's widow Judith. After her death in
1743, Davies wed Catherine Whiting Clayton who bore an only child
Henry Landon Davies. Nicholas Davies died in 17941. During his
lifetime, Davies received 37 patents or grants and amassed a very
large acreage. In Cumberland County, he possessed about 4284
acres along Muddy Creek. 31 of the patents and grants delivered
lands located in modern Bedford and Amherst. Many of Davies'
later patents and grants included tracts granted him earlier.
Taking care to count a tract only once, Davies accumulated
acreage in Bedford-Amherst was still huge, about 40,284 acres. At
his death in 1794, many of Davies' holdings in Cumberland and
Bedford-Amherst passed to son Henry Landon Davies.
Fry and Company
In modern Bedford, three tracts (herein A, B, and C)
amounting to 17,510 acres were surveyed in 1751 for a consortium
later referred to as "Fry and Company" (Albemarle Surveyors Book
Vol 1, pages 177, 181, and 231). The legend accompanying plat A
names the grantees and reads as follows:
"A plot of 1790 acres of land in Albemarle lying on Tomahawk &
Rockcastle creeks of Blackwater Surveyed for the Honble William
Dawson Esq, Colo Joshua Fry, Colo Peter Jefferson, Capt Charles
Lynch, Capt Thomas Ballow and Thomas Turpin March 30th 1751. By
Thos Turpin Asst Sur."
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All these were prominent in 18th century Virginia. Wm Dawson
(1705-1752) served on His Majesty's Council and as President of
the College of Wm & Mary2. Joshua Fry (ca 1700- 1754) and Peter
Jefferson (1708-1757) are well known for military service,
surveying, and map making. Charles Lynch received a patent for
1590 acres in 1750 lying on both sides of James River at the site
modern Lynchburg; he and descendant John Lynch received many
additional grants and gave Lynchburg its name. In modern
Buckingham County, one or more Thomas Ballows patented 150 acres
on James River above Seven Islands in 1734 and 1950 acres nearby
in 1766. Thomas Turpin (1708-1790) received numerous patents for
lands in modern Powhatan, Cumberland, Buckingham, Appomattox, and
Bedford Counties. He served as Assistant Surveyor under Joshua
Fry in Albemarle and was a brother-in-law of Peter Jefferson.
In the Albemarle Surveyors Book, plat A was undivided.
Eventually, the land within the survey was patented: 300 acres
by Tho Turpin and 298 acres by Jno Dawson in 1762, 596 acres by
David Meriwether in 1763, 298 acres by Tho Jefferson in 1768, and
298 acres by Anthony Murray in 1769.
The legend for plat B is identical except the area is
11,770 acres and the words "by order of Council" are included.
Unlike plat A, plat B was partitioned into 6 tracts surrounding
but not including Nicholas Davies tract h. The six lots bear
names of assignees: John Dawson, Samuel Cobbs junior, Thos
Meriwether, Peter Jefferson, Tho Ballow, and Tho Turpin.
Eventually, the six tracts were patented: 2240 acres by Thomas
Turpin in 1761, and 1780 acres by Jno Dawson in 1763. Of the
remaining four tracts, the patentees differed from the
assignees. The 1860 acres assigned Thomas Meriwether were
patented by Nicholas Meriwether in 1763. The 2000 acres assigned
Peter Jefferson were patented by Thomas Jefferson in 1768. The
1850 acres assigned Thomas Ballow were patented by Anthony
Murray in 1769. Finally, the 2040 acres assigned Samuel Cobbs jr
was divided in three portions and patented by Robert, Edmund,
and John Cobbs in 1774.
Plat C, on the branches of old Tuckahoe, now Reed Creek,
included 3950 acres and, like Plat B, was partitioned into six
lots for the same six assignees. No legend accompanies the plat
in the Surveyors Book. Presumably, the legend would have read
"...Surveyed for..." the same six grantees named in the legends
of Plats A and B ..."by Thos Turpin...1751". All six tracts
were later patented: 690 acres by Jno Dawson in 1762, 700 acres
by Tho Turpin in 1763, 650 acres assigned Thomas Meriwether by
Francis Meriwether in 1763, 760 acres assigned Peter Jefferson
by Thomas Jefferson in 1768, 630 acres assigned Thomas Ballow by
Anthony Murray in 1769, and 600 acres assigned Samuel Cobbs jr
by John Waddy in 1773.
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Description of Maps (gif files)
Results of the study are shown in a series of maps. Three
maps define the longitude-latitude window. The map Area shows
modern County and Lynchburg boundaries (black) and streams
(blue); principal streams are identified. A 5-mile grid shows
the scale. Longitude and latitude at the SW and NE corners are
stated; the same longitude-latitude window applies to all of the
maps. The map Mtns shows the topography and streams, and
identifies some of the mountains. The map Roads shows modern
major and secondary roads superimposed upon located tracts. The
boundaries, elevation contours, streams, and roads were all
plotted from 100K USGS DLG files.
A series of five maps 1759, 1770, 1783, 1792, and 1844,
named for the last year of issuance of the surveys drawn, chart
the gradual taking up of lands by patents and grants. Each map
shows all surveys issued from 1743 through the year of the map
name. Generally, survey lines are drawn in dark green. However,
beginning with map 1770, the lines of those surveys granted in
the most recent interval are drawn in red; for example, in the
map 1770, red outlines tracts granted in the years 1760 through
1770, and green lines mark tracts granted prior to 1760. Tracts
have been painted to identify those of Davies (orange), the
several patentees of Fry and Company lands (colors shown in maps
1759, 1770, and 1783), those of Charles, Sarah, and John Lynch
(yellow), and of all others (pale green). White space marks areas
for which no patents or grants have yet been found, or areas
where there are unresolved discrepancies in recorded survey
lines, or in the northeast where lines of surveys in Amherst have
been omitted. These maps also show streams and, except for map
1759, a longitude-latitude grid - the latter useful in
conjunction with the file NDavies.DB in locating any listed
survey.
Map 1759
This map shows the tracts patented from 1743 through 1759.
Eleven Davies patents, marked by letters a through k, were
issued between 1744 and 1748. The three tracts i, j, and k all
reference Judiths Creek, but their locations remain
undetermined.
Outlined in black are the bounds of a 25,000 acres survey
for Nicholas Davies, executed by William Cabell and recorded in
1754 (ASB 1:277). This new survey included Davies' previous
surveys except for tract h. A patent for the land was issued to
Davies in 1760. Davies' lines skirted the tract Q which was
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patented Robt Davis in 1749. The tract R, patented by Thomas
Watts in 1748, was later incorporated into Davies patent of 1784.
Also shown, outlined in purple, are the three plats
surveyed for William Dawson and partners and recorded in the
Albemarle Surveyors Book in 1751 (ASB 1:177, 181, 231). Neither
these plats nor the later patents of the lots within these plats
use the phrase "Fry and Company". But the 1754 survey for
Nichols Davies and many later surveys of adjacent tracts employ
this phrase in identifying common lines and stations. These
lines and stations are marked on the map with red squares;
clearly these marks all lie on the perimeters of the three
plats.
The survey for plat C, and also some of the surveys of the
lots recorded in the patents, referenced a creek by the old name
of Tuckahoe. For a long time, the location of this creek was
unknown. Eventually the problem was solved when the 1754 survey
for Davies was examined. The record shows not only the plat of
the lines but also the course of James River and the names of
tributaries. Tuckahoe Creek is shown entering the James between
Cabin Creek and Hunting Creek. Reed Creek is the modern name.
Curiously, Davies' 1754 survey intruded into the east end of
the northernmost subdivision of Plat C, the 690 acre lot assigned
to John Dawson. Oddly, a patent was issued to Dawson in 1762 for
the 690 acre lot. In 1783, the lot assigned Dawson, but
diminished by removal of the portion claimed by Davies, was
patented by Samuel Hatcher.
Map 1770
Outlined in red are the tracts for which patents were issued
in the interval 1760-1770. Among these, is Davies' 25,000 acre
tract, his tract m in Bedford-Amherst, of which the survey was
recorded in 1754 and the patent issued in 1760. In this same
interval, all the subdivisions of the three Fry and Company lands
were patented except for the lots assigned to Samuel Cobbs junior
in plats B an C.
The recorded lines of Davies' 25,000 acre tract consist of
six fragments separated by six gaps in which the boundary ran up
or down James River, the distances but no bearings being
recorded. In brief, the fragments ran as follows:
Fragment 1 began on the south side of the James River just above
the mouth of Judiths Creek. A sequence of 93 lines carried the
boundary initially WSWly, then skirted Flemings Mt, then ran
WNWly to Hunting Creek, then Ely and Nly to a station on the S
side of the River apparently in the vicinity of Snow Creek.
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Gap 1 ensued, the boundary running 554 poles down the S side of
the James.
Fragment 2 began at a station on the S side of the River in the
vicinity of Rawleys Island. Two short lines crossed the south
channel to the upper point of Rawleys Island, then across the
north channel to the mouth of Otter Creek.
Gap 2 was a short line 40 poles up the James.
Fragment 3 consisted of four lines running easterly, then south,
southwesterly, and southeasterly, enclosing 25 acres on both
sides of Otter Creek, and ending at the James.
Gap 3 ran 40 poles down the N side of the River.
Fragment 4 was three lines running down the north side of the
James, then crossing Rawleys Island and the two channels, ending
at the mouth of Hunting Creek.
Gap 4 ran down the S side of the River 346 poles to the mouth of
Tuckahoe Creek.
Fragment 5. From Tuckahoe Creek, 43 lines carried the boundary
across the River to the N side, then Ely, SEly, Wly, and then
skirting two tracts later patented by Richard & Roland Burk back
to the River.
Gap 5 ran 2900 poles up the N side of the River.
Fragment 6 consisted of 4 lines skirting a 400 acre, rectangular
tract patented by Robt Davis (Tract Q of map 1759), then crossing
the River to the S side.
Gap 6 ran down the S side of the River 4260 poles to the
beginning.
In plotting Davies' lines, some of the the recorded lines
were modified in two ways. 1) From the beginning on James River,
the lines of fragment 1 clearly follow the lines of plat B of Fry
and Company. But a number of small discrepancies in distances or
bearings resulted in a "smear" of overlapping lines. To produce a
cleaner plot, small adjustments of Davies lines were made.
2) An important error appears to exist in the span between
Cabin and Tuckahoe Creeks. The problem is that the lines of
fragment 1 do not quite span the distance from Judiths Creek to
Tuckahoe Creek (and on to Petites Gap by the extended lines of
Davies 1771 patent). Perhaps a line (or lines) was omitted from
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the record, or else distances or bearings mis-recorded. The
problem was dealt with by subdividing fragment 1 into two
fragments, a new gap being introduced near Cabin Creek. The gap
is evident in maps 1759 and 1770.
A similar problem exists with fragment 5: the final Davies
lines if correct would force portions of the Burk tracts to lie
on both sides of the River which was certainly not the case.
Probably a Davies line was neglected in the recording. Again the
problem was dealt with by segregating the last three lines of
fragment 5 into an additional fragment as shown in map 1759.
Map 1783
Outlined in red, numerous tracts were patented in the
interval 1771 to 1783. Of the Fry and Company plats B and C, the
lots which had been assigned to Samuel Cobbs junior in 1751 were
finally patented. The lot in plat B was divided into three parts
and granted to Robert, Edmund, and John Cobbs in 1774. The lot in
plat C was granted to John Waddy in 1773. Curiously, the Waddy
patent recorded all bearings as the complements - ie, 180 degrees
rotated - of those of Plat C. Thus when initially plotted, the
lot was a mirror image of the Cobbs' lot of Plat C. The bearings
were corrected to match those of Plat C.
In the interval, Nicholas Davies patented two small tracts
(tracts o and p) lying on Pedlar River and adjacent to his 25,000
acre tract. More importantly, in 1771 he received a patent for
31,303 acres. This new patent enlarged the 25,000 acres tract by
about 6,303 acres. In the map green lines show the bounds of the
25,000 acre tract granted in 1760, and red lines the bounds of
the 31,303 acres granted in 1771. North of the James, the lines
were unchanged. South of River, the new lines added all of
Flemings Mt and a strip of land crossing the headwaters of Indian
Run and Cabin Creek. From Tuckahoe Creek to Hunting Creek, the
old and new lines were the same. But from Hunting Creek, the new
lines ran NWly to the crest of the Blue Ridge at Petites Gap,
then down Battery Creek (no bearings are given), and finally by
lines forming a new fragment NEly, Nly, NWly to James River. The
new fragment fails to span the whole distance from Battery Creek
to James River; perhaps a line was omitted in the record.
Map 1792
Outlined in red are tracts granted in the years 1784-1792. Of
these Davies received 12. In 1784, Davies was granted tract r
which included all the land of his 1771 patent and in addition
new lands to a total of 33,797 acres. His lines south of the
James remained the same as in 1771. North of the James and at or
east of Pedlar River, the new lines incorporated the following
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parcels: 185 acre tract p and 140 acre tract o on Pedlar River
previously patented by Davies in 1771 and 1773, a 38 acre tract s
also on Pedlar River, a 400 acre tract which had been granted to
Thomas Watts in 1748 (Tract R of map 1759), three tracts v, x,
and w (383, 390, and 324 acres respectively), and, roughly
estimated, 400 acres of the tract patented by Robert Rose in 1744
and 100 acres of the tract patented by George Carrington in 1745.
The sum of the areas of these parcels is 2,360 acres, a little
less than the difference (2,494 acres) in the recorded areas of
Davies' patents of 1771 and 1784. Curiously, Davies was issued
grants for the individual parcels s, v, x, and w in 1785, a year
after having been granted tract r which already included these
parcels.
South of the James, Davies was granted seven additional
parcels between 1784 and 1787; these all lay outside the bounds
of his huge patents of 1771 and 1784. Three tracts u, z, and B
lay at the north end of NoBusiness Mt and between the head of
Cabin Creek and Tuckahoe Creek. The locations of the three tracts
are based firstly on stations of tracts u and B which lay on
Cabin Creek, and, secondly, upon the references of adjacent
tracts (patented later - see Map 844) to lines of Fry and Company
to the west, and to the south to lines of tracts at the head of
Elk Creek. As located however, the lines of u and B overlap - and
lines of z fail to mesh with - lines of Davies' large tracts n
and r. It seems likely that, between the head of Indian Run and
Tuckahoe, the recorded lines of tracts n and r contain errors.
A small tract y lay where the heads of Tuckahoe and
Hurricane Creeks and a branch of the north fork of Otter River
all converge. Two small tracts q and t lay on Hunting Creek.
Tract q shared lines with the big tracts n and r. The lines of
tract t consist of two fragments. The upper fragment had stations
in both Bedford and Rockbridge Counties and was therefore on the
crest of the Blue Ridge. Davies' tracts q and t are the only ones
so far discovered to have been incorporated later into grants of
others.
Davies was also granted tract A, 681 acres. A plot of the
lines fails to close by a large margin; thus the recorded survey
contains errors. The survey includes two sequences of lines each
common to lines of the fragment of Davies tracts n and r, but the
connecting lines between the sequences do not match the lines of
n and r. The lines of tract A were divided into two fragments,
each of which was then moved into registry with the common lines
of n and r. There may also be errors in the fragments of n and r
- which as already mentioned fail to span the distance between
Battery Creek and Snow Creek. To date no surveys lying inland on
Big Cove, Snow, and Peters Creeks have been discovered. Were they
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to be found the errors in the lines of n, r, and A might be
resolved.
Map 1844
Tracts granted from 1793 to 1844 are outlined in red. Among
these, a small tract of 100 acres granted Thomas Jefferson in
1797 lying on the south side of Ivy Creek.
In 1793, a year before his death, Nicholas Davies received
the last three of his 31 patents and grants. One gave him tract
C, 153 acres on Otter Creek. A second gave him tract D, 2800
acres also lying on Otter Creek and extending north to Cashaw
Creek. The lines included 294 acres earlier granted Robert
Jardine in 1787 and surrounded a second tract of 170 acres also
granted Jardine in 1787. Finally Davies was granted tract E, 141
acres on James River.
South of the James, lying mainly in Rockbridge County but
extending southeast across the crest of the Blue Ridge into
Bedford County, a huge tract of 32,100 acres was granted to a
John Beale in 1796. The lines, drawn in purple, extend off the
map northwesterly to the James. One short line of 69 poles near
Hunting Creek was identified as that Henry Davis (no doubt
Nicholas' son Henry Landon Davies), and the line meshes with that
of the fragments of Davies' tracts n and r. But other Beale lines
raise suspicion. Some are remarkably long considering the
mountainous terrain. None mesh with lines of any other tracts.
And some cut across Davies' land. One wonders if the Beale survey
was created by a Rockbridge surveyor who knew little about
surveys in Bedford.
Much of the land which the Beale grant included east of the
crest of the Blue Ridge was subsequently granted to Richard
Smythe in 1802. The lines of this tract of 7000 acres mesh well
with several adjacent tracts including Davies' tracts q & y, as
well as with Davies' lines of tracts n and r from Hunting Creek
to Petites Gap. Nicholas or Henry Landon Davies apparently sold
tracts q and t; both lay within the Beale and Smythe tracts.
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References
1
Chope,Robert W. "Old Nick", a biography of Nicholas Davies
available on-line at
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/davies/archives/top.htm
2
Bernard J Henley, a compilation of marriage and obituary
citations from Virginia newspapers, microfilm at LVA. For
biographies see Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American
Biography, 1898, p 289; also Hubbell, Jay Broadus. The South
In American Literature. Durham, NC. (1954), p.33-35.