1673 Land Grant to William Bobbitt

From The Bobbitt Family in America by John W. Bobbitt.

The original of the land grant to William Bobbitt on October 27, 1673 is in the Virginia State Archives in Richmond Virginia. The record is from Land Grants, Book 8, page 481.

To all (to whom these presents shall come, greeting in our Lord God everlasting); Whereas (it doth please our Soverign Lord King Charles the Second); Now, know ye that, I Lord and Governor, William Berkley, (appointed by the King, Governor of this commonwealth etc.); Give, and Grant unto the said WILLIAM BOBBITT, a divident of land, containing ninety six acres, three rods, 24 poles, on the south side of the Appomattox River in Charles City County, extending as followeth. 1, beginning at a point of a hickory, near Mr. Whittington, (thence along) his line and running north along said line, by a line, 1/3 of the said line, 200 poles along Major Cooper, thence along his line to a corner continueing by the same course 40 poles to a small red oak near by Cattail branch, thence along the line 80 degrees: 80 poles to a head of a valley, to a white oak marked four ways, 80 degrees; 56 poles to Mr. Whittington, thence along his line then 20 poles along his line, north-east; by 80 degrees; 296 poles; north 6 poles; to the place aforementioned. The said land being due by transportation of two persons into this colony, to have and to hold etc. Dated on this day, the 27th day of October, 1673.

Wittnesses: John Leader, Richard Tonstall.

The Government of Great Britain offered to all persons who would go to the Virginia Colony, a land grant of fifty acres per person. The land had to be lived on, and cultivated within three years of the land grant. At this particular time they were also exempted from quit-rents, for a period of seven years. Robert Berkley in 1705 wrote in his "History and Present State of Virginia", Chapter XII, Paragraph 58: "A right is the title any one hath by the Royal Charter, to fifty acres of land in consideration of his personal transportation into that country, to settle, and remain there; by this rule also, a man that removes his family, is entitled to the same number of acres, for his wife, and each of his children."

From this we know that WILLIAM BOBBITT came to the Virginia Colony with his wife, claimed his fifty acres for each, and received 96 acres of his choice. Such grants were given to persons at this time, who had paid their own passage. William and his wife thus began their life and family in the colony in 1673. They had no children at this time or they would have received additional acreage for each child.

This is the first and only record of the Bobbitt family name south of Taunton Massachusetts.

This was the beginning of one of the families who would be part of forming a new nation. It was the beginning of the records of the Bobbitt family name which have appeared periodically from 1673 throughout the south to the present day.