The "Deed" Post Two

An excerpt from the transcription of the "Deed":

To all to whom those profit shall come. I Francis Nicholson Esq. his maj. (ty) Liet. & Governor & General of Virginia Lend Greetings whereas his late [majesty] King Charles the second hath been Graciously pleased by his Loyal [Letters] [Patents] under the great seal of England. [beginning] date at Westminster on the tenth day of October in ye eighth and twentieth years of his reign [amongst] other things in ye said Letters patents [contained to continue & confirm] the power & privilege of granting to the Inhabitants of this Colony & Dominion all lands that have Escheated or that shall Escheat to his said majesty his heirs or successors. And whereas  two certain tracts of Land Lyeing & going in ye County of Henrico. One tract thereof called Curles formerly Long Field. The other called the [Slashes] and containing Twelve  hundred and thirty acres be ye same more or less with contains Marshes Swamps & low grounds thereunto belonging and adjoyning lots in the [Service] & Inheritance of Nathaniel Bacon Junior Esq. deed. Is found to Escheat to his most Sacred Majesty from the said Bacon by the Attender of ye said Nathaniel junior & of high treason as by an Inquisition recorded in the [Secretaries] office under the hand and seales of William Randolph Escheat[ed] [of] the said County and [?] [?] [?] [?] him for that purpose [dated] the twenty-firt[st] day of July 1698.

Any [appear]. For which said Land William Randolph of the said County of Henrico [Gent].. hath paid unto his majesties Auditors & receiver General of his [Revenues] in Virginia, the [Valuable]  [Confederation] of One hundred & fifty pounds Sterl. Know yee therefore that I the said Francis Nicholson [Esq.] Governor [& do] with the [Advice] and [Consent] of the [Councill] of State Accordingly give and Grant unto the said William Randolph Twelve Hundred and thirty acres of Land called Curles formerly Long Field, And the [Slashes][ as aforesaid with the Marshes, Swamps, & low grounds thereunto belonging & adjoining [& going] in [the sd] County of Henrico. And [bounded] as followeth (to west) Four hundred & eighty acres thereof called Curles formerly Long Field being party [of] [a patent] granted to Thomas Harris by sir John Harvey [Lt.] Governor esq. dated [?] 25 February 1638. With Swamp and Marsh beginning at a Little Creek over against the Land of Capt. Martin [bounded] Northward on the back side of a Swamp. [East South East] into the woods towards Bremo with marked trees. [West] North West Of the James River. And South South [west] upon ye [head] with marked trees also; And one other tract of [ye sd.] Land being wood=land and commonly called the [slashes] containing Seven hundred & fifty acres lyeing on the poplar Brook [on ye] [heads] of the Land formerly in possession of Capt. Daniel [Lewellain] and beginning at ye Corner [tree of] ye said Land running East along the [heads] thereof to [Mawbourne] hills three hundred & twenty [perches] North by [East] into the woods three hundred & twenty [perches]. [West] by North on the head three hundred and thirty Eight perches. South to the place where it began with all Rights...

William I Bequeathed Curles to his son, Henry, who left the land to his brother Richard, who later became known as Richard of Curles. Here's a passage from his Will that provides us with a glimpse of the fortune the land yielded to the family:

I Richard Randolph of Curles in the County of Henrico being of sound and [disproving] Sense and Memory do make [conf?] & appoint this my last Will and Testament in manner & Form following (third line from the top on the right said of the page blurred out). In the first place I give to my wife Jane during her Natural Life / in Lieu of all her Dower in my Estate/ the use of my land and Plantation called Curls. I also give my said wife during her Natural Life the use of thirty three Slaves hereafter mentioned [(to wit)] Betty, [Hale], Phillis, Jenny, Isbel, Matt, Joan, Cloe, Dinah, Roady, Nelly, James, Ned, Bob, Sam, [Ebo-Henry]. Ampe, Mingo, [Titus], Philip, George, York, Senica, Warwick, Ben, [Bounwhear], Sue, Hannibal, Isaac, Jacob, Jenny, the son of Bob, [Gambia] and [Jemmy or Jenny] the Son of Jemmy. I give to my said wife all my Stocks of Cattle, Sheeps, Hogs, Horses & Mares which belong to my said Plantation at Curls, with my Coach Chaise & [ Hanne?] & all my Plate & Furniture of my House at Curls, [Husting]  to her prudence and [Justice] in disproving & [dividing] the same amongst my dour Sons Richard, Brett, Ryland & John in such manner & at such times as my said Wife shall think fit. And in Case my said Wife shall not be able to raise

[Provisions] Sufficient for the support of the Family which she shall keep at Curls then I order and [Demand] that she shall be supplied with what Provisions She shall have Occasion of from any other Plantation in the same manner as my House is now supported from any said Plantation without being Accountable for the same....

Check back next week for some fashion history and Governor Alexander Spotswood's connection to the Randolph family.

The "Deed"

Accession #: 1992.8

Item: Deed of land, signed by William Randolph, I 

Possibly one of the most unique pieces in our collection came to us directly through the Randolph family line, descending from Wilton’s Peyton Randolph (the second owner of Wilton).  It is a deed allowing Curles [Plantation] to be purchased by William Randolph I, giving us a glimpse of how he amassed such large quantities of land by the time he died. The deed was donated by Jefferson (or Jeffrey) Randolph in 1992 at the request of his late father, Peyton Randolph, and had been discovered folded up behind a picture.

The deed is extremely important to Randolph family history, because it is evidence of how William Randolph I was able to acquire enough land to give estates to each of his sons upon his death in 1711. William I came to Virginia sometime between the years 1670-73 in his early twenties. As a newcomer in the colony he relied on his uncle, Henry Randolph for support and connections and through him was able to create a foundation to quickly move up the ranks in colonial society. Being a landowner was the cornerstone to wealth and future political sway in the colonies and William was quick to buy up land of his own.

 Both Turkey Island (the main Randolph family seat) and Curles Plantation became available to William for purchase upon the confiscation of Nathaniel Bacon’s lands, in addition to lands belonging to other leader’s who took part in the rebellion of 1675-76. Nathaniel Bacon came to the colonies from England in 1674, and after being in Virginia only two years, in 1676, became discontent with Governor Berkeley’s administration as Royal Governor. Bacon believed that Berkeley was not providing the colony’s frontier with enough protection against the constant threat of an Indian invasion, and when his own plantation was attacked and his overseer killed Bacon took action. He amassed followers from all over the colony, marched out, and massacred different Indian tribes, despite the fact that some of them had peaceful relations with the colonists. The Rebellion then morphed into an uprising against Governor Berkeley and other Virginia gentry, whom Bacon believed were not taking action to protect the colonists due to their personal relationships trading with different Indian tribes.

Despite the Rebellion’s popularity throughout the colony it was short-lived due to Nathaniel Bacon’s untimely death of dysentery. Once the rebellion lost its leader the movement fell apart and Berkeley was able to roundup the remaining leaders and execute them. That meant that the land previously belonging to Nathaniel Bacon and other leaders of the Rebellion went back into the ownership of King Charles II in 1677, and upon his death went to his successors. In 1698, William III is King of England and current “owner” to Curles Plantation when William Randolph I decided to purchase 1,230 acres for £150 sterling on July 21, 1698.

What is also interesting to note about the deed is that it outlines the history of the ownership of the land. Curles, located in the county of Henrico, was formerly known as Long Field and the Slashes, and contained “Marshes, Swamps, & low grounds.” It was originally a land patent granted to Thomas Harris by Sir John Harvey, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia on February 25, 1638. The deed also mentions that Curles is located near land called Bremo, which later became another Randolph family plantation. The document is written and signed by the Royal Governor of Virginia in 1698, Francis Nicholson, and the Deputy Secretary Edmund Jennings.

Curles Plantation was owned by William Randolph I until he willed it to his son Henry Randolph. When Henry died, in England, without heirs the property passed into the hands of his brother, Richard Randolph, and then to his son by the same name. After being in the family for about three generations it passed into the hands of a new owner.  Even though the original Randolph family home no longer exists on the property Curles is still a privately owned farm.  Unfortunately, it is not open to the public.

Stay tuned for the "Deed" post two, coming soon!

Bibliography:

Cowden, Gerald S. "The Randolphs of Turkey Island: A Prosopography of the First Three Part 1." PhD diss., The College of William and Mary, 1977.

Cowden, Gerald S. "The Randolphs of Turkey Island: A Prosopography of the First Three Part 2." PhD diss., The College of William and Mary, 1977.

McCulley, Susan. "Bacon's Rebellion." Historic Jamestowne. Accessed 2011. Last modified 1987.  http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/bacons-rebellion.htm.

Randolph, Jefferson, Mr. "Source of Item." In Item File #1992.8. 1992.

Standard, Mary Newton. "The Story of Bacon's Rebellion." New River Notes -Since 1998 Historical and Genealogical Resources for the Upper New River Valley of North Carolina and Virginia . Last modified 2007. http://www.newrivernotes.com/va/bacon.htm.

The Henrico County Historical Society. "Varina District Historic Sites - Curles Neck." Henrico Historical Society. Accessed May 1, 2011. Last modified 2011. http://www.henricohistoricalsociety.org