#legalrecords

[weemsbotts]

Gifting Land Never Owned: From King Charles II’s Lips to Colonel Philip Ludwell’s Parchment

By: Lisa Timmerman, Executive Director

On 06/09/1690, Colonel Philip Ludwell (1638-1723) appeared in Stafford County Court as a land agent for Sir Thomas Culpeper to put an end to penning of wild horses by rangers in the Northern Neck.

“Whereas the Proprietor of this Northern Neck have by Coll. Philip Ludwell their agent and attorney prohibited all Pens to be made in the woods under pretensions of catching wild horses as also all Rangers to say those that make it their business to Range for wild horses & whereby it appears by the said prohibition put upon Record divers inconveniences and prejudices happen to several of the Honest Inhabitants as therein doth fully appear and hath been also submitted the order and direction for Rangers wholly to the consideration and discretion of this Court the Court doth fully appear and hath been also submitted the order and direction for Rangers wholly to the consideration and discretion of this Court the Court doth therefore concur therein and accordingly order that all Rangers from henceforth do cease their said ranging Let their pretentions be from whence they will also that they desist from making any more pens in the woods remote from habitations under pretense of catching wild horses and that those that are already made be with the first conveniency Throwne down and demolished That for the future whoever has any pretensions or claims to wild horses & doe first make application to this Court for an allowance for the same that the Court may have their reasons and pretensions therein and order as shall be most Just for them and convenient for the rest of the Inhabitants and it is further ordered that this order be publickly read at the beginning of each Court held for this County.”

(Fairfax Grant and modern political boundaries via Virginia Places, virginiaplaces.org, copyright Historian Charles A. Grymes)

While the Virginia Rangers of the mid-18th century are more well known, they also operated during the 1600s, mostly defending the frontier and responding to perceived threats and instances. Horses in North America first evolved in the Eocene epoch and had a closer relationship to modern zebras. The Equus scotti appeared in the Pleistocene fossil record and became extinct long before the English colonists traveled to America. The Virginia Company of London recognized the need for domestic beasts and encouraged colonists to breed, herd, and protect the animals they exported to Virginia. While horses appeared in the Chesapeake as early as 1609, they were scarce by the mid-17th century, enough to warrant Virginia to prohibit the exportation of horses and mares in 1662. They reversed this ruling by 1669 as the colony’s supply rapidly increased causing the legislators to prohibit the importation of the beasts. The colony also established early distinctions between native species and imported and domesticated livestock. In the 1660s and 1670s, legislators required colonists to find the owners of captured horses. This did not prohibit wild horse hunting, but the issue of controlling domestic, native, and wild livestock constantly plagued the colony. To complicate matters, colonists also tried to regulate and control horses among the indigenous people of America. Here we find them supposedly claiming wild horses and doe committing “inconveniences and prejudices” against “honest inhabitants.” Who are the “honest inhabitants?” By the 1690s, they are the Culpeper family mainly due to crafty political maneuvering extending from a time strife in England following a war and execution.

In 1649, King Charles II granted the land between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers to seven supporters who pledged their allegiance and resources to helping him during his exile in France following the English Civil War and King Charles I’s execution. Those seven supporters were: Sir John Culpeper (1st Baron of Thoresway); Ralph Lord Hopton, Baron of Stratton; Henry Lord Jermyn, Baron of St. Edmundsbury; Sir John Berkeley; Sir William Morton; Sir Dudley Wyatt; and Thomas Culpeper (cousin of Sir John Culpeper). Gifting land in the Virginia colony that he did not profit from or even own was an easy gift for him to portion between the men, especially as this land was outside of the boundaries of King Powhatan making it harder to access and even more unknown. It encompassed 5.2 million acres and would remain in a state of flux as people continued claiming and carving Virginia land throughout the 1600s. Sir Thomas Culpeper actively pursued the land after King Charles II renewed the grant affirming its’ value in 1669, and Culpeper owned 5/6’s of the grant by 1681 with his cousin Alexander Culpeper owning the other 1/6th. Culpeper started hiring local Virginia agents in 1670 to start profiting from the land – his agents sold the land and collect quitrents, a 17th century version of annual property taxes. Philip Ludwell became Lord Fairfax’s agent for the Northern Neck proprieties from 1690-1693, followed by joint partners George Brent and William Fitzhugh. While Culpeper pursued other avenues of profit in the Virginia colony as well, including Brent Town in Prince William County, the Northern Neck properties remained within his family, eventually turning into a clear title by the mid-1700s with Thomas Sixth Lord Fairfax, the first and only person to control 100% of the original 1649 gift, becoming the sole proprietor of the Northern Neck.

Although acting as an agent here, Philip Ludwell had an extraordinary life as he battled against the insurgents during Bacon’s Rebellion (1676-1677), a contentious time in history when Nathaniel Bacon challenged Sir William Berkeley in Virginia’s short civil war. Ludwell himself was a proprietor in the Carolina’s and served as the governor of North Carolina and South Carolina along with other political appointments although he also had his fair share of contentions political strife.

This one simple court record demonstrated the myriad of complications, tensions, and interactions between the people living in Virginia when royals and other officials divided and gifted land they never even owned. From King Charles II’s lips to Colonel Philip Ludwell’s pen, we can catch glimpses of life in Virginia after decades of actions taken by men to gain and control the most land possible.

Note: Thank you to Teresa A. Kelley for her wonderful donation of Stafford County court record transcriptions along with genealogical & estate books to the Lee Lansing Research Library!

(Sources: Sparacio, Ruth and Sam Sparacio. Stafford County, Virginia. Order Book Abstracts, 1664-1668 & 1689-1690. Millsboro: Colonial Roots, 1987; Virginia Places: The Fairfax Grant, http://www.virginiaplaces.org/settleland/fairfaxgrant.html; Tincher, Louise Horowitz. Taking Stock: The Import of European Livestock into Virginia and its Impact on Political Life. William and Mary: Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects, 1987; National Park Service: Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument – Ancient Horse)

[medicallegalspider-blog]

 When you  are involved in a case with a personal injury or medical malpractice  plaintiff, it is likely that you have a great deal of medical records to  collect and sort through.

[trainhr]

Overview: You should attend this webinar to be sure both you and your staff in charge of records understands the responsibility and importance of knowing and following proper procedures. When auditing how information is kept by Human Resource Departments, many questions come up regarding where records are kept, how long they should be kept and when and how they should be destroyed in order to stay in compliance. Effective Human Resource Departments should have a documented Plan to manage employee records safely and effectively. Why should you attend: In order to be in compliance with recordkeeping compliance you should review your policies and practices on record retention and destruction on a regular basis. This webinar will cover federal record-keeping requirements for confidential and sensitive human resource documents. Many state laws parallel Federal laws, but some State laws differ. You should refer to sources within all thestates in which you do business to assure full and accurate compliance. Some documents also may be covered under more than one law or regulation, so you should adhere to the more stringent requirement. If there is any area which contains documents under litigation, it is best to retain all records involved until the case is resolved and always refer to your company attorney for guidance.  For your protection and convenience well-managed record-keeping not only aids in compliant administration, but gives you confidence in knowing you are prepared for any audit of your records.  Areas Covered in the Session:

Where records should be kept

What belongs in a personnel file

Keeping and maintaining legal records

Payroll and taxes

Back- up systems

Critical incidents files

Documenting oral and electronic communications

Security of files

Archive methods and back-up systems

Who Will Benefit:

Chief Human Resource Officers

HR Managers, Directors, and Benefit Administrators

Payroll and Records Managers

Internal Auditors

Speaker Profile: 

Marna Hayden

is founder and president of Hayden Resources Inc. She has 30+ years in the field of human resource management and is certified as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR). Hayden Resources Inc. provides management and human resources consulting and outsourcing services to small businesses and nonprofits, and specialized services and training to larger organizations. Hayden has held senior offices in the banking, retail, and service industries and is an adjunct faculty member for DeSales University.

Click here to know more about: Keeping and maintaining legal records