Hertford, NC - Newspaper - Names Listed in 1703 Landholdings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Herald An Institution of Community Service Since 1909-1959 Hertford County Date of Publication Unknown Names Listed in 1703 Landholdings: [Partial transcription] Barfield - First Recorded Settler The obscurity of history will always veil the name of the "first" man to live in what is now Hertford County. From old records, from the earliest documentation, these are some of the people who lived first in the region. The earliest mention of a person known to live in Hertford County seems to be in 1703, when Richard Barfield owned land in the region. But it must be understood that there were others, "more than 100 families" according to one account, who lived in the area west of Chowan River at the time Barfield's name is first mentioned in documents. They included some of the people whose names are listed in this article, but there are others, pioneers of a county, whose names still are veiled by history's obscurity. Richard Barfield was listed as a landholder in 1703. He owned land along the Chowan River and in the southeastern corner of what was to be Hertford County. His descendants operated a ferry near present-day Winton which came to be known as Barfield's. John Beverly and wife, Margaret, were living along Ahotsky Ridge by 1712, when Acting Governor Thomas Pollock ordered Beverly and his "rangers" to keep marauding Meherrin Indians north of the Meherrin River. Beverly sold land in Ahotsky Swamp to Elizabeth Locker in 1723. John Chesire and wife, Elizabeth, lived on the Meherrin River before 1719. John Cotton and wife, Martha, lived near present-day Saint John's as early as 1719, probably settled in this region in the first decade of the 18th century. He also owned Chowan River property. Richard Williams conveyed land to James Howard between Cufawhisky and Ahotsky Swamp in 1723. Williams had a grant for the land dated 1722. James Spier of Nansemond County, VA., bought land on the north side of Ahotsky Swamp and on Ahotsky Ridge from Robert Lanier in 1723. Elinor Reece sold a piece of land known as Alexander's Neck on Wiccacon River to George Wynn in 1724. John Mitchell owned land which bounded that of Wynn in 1724. Sarah Smith and Freddie Kee lived on Wiccacon River in 1723. A patent to the land had been issued to Sarah Smith, widow, in 1712. Henry Baker owned land in Ahotsky Marsh in 1723, sold it to Richard Barfield then. James Sanders bought land in Ahotsky Swamp in 1725. Henry Baker, mentioned above, bought two tracts of land on Catherine Creek, including the mouth of the creek (Tunis is located on Catherine's Creek today), in 1725. One tract was purchased from Thomas and Mary Barfield, another from James Rutland, who had bought his land from Mary Williams, widow, in 1717. Benjamin Hill bought 640 acres of land on the south side of the Meherrin River in 1727 from Anthony Lewis. The price was 30 barrells of pitch. Lewis had received a patent for the land in 1721. At the same time, Hill bought cattle, hogs and household furniture from John Smith and David Vincent. Included in the deal was a parcel of land for which Smith had received patent in 1717. (Remainder of artlicle not copied--gp) __________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ___________________________________________________________________