From the Introduction: Washington County, Virginia Deed Book 2 begins with a deed of 15 August 1797 and ends 552 pages later (two page numbers (23 and 24) are used twice) with a deed of 23 September 1802. The arrangement of the deeds is usually, although not always, chronological. Deeds are not witnessed in probably over half of the instances, the required joining of the spouse to the act of indenture and the relinquishment of dower, etc. seem to also be oft casually ignored, but sometimes acted upon years later. Most deeds contain a warrant clause to protect against any other possible claims, but this is not always the case; both pounds and dollars are used in this deed book as payment with the former being the most common currency employed. The spelling is mostly in Oxonian English, used in Washington County by clerks long after the Revolution.
The metes and bounds (coordinates) for this Deed Book have also been transcribed despite a multitude of difficulties. Nevertheless, particularly as concerns the metes and bounds, a host of discrepancies can sometimes be found among the deed (the interpretation of the numerals and written figures aside), the survey, the land grant, and the patent, so anyone wanting to achieve true perfection (if such could be reached) in this area might well need to consult multiple documents, to include minute books in which contain info regarding the ordering of resurveys (corrective surveys), an arduous and difficult path, indeed!
It is hoped that this work will also assist, along with Deed Book 1, in pinpointing the principal areas from which early Washington County, Virginia inhabitants migrated, assisting therewith to understand the early cultural roots of the first settlers.
The original work (Washington County, Virginia Deed Book 2) included a "locator index", which has only partially survived; on most films, it is nearly all unreadable (but can be read at the Library of Virginia). It is not transcribed here as perhaps over half the letters are missing and would add little to the work. Mr. Donald Helton has provided the every-name index.
Jack Hockett and Donald Helton
2013, index, 328 pp.
107-WDB2
