How Church Processioning Lines Help Define Old Homes and Plantations
Genealogy Tips by Jeannette Holland Austin
In order to avoid resurveying, the 1662 Virginia Assembly passed an Act to resolve boundary disputes. The Act required that landowners "goe in procession" once every four years. This process required people to walk and renew the property lines between themselves and their neighbors. And parish vestries also walked the lines of its boundaries. The results are usually found in the parish registers. When the records of Nansemond County were lost, I used surviving tax digests and procession lines of the parish to confirm where my ancestors resided. However, simply reading the processioning does not help. A visit to the actual site is so clarifying! The reason is, old fields, pastures, fences, markings on old trees, barns, silos, fallen-down houses, ante-bellum homes, the curvature of the road all represent a picture of the past. Just like today, when are homes are defined by individual driveways and landscaping, the shape of the landscapes of yesterday yet remains. Once one parcel is identified, one can follow property lines by using the land patents, tax digests and parish processioning records! . . . more . . .
Index to Virginia Wills and Estates. See Names
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