Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Montgomery County, Virginia, Land Grant, 1798, Ms2023-046, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Montgomery County, Virginia, Land Grant was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in March 2012.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Montgomery County, Virginia, Land Grant was completed in June 2023.

Biographical Note

There are at least two James Copleys (or Copleas) living in southwest Virginia in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It is unclear which, if either, is the person of this document.

James Copley or Coplea was born in Virginia in the late 1700s. On March 18, 1792, one James Copley married Etey Hearson in Wythe County, and on March 18, 1800, one James Copley married Celey Hearon, also in Wythe County. In 1798, the Copley of this collection was granted a large stretch of land near the New River in Montgomery County. On the 1810 census, a James Copley lived in Giles County, with 5 members of his household, and in 1820, both James Copleas lived in Pearisburg in Giles County, one with 9 members of his household and the other with 10 members. In 1830, a James Copley lived in Cabell County, with 12 members of his household. Both Copleys are listed on the 1840 census in Cabell County, one with 12 household members and one with 4.

In the 1850 census, a James Coplea born in Virginia around 1785 was living with relatives and working as a farmer in Wayne, Illinois. It is unclear if he is one of the two from southwest Virginia listed above.

External sources:

U.S. Federal Censuses, 1810-1850

"James Copley" in the Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/4742996:60214 , accessed Dec. 14, 2023.

"James Copley" in the Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/5394981:60214 , accessed Dec. 14, 2023.

Scope and Content

The Montgomery County, Virginia, Land Grant from 1798 describes a piece of land on the New River granted to James Copley by Virginia's 11th governor, James Wood. The size of the tract is not given, but boundary markers are identified by trees and the land of neighbors. The grant was executed in November 21, 1798.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Copley, James (Montgomery County, Va.)
• Local government
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Montgomery County (Va.)
• Montgomery County (Va.)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Montgomery County, Virginia, Land Grant by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).