Let’s review the deeds of Hampshire Co, VA/WV. Hampshire County was established in the year 1754 during the French and Indian War. It emerged as the western frontier of the Colony of Virginia. Because Virginia’s route to the upper Ohio River valley passed through Hampshire County, this area became a vital gateway to the developing west.
So, it seems only logical that the Babbs of Anne Arundel Co, MD (aka Green Men of Maryland) made it their home for a short time before moving west themselves.
I covered the first part of this story 2 weeks ago and had said at the time that this post would follow. But something shiny happened and then this took much longer to research than I expected.
So, let’s get started
As we noticed from the Tax Records, Thomas Babbs (3-3-2) was the first to appear in Hampshire County in 1790. He was followed by William (3-1) and John Babbs (3-2) in 1792, and Beal (3-1-1) in 1793.
In the Deed records we don’t see that Thomas (3-3-2) purchased any land in the timeframe that the others lived there, but he is involved in two Chancery Cases in 1816 where he lost his case and was ordered to pay the attorney fees of the plaintiff.
Thomas is the sole representative from the 3-3 branch that we find in the county’s records.
John (3-2) is on the tax roll but wasn’t directly involved in any of the land transactions. He is much younger than his purported siblings, so likely would have lived with one of them.
Moving on to William (3-1) and his son Beal (3-1-1) we see a wide variety of transactions, some of which include Beal’s brother Charles (3-1-4) as a witness.
I won’t bore you with the details of each entry. But the basic summation of the deed record is that the family moved from Anne Arundel, MD to Hampshire County within a 3-year period. They resided until the turn of the century and then sold en masse and moved on.
Chronological Order of Records in Hampshire Co, VA (Now WV) 1792-1800:
The records above demonstrate a family connection. Finding a family in one place is a coincidence. Finding them in two is a connection.
The Twist
No reality show is complete without a twist. So, let’s flash forward to 1821 when Peter Babb files suit against…huh?
Wait? Peter Babb? There is no such person in the Green Men of Maryland Babb tree?!
3 responses to “The Deeds of Hampshire Co, VA/WV”
First without going through all of this more carefully, Thank You! This contains the deed I was not able to copy years ago that was incorrectly transcribed. William Babbs and his wife Hamutel Babbs with their marks. It was transcribed as William and Hamilton. There is a a lot more in these deeds of interest.
Good eye! I noticed the Hamilton/Hamutel error in the index myself. It was complicated as there was actually a William Hamilton Babb, who was born later on. That made me go back and double check it. I didn’t mention all of that in the article.
I looked again at the signature and the clerk wrote it as” Hamutal”. There is only one Hamutal in the Bible, and she is the mother of kings Jehoahaz and Zedekiah of Judah (2 Kings 23:31, 24:18, Jeremiah 52:1). She is a daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah (not the famous prophet) and the wife of king Josiah (2 Kings 23:30).
Our name is spelled חמוטל (Hamutal) only in 2 Kings 23:31. In 2 Kings 24:18 and Jeremiah 52:1 it’s spelled חמיטל (Hamital).
In one of the deeds somewhere in the description there is another spelling. They may have come from Quaker background once and would explain using a Biblical name.