Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Small Notebook - Magazine of Virignia Genealogy, Part 3

Chiarello, Susan. "Hanover County 1763 Quit Rent Roll," Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 49, No. 4, 2011, p. 5+. [[Peter Lyons?], Samuel Gist, Hanover County, Virginia, 1763 Rent roll, Folder G.II, British Public Record Office Class A.O. 13/30, Loyalist Claims, Series II-Virginia, British Public Claims, Colonial Records Project, Reel 252, LVA, Richmond.]

Page 5 - . . . Samuel Gist left a considerable estate when he returned to Great Britain during the War. For decades following the war, he petitioned he government for restoration of his considerable fortune. This list was one item found among his many papers. 

Quit rents are fees paid by Virginia landowners to the King of England or to Lord Fairfax if the land fell within his proprietary. Extant quit rent rolls are rare in Virginia, especially outside the Fairfax Proprietary. This roll is among the last of such rolls, since few were collected after 1763 when the Stamp Act was enacted.  For those researching in colonial Hanover or even post Revolutionary War, it might be wise to at least check the papers in Gist's claim for possible memorials from Hanover residents. 

There are several inconsistencies. At the beginning of the roll the unnamed sheriff states that the roll is for 1760; however, there is a column for 1763 which appears to be the year that these quit rents were collected. Also, next to some individuals names are years with acreage next to the years. This appears to be the last year that the quit rents were collected for that person and the