Lt Thomas Hunt, Sr.

[Henry Barraud Hunt, Jr.]

Generation 1

Thomas Hunt was born about 1593 in Shrewsbury, Salop, Shropshire, of an old and distinguished family. A sister, Ann Harris, was living in Shrewsbury in 1655. Thomas received his first patent in 1636, a personal adventure patent of 50 acres for his own adventure. This patent was within walking distance of Fishing Poynt, a landing place for schooners on Plantation Creek. Thomas Hunt actually arrived here in 1630 or 1631. Patents took five years to be acquired if they were within the disputed grant acquired by Sir Thomas Dale, Marshall of Virginia. This land grant was the very first disposal of land made in the New World. Normally, a patent was issued the same year it was requested. As I have brought out earlier Edward Douglas acquired some of this land grant and if he had lived longer would have received much more. This land grant was thought to be 10,000 acres. There had been many encroachments on this grant. The grant, at some point, was converted into a patent. Instead of being a personal adventure patent it was a patent by inheritance. When Sir Thomas Dale passed away in India, his younger brother, Richard Dale, inherited it. When Richard Dale passed away Isabelle Dale, his sister, had the opportunity and when she married a Gaynor, followed by a marriage to Edward Douglas, We know all of these deaths and marriages took place in Middlesex County, England. We know where the Dales were born as it is revealed in the knighting of Sir Thomas. The family moved to Middlesex County when quite young.  A patent required that a patent must be seized. There must be some demonstration of ownership, by living on it or building a fence, plowing it, any show of ownership. A patent could only be acquired by persons coming from England or Wales. Last, patents could only be acquired by the gentry. There were a few exceptions where some were elevated to the gentry. In the records the term yeoman was never used, A person preferred being called a Planter or nothing at all. Thomas Hunt to be continued-