Land ownership has fed the imagination of many a heart. When tamed, acreage provides a means to live and thrive. Left untamed it feeds dreams.
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Women have never been immune to the siren song of adventure. In the course of my research I have come across the stories of many of them. No matter what timeframe you read about you will find women breaking the molds we have been taught to believe. From land grants of the colonial times to the more modern Homestead Act, women actively pursued dreams of land ownership. Sometimes they were alone, often they came with brothers, other family members, and even friends.
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| Rebecca Boone https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/journalpatriot.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/34/c34dfc8c-050c-5f82-8776-7a9db3dfbc2a/63b46a531630f.image.jpg |
Land in colonial Virginia was doled out by the Crown through men like Lord Fairfax or the Royal Governor. Parcels of land were granted to pilgrims willing to create farms and pay the quitrent. A quitrent was similar to a tax on the land that was due yearly.
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| Sir William Gooch, Governor of Virginia 1727-1749 |
A story is told of a young Irish indentured servant who came to the Virginia colony in the 1740s. After meeting the conditions of her contract she blazed out on her own into the wilderness of the Shenandoah Valley. Her understanding was that if she placed a cabin on a piece of land the one hundred acres surrounding it would be hers in a “cabin claim”.
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| https://www.britannica.com/place/Appalachian-National-Scenic-Trail |
Polly Mulhollin did this thirty times.
When the heir of Benjamin Borden, Sr. came to provide deeds to his father’s settlers he reportedly found Miss Mulhollin and her cabins. History is silent as to whether he honored her claims with deeds or not. What is reported is that she married and her descendants still live near the Wilderness Road.
I discovered Polly’s story when researching for my Wilderness Road series. Polly’s example is inspirational to Beti, who is venturing out for a future in Kentucky.
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About The Road Home: The Wilderness Road Book 1
Beti Boatman, pirate's daughter, long dreamed of traveling to a place where no one knew her name. When looters showed up on the day she buried her father her choice was made. Leave her home or allow the only two people in the world she loves to live in constant danger.
When Zeke and what's left of his regiment organized a wagon train west, they did not expect to encounter a woman traveling alone. Beti insists she doesn't need his help, but Zeke knows better and the strong need to protect her runs deep. Things get complicated when looters track Beti down. And emissaries from her mother’s country claim Beti is a real princess. Now Beti must choose: the hardships in Kentucky or a throne.
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Resources: The Wilderness Road, Robert L. Kincaid, Bobbs-Merrill Company Publishers, Copyright 1947; Kessinger's Legacy Reprints Edition
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