Wednesday, May 16, 2012

John Pardue, Jr Son And Heir At Law of John Pardue Deceased

Notice in the Virginia Gazzette 15 May 1779

While the image is very faint, with concentration, I was able to make the following transcription of the newspaper account. The notice appears in column three, third item
from the top.  
http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGImagePopup.cfm?ID=6576&Res=HI&CFID=15165687&CFTOKEN=67711452

The Commonwealth of Virginia

To the sherif of Chesterfield County greetings: We command you that you have one John Pardue, Jr, the son and heir at law of John Pardue, deceased, to appear before our justices of our court of said county at the courthouse on the first Friday in November next to answer a bill in chancery exhibited against him by Cleavland Pardue and that this he shall in no wise omit. And to have then there this writ. Witness Benjamin Watkins clerk of the said court at the courthouse this 15th day of October in the third year of this commonwealth.




This compiler believes that the deceased John Pardue was the John Perdue who was issued a patent for 400 acres of land on Sappony Road in Henrico County in 1746. That area of Henrico County became Chesterfield County in 1749.  Chesterfield County Chancery court records do not exist for the time period so am unable to determine exactly what transpired. 

While the law of entail was abolished in Virginia in 1776, the law of primogeniture was in effect until 1785, thus in 1779, there are two possibilities for the command to the younger John to appear in Chancery Court: that he was the first born son of his deceased father who died intestate, or it was necessary for him to appear in court to arrange disposition of the father's estate, Cleavland likely a younger son, appointed administrator, anxious to have the estate settled. 

Genealogy is never done; it is always a work in progress!