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The Earliest Settlers >
Milford
Ohio Area History
After
the American Revolution
Robert
Terwillegar
At the time Milford
was first settled, this area was part of the Virginia Military District.
The Military District was land awarded to revolutionary soldiers
from Virginia. The amount of land ceded depended on the rank of the
soldier and the term of service. A soldier or sailor serving less
than three years could get 100 acres, while a Major General might
get 15,000 acres. Grants to soldiers from Virginia were ten times
more generous than grants to other soldiers from the Continental
Army. The owners of these land warrants could use them and settle
in the west, could pass them on by inheritance, could transfer them
or could sell them. When a holder of warrants went west he could
claim land that suited him and have it surveyed.
 Of
course the first settlers claimed fertile river bottoms, mill sites,
and other choice pieces. After the better land had been claimed,
later settlers had to fit in between other’s boundaries and
often got the hilltops and less desirable land. People were still
claiming these lands until 1872 when the unclaimed parcels were transferred
by the government to the Ohio State University. This amounted to
over 76,000 acres. Note the picture of some sample Virginia Military
surveys. The small black square in the middle is one of these unclaimed
pieces.
To know why Virginia
had this land we must look at the charters for the original colonies.
Many colonies had very indefinite western boundaries.
Virginia’s
charter was for 400 miles on the Atlantic and extending “throughout
from Sea to Sea, West and Northwest”. This included all of Ohio,
Kentucky, west to the Mississippi River and north into Canada. Of course
some of this land was also claimed by Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The problem of these boundaries was solved when most of this land was
ceded to the Federal Government between 1780 and 1790. Virginia, however,
reserved Kentucky and the land between the Scioto River and the Little
Miami to give to their soldiers.
The first official
American owner of land where Milford would be settled was John Nancarrow.
It is not known the source of his three land warrants. What is known
is that he picked a rectangular parcel of 230 acres and had it surveyed
May 28, 1788.
In the next History
Notes we'll continue with the story from 1788.
Next:
The Earliest Settlers >
Bob Terwillegar lives
in Milford, and is involved in many community organizations. He is a
regular contributor to milford-miami.com.
Comments
or questions? Send
email.
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