Do you have old maps tucked away in your genealogy files? Today’s find is a photocopy of a map titled “First Patents of Land in Madison County, Virginia.” Unfortunately, the copy I have does not include the original source, but similar maps can be found online through several sites:
- Land Patent Maps on RootsWeb
- Germanna Second Colony Land Patent Map
- History Timeline – Madison County, Virginia
- Germanna History on Rootsweb
Curious to learn more, I used FamilySearch’s full-text search to track down the actual land patent referenced on the map. The record appears in Land Patents Book 13, 1725–1730, for the colony of Virginia.
The grant, dated September 28, 1728, records George II’s confirmation of 400 acres to Jacob Broyle of St. George Parish, Spotsylvania County. The description places the tract “in the great fork of Rappahannock River,” with boundaries adjoining Jacob Grigolar’s land. The survey details list corners marked by gum, poplar, hickory, chestnut, and white oak trees—natural features commonly used in early colonial land descriptions.
The document concludes with the official seal at Williamsburg and the signature of William Gooch, Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Colony.
Land Patents Book 13, 1725-1730
State of Virginia“Virginia, British Colonial America records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37S-J966-7?view=explore : Sep 22, 2025), image 407 of 561; . Image Group Number: 008570203
# 400
Jacob Broyle
George the Second To all [whereas we] have given granted and confirmed
and by these presents for us our heirs and successor to qive grant and confirm unto Jacob Broyle of Saint George
parish in Spotsylvania County One Certain Tract or parcell of Land Containing four hundred acres lying and being
in the great fork of Rappahannock River in the parish and County aforesaid and bounded as follows ( to wit )
Beginning at the pines Corner to Jacob Grigolar and runeth thence with the said Criglero line North
Seventy five degrees West two hundred pole to a Gum White Oak and Red Oak in the said Crigoloro line thence
North fifteen degrees East three hundred and twenty pole to a Gum poplar and Hickory thence South seventy
five degrees East two hundred pole to a chestnut and two white Oak on a small run Side thence South fifteen
degrees west three hundred and twenty pole to the Begining With all to have holder a beholder
yeilding and paying or provided In Witness or Witness our Trusty and Welbeloved William Good Esqr and
Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of our said Colony and Dominion at Williamsburgh under
the Seal of our said Colony the Twenty Eighth day of September one thousand Seven hundred and twenty
Eight in the Second year of our ReignWilliam Gooch
This combination of map and patent provides an invaluable glimpse into both the settlement patterns of the Germanna colonists and the legal framework of colonial Virginia. For descendants of Jacob Broyle and his neighbors, these records place families on the land and connect them to the broader story of Madison County’s earliest years.
As genealogists, it’s exciting when maps, patents, and records come together to paint a clearer picture of our ancestors’ lives. In this case, the map of Madison County’s earliest patents and the original 1728 grant to Jacob Broyle bring us back to the very moment when land was first claimed and settled. These documents don’t just mark property lines—they anchor families like the Broyles to a place and time, allowing us to trace their stories forward through the generations.