Chain of Ownership and Division

Giles Fitzhugh inherited this parcel following the death of his father, Henry Fitzhugh (Colonel), in 1783. It is Lot 5 of seven lots created in the division of parcel 1.1 (Ravensworth North) among Giles and four brothers. In an exchange of land among several brothers, Giles sold this parcel and parcel 1.1.1.1 to Mordecai Fitzhugh in 1798.

• Parcel 1.1 Division/Redistribution

Before the exchange, but not mentioned in the deed to Mordecai, Giles had sold 25 acres to Colonel William Payne — Parcel 1.1.5.1, which included Payne’s Mill on Accotink Creek on land leased for many years by the Payne family. With this sale, Colonel Payne became the first Ravensworth landowner outside the Fitzhugh family.

• Lease Locations in 1792 – The mill location is marked on the plat.

In 1806, Mordecai sold 196 acres to Nicholas Fitzhugh (parcel 1.1.5.2).

The remainder of parcel 1.1.5 (shaded area in above image), merged with parcel 1.1.1.1, formed the unified plantation where Mordecai Fitzhugh lived and pursued a living in agriculture with slave labor. The 1799 Fairfax County tax rolls recorded 11 enslaved people in his household. The 1820 federal census counted 30, 16 male and 14 female.¹ He established the family’s permanent home, Fountainbleau, near the southeast corner.

Disputes Over Borders

Mordecai did not further reduce these land holdings. However, several acres apparently were lost in law suits against neighbors that seem to be disputes over the correct location of the original boundary lines of Ravensworth at the northeast corner. (Compare the straight outside borderlines in the above image with those in the next image, which maps the division of the land among Mordecai’s heirs.)

Division of Parcel 1.1.5

After Mordecai Fitzhugh died in 1858, the Fairfax County court appointed commissioners and employed a surveyor to settle his estate in the case Mordecai C. Fitzhugh Adm. V. Mordecai C. Fitzhugh Heirs. Deed H4:257 divided his Ravensworth land among his wife and children, as the court directed: “…the allotment of Dower [i.e., widow’s share] to Mrs. Frances T. Fitzhugh widow…in the real estate whereof he died seized and a division of the residue amongst his heirs…”

• Parcel 1.1.5.3 (375 acres, widow’s dower, including house – Fountainbleau): Frances T. Fitzhugh
• Parcel 1.1.5.4 (217 acres): Henrietta (Fitzhugh) Swann
• Parcel 1.1.5.5 (174 acres): Mary Ann (Fitzhugh) Mason
• Parcel 1.1.5.6 (163 acres): Fenton M. Fitzhugh
• Parcel 1.1.5.7 (189 acres): Amanda M. (Fitzhugh) Gooding
• Parcel 1.1.5.8 (200 acres): Frances M. (Fitzhugh) & Sanford Hutchison
• Parcel 1.1.5.9 (215 acres): Lucinda (Fitzhugh) Henry
• Parcel 1.1.5.10 (284 acres): Juliana (Fitzhugh) Slade
• Parcel 1.1.5.11 (267 acres): Edwin C. Fitzhugh

Parcel 1.1.5 Chain of Ownership Documents

Deed	Date	Grantor	Grantee	Parcel	Transaction
A2:186	7/11/1797	Court	Nicholas, Richard, Mordecai, Battaile & Giles Fitzhugh	1.1.1 - 1.1.7	Survey (1792) and plat for divison of parcel 1.1 into seven parcels bequeathed to these five youngest sons of Henry Fitzhugh (Colonel) (died 1783)
Z1:236	9/1/1796	Battaile Fitzhugh	Giles Fitzhugh	1.1.1.1	Sale 600 acres; later sold by Giles to Mordecai in deed A2:377
A2:377	7/5/1798	Giles Fitzhugh	Mordecai Fitzhugh	1.1.5 & 1.1.1.1	Sale of 2 tracts: 600 acres and 1668 acres
Z1:515	4/12/1797	Giles Fitzhugh	William Payne	1.1.5.1	Sale 25 acres; Payne's former lease, site of Payne's Mill on Accotink Creek
G2:299	9/16/1806	Mordecai Fitzhugh	Nicholas Fitzhugh	1.1.5.2	Sale 196.25 acres
H4:257	11/2/1858	Court	Frances T. Fitzhugh & 8 children	1.1.5.3 to 1.1.5.11	Division of land among Mordecai Fitzhugh's widow and eight children: Henrietta (Fitzhugh) Swann; Mary Ann (Fitzhugh) Mason; Fenton M. Fitzhugh; Amanda M. (Fitzhugh) Gooding; Frances M. (Fitzhugh) & Sanford Hutchinson; Lucinda (Fitzhugh) Henry; Juliana (Fitzhugh) Slade; Edwin C. Fitzhugh

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