dmwill

hen the Lord Proprietors of Carolina surrendered their

sovereignty to the Crown, one of them, John Carteret, Earl of Granville (1690-1763), reserved to himself property rights in his share of the land. His portion was marked off in 1744, wholly within the province of North Carolina. It contained half of the present state. Much of this land was distributed to early settlers through land grant offices in return for payment of quitrents.

Apparently Daniel Murphree established a portion of his estate on land to be contracted with one of Earl Granville's land offices before it opened. Daniel's will states "I give to my Well Beloved Son Solomon Murphree a plantation that I made on The Lord Earl Granvils land. With half the Land that Shall be Saved When the office is open and the other half of the Land I give to my Well Beloved Son Mofes Murphree."

It appears that due to the political unrest that eventually led up to the Revolutionary War, either this Lord Granville's office never opened, or the grant for this portion of Daniel's plantation was refused. No record has been found indicating that Solomon or Moses ever received their inherited land.

John Carteret, 1st Earl Granville, Lord Proprietor of Carolina

Below is a copy of Daniel Murphree's original will that was discovered in a packet of unrecorded wills at a courthouse located in the small town of Pittsboro, Chatham County, North Carolina. An abstract of the will and a copy of the sleeve which enclosed the will can be found on the next page.

Updated 28 November, 2006