History of Property
in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Johann Heinrich Kipp
1737-1810
The property that Henry Kipp owned
in Pennsylvania traces back to the very early days of colonial Pennsylvania.
William Penn’s father, Admiral Penn, loaned King Charles II of England
16,000 Pounds. These funds were due William Penn after his father
died. Seeking land in the New World, Penn asked the King to grant him
land. The King granted Penn’s request and signed the Charter of Pennsylvania
on March 4, 1681.
Penn hoped that this acquisition of
the Pennsylvania Province would be a land for those who were persecuted
as well as a profitable venture for him and his family. He was
active in recruiting emigrants and encouraged them to settle in Pennsylvania.
These included many from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany.
As immigration grew, Penn set
up a process to allow those immigrants a chance to own their own land.
This process started with a request for a Warrant to buy a specific
piece of land. The Warrant was normally issued only after payment
of certain fees for the land. The next step was for the prospective
new land owner was to obtain a Survey of the land. Once the survey
was completed, a Patent was issued granting absolute ownership of the
land. Even though Penn was granted all of Pennsylvania by the King,
he would not grant any part of it without first buying the claims of
the Native Americans.
The history of the specific piece of
property that was Henry Kipp’s began when Francis Beaty applied for
a Warrant on Feb 4, 1737 for 200 acres on Conoy Creek located in Donegal
Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was issued on a promise
to pay the standard 15 pounds, 10 shillings for each 100 acres, an annual
Quitrent of one half penny Sterling for every acre, and required the
land to be surveyed within six months. If these conditions were
not met, the warrant would be void. Records indicate that Francis
Beaty did not pay any of the fees, or have the land surveyed.
However, Francis Beaty took it upon
himself to sell his right, if any he had, to such warrant and land to
John Greer who had made some improvements to the land, and had lived
on it for several years.
John Greer, on Sept. 3, 1747, sold
his right to the land and improvements via a Deed Poll (A deed made
by one party only, usually to transfer the rights of the grantor to
the grantee.), to Salty (Valentine) Gloninger. Valentine Gloninger,
on Apr 30, 1751, sold his right to the land and improvement, via a Deed
Poll, to David Hare.
David Hare, on Dec. 27, 1759, sold
his right to the land and improvements, via a Deed Poll, to Henry Kipp.
This document also states Henry Kipp’s occupation was a Blacksmith.
David Hare was to have a survey done by Tomas Cookson but no survey
was ever returned.
Henry Kipp requested and had a Warrant
issued, and procured a Survey by Barham Galbraith on Nov. 9, 1762.
Henry Kipp then sought to have a Patent issued. He paid the original
fee of 15 pounds, 10 shillings per 100 acres, with interest and arrears
on Quitrent for six months after date of original 1737 warrant.
The total amount paid was 31 pounds. A patent was recorded on
June 21, 1763 to Henry Kipp from Tomas Penn and Richard Penn, sons of
William Penn, giving him absolute ownership. While Henry Kipp
was not the original settler on the property, he was the first to obtain
clear title to the land. A legal description of the land is provided
below.
Copies of the Francis Beaty Warrant,
Henry Kipp Warrant, Land Plot, and Henry Kipp Patent are located under
information on Henry KIpp or under “Documents” on the sidebar menu
of this web site. Advertisement
I estimated that the location
of the property of Henry Kipp was located about 1 ½ miles Northeast
of Conoy Creek Park, located on the Susquehanna River, in the area of
Highway 241. It is not far from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.
A current satellite image shows the area is still farmland.
Adjacent land owners to Henry Kipp’s
property were Mathias Blasser, and Christian Blasser. The Blasser’s
were brothers of Barbara Blasser, wife of Henry’s son George.
Henry Kipp and Anne Mary (Anna Maria),
his wife, by their indenture dated December 31, 1799 granted and confirmed
this same tract of land to their son George Kipp. George
Kipp, and his wife Barbara (Blasser) later sold a very narrow portion
of the property to Joseph Shank. It appears this sale may have
been to straighten boundary lines. Joseph Shank soon sold the property
along with adjoining property he owned. The sale by George and
Barbara was dated June 11, 1810, and recorded on October 21, 1822.
George is identified as a farmer in the document. A legal description
of the land is provided below.
LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS:
Original Patent to Henry Kipp
(Patent Book AA-5, page 65, recorded
June 21, 1763)
Beginning at a marked black oak, thence
by land of Nicholas McClellan South 50 degrees West, 60 perches to a
marked white oak and southwest 171 perches to a marked white oak, thence
by land of Mathias Blaser (Blasser) North 5½ degrees West, 300 perches
to a marked black oak, thence by the land of Jacob Good North 33 degrees
West, 36 perches to a marked black oak, thence by vacant land North
69 degrees East, 52 perches to a marked black oak, thence by vacant
land and land of Jacob Wilhelm South 33 degrees East, 100 perches to
a marked white oak, thence by land of Jacob Wilhelm and land of Martin
Haisey South 47 degrees, East 153 perches to place of beginning. (Edited
for readability).
Note: Survey tools used during
the time included brush clearing equipment, a measurement chain, and
a compass. A method called meets and bounds was used and markers
were often a rock, or a hardwood tree. Gunter’s chain was the
standard used for measuring distance. It contained 100 links and
the length was 4 poles or 66 feet. A pole is the same length as
a perch. An acre is 10 square chains.
Sale of Property by
George Kipp to Joseph Shank
(Lancaster County, PA Land Index
Book 24, Pages 204-208)
Beginning at a stone affixed by the
southeast corner post of the Grave Yard and running by the other land
of the said George Kipp North 9 ¼ degrees West, 160 perches to a black
oak, thence by the other land Joseph Shank, South 7 ½ degrees East,
307 perches to a white oak, thence North 5 ½ degrees West, 147 perches
to the place of beginning, containing of 416 (square) perches, strict
measure, be the same more or less. (Edited for readability). (Note:
Legal description is stated as being a portion of the original land
patented to Henry Kipp in 1763.)
Copyright 2010 by E. Michael Kipp,
All Rights Reserved
Sources:
Pennsylvania State Archives, Patent
Book AA-5, page 65
Pennsylvania State Archives, Warrant
Book, Lancaster County, K-279
Pennsylvania State Archives, Warrantee
Township Map, West Donegal 2
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission, Pennsylvania History
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Land
Index, Book 24, Pages 204-208
