Re: BLUNSTON
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In reply to:
BLUNSTON
pam steehler 12/23/04
I don't know if they're related to the one who the Quakers allowed to issue licenses. But some time ago I had found a Blunston that had been from PA that aquired a very large area of land in western Ky. What I saw I think was a misprint about how much land he recieved, it said he had gotten about 5 million acres. I disagree with the amount unless they were meaning that it was the one that was allowed to license land in Pa in the what is now the Cumberland Co area of Pa. Having seen the website for the Blunston licenses and the list of names of some of the perchasers I'm sure you're not surprised to see that some Rutherford's bought some of that land. It is amazing that so many of the people who bought land came from Maryland, Conn., Mass. and New York while none from Va ever showed up to claim land. Of course most of the Rutherford's that were in Va at that time had alot more land then they could deal with and where they settled was on land that was prime for whatever they would choose to grow. Some of the Pa names are even the same as the Va names. There were William, James, John and Robert Rutherford, even some of the families that were neighbors in Pa seemed to be the neighbors with the same names of those in Va, Beard, Weakly and Parrish just to mention a few. Its unforunate that some seem to think that they are the same people who were in Va at the time of the perchases who still ended up in Va on courthouse records during the same time. Meaning some are implying that they moved from Va to Pa bought land and then returned to Va without reselling the land and they appear on two sets of tax records. I for one don't by that story because of two things, 1st being that they already had all the good land they could want and 2nd was travel time to and from southern Va up to Cumberland Co Pa and back on roads that were little more then trails. That is what makes it unrealistic, they traveled by horseback not in cars, planes or trains and they also had to cross rivers where bridges may not even have been built.
William Penn, for which Pa is named for, had trouble trying to form the Quaker church on the eastern seaboard and had made some land purchases from the Indians. One such perchase that he made was a very historical one. He had already bought land from the Indians and because the Penns had not taken advantage of them they sold him more land and the Penns wanted a much larger amount then they had bought before. The Indians sold him the land with the understanding that what he was buying was as much as he could travel in 5 days and it would be equal in all directions, with Penn going west the north and south was to be the same distance. Some of Penn's followers wanted William Penn to travel for those 5 days on horseback in order to get much more land then they were hoping for. Instead Penn chose to walk. Penn didn't walk fast and his followers were angry that thousands of acres were slipping through their fingers. Penn walked as though he was walking through a park or the streets of a city, stopping frquantly to look at flowers, other plants, to admire a view or just rest himself. Inspite of the seeming slowness Penn was doing about 25 miles a day. At sunset of the 5th day Penn set about to make camp and the Indians that had traveled with Penn went to their village and told the tribel leaders that William Penn was in camp. The Indians leaders were so surprised and happy that Penn once again did not take advantage of them that they gave him double of what he walked.