Since John Mercer, land speculator, and Catesby Cocke, clerk of Prince William County and later of Fairfax, had already been granted the land around Waterford, these early Friends must have leased or bought from them, for we find in the Fairfax County, records that David Potts in 1746 leased 866 acres of land on “Kittockton Run from Catesby Cocke for (5) five Shillings, paid in Hand, with the right to Purchase and an annual Rental of one Ear of Indian Corn.”
According to the Register of Pennsylvania, edited by Samuel Hazard, in Vol. VII, printed in 1831—About the year 1733, Amos Janney from Bucks County, and soon after divers other Friends, settled about 40 miles lower in Virginia than the Opeckon, who obtained leave to hold a meeting for worship on first days, which was held at the said Amos Janney’s and other Friends houses till the year 1741 when a piece of land was purchased, and a meeting-house built thereon called Fairfax, whose meetings have since been held twice a week.
Janney’s History of Friends notes in a memorial concerning his wife Mary Janney, “he (Amos) is mentioned as a valuable Friend and true helper Zion ward; and she is described as a devoted Christian, whose meekness, gentleness, and kindness rendered her company truly agreeable and instructive.
“When they came to Virginia, the neighborhood where they settled was almost uninhabited, but other Friends soon coming after and settling near them, a meeting for worship was held in their house.”
At first, in 1733, Amos Janney was authorized to hold an “Indulged Meeting” by East Nottingham Monthly Meeting; then the Waterford Meeting was organized in 1735 as a Preparative Meeting, under the auspices of Hopewell Meeting. Soon its membership increased and when the first meeting house was built, probably of logs in 1741, the meeting applied to Hopewell to be allowed to proceed as a monthly meeting. The application was allowed, and in 1744 Fairfax Monthly Meeting was set up along with Monocacy Preparative Meeting, just two years after Fairfax County came into being. At the first Monthly Meeting six couples requested permission to marry. Jane Hogue was clerk of Women’s Meeting with Elizabeth Norton and Mary Janney as overseers; Samuel Harris and Jacob Janney were overseers and Amos Janney clerk of the Men’s Meeting. Monocacy Meeting was laid down in 1762; there is more of its history following this date, but since it is out of our scope, we will leave it where it lies.
Meanwhile the yeast of settlement was working, and about ten years from the coming of the first settlers to Waterford we find them bringing in their friends from up North and East. People were coming from Bucks and Chester Counties in Pennsylvania, from New Jersey, Calvert County, Maryland, and direct from England and Wales. Pressing out at the southwest they found unclaimed land, some which, even that indefatigable amasser of Loudoun County land, George Slater, had missed; rich and valuable, between the North and Beaverdam Forks of Goose Creek. Here they established themselves in settlements called Harmony, now Hamilton, and Goose Creek, now Lincoln.
It is interesting to see how the land was granted to these later settlers; for instance, the three earliest grants in the Harmony, Goose Creek, Philomont, so called “Quaker Settlement” area were as follows: William Diggs, of Diggs Valley (of which Clarence Case’s farm was a part) acquired 1,074 acres on August 27, 1731, William Bowell, 602 acres on August 27, 1731, and George Atwood, 1,092 acres on September 24, 1737. Diggs and Bowell obtained their grants the last year Robert (King) Carter acted as agent for Fairfax, as Carter died in 1732, and Fairfax was having no more of the high handed manner in which Carter had handled the business; so, the office was closed until Lord Fairfax came over himself and issued a few grants in 1737, when the above George Atwood must have gotten his. The office was not again opened until William Fairfax, acting as agent for Fairfax, was ready for business in 1739, when the Quakers stepped in and got theirs.
Around 1745, or sooner, Jacob Janney, his wife Hannah and others came down from Bucks County and settled in the Goose Creek neighborhood. In going over the certificates of removals granted persons leaving the northern meetings and repairing to Virginia and comparing these certificates with the dates of their grants, we see that several, but not all, had been down to Virginia, taken a grant, and gone home for wife and family, for instance: On third month 2nd, 1741, Joseph Hollingsworth and wife obtained a certificate from Newark or Kennet Meeting; his grant is dated April 20th, 1742.
In the minutes of the Falls Meeting: “Abel Janney was reported at the Pertomock” on 10th Mo. 1st, 1742; his grant was dated March 17th, 1741.
George Gregg had a certificate on 5th Mo. 4th, 1740 from Newark and a grant of June 3rd, 1744. (Wonder where he was the four years).