Huntley: A Mason Family Country HouseWrenn, Tony P.
History
Huntley: A Mason Family Country House
Wrenn, Tony P.
Huntley (Va.)
... eighty five negroes, slaves for life, which said negroes are
particularly mentioned and set forth in the scheduled annexes to
this deed ... Daniel Humphreys and his wife Rachel and their son
Daniel, now living at Huntley ... and Priscilla, their daughter and
her child named Thomas, the last two being at Huntley ... Sandy
living at Huntley....[33]
Of the 85 more than six may have lived at Huntley, but only these six
are specified.
Exactly one month later, the two Mason boys, being:
... justly indebted to the said Benjamin King the just sum of
thirteen thousand dollars, lawful money of the United States, to be
paid to the said Benjamin King on the first day of January one
thousand eight hundred and sixty two....
transferred as security for a debt to John A. Smith:
... that certain tract or parcel of land ... known and commonly
called Huntley ... containing one thousand acres, more or less ...
together with all and singular its appurtenances ... for the
following purposes and none other, that is to say to permit the
said John Francis Mason and Arthur Pendleton Mason, their heirs or
assigns to retain possession of the said tract or land, without
account of rents or profits, until a sale become necessary under
this deed and if the said John Francis and Arthur Pendleton Mason,
shall fail to pay the sum of thirteen thousand dollars, as the same
shall become due according to the conditions of the said bond ...
the said John A. Smith shall upon the request of the said parties
entitled to said payment proceed to sell at public auction, to the
highest bidder for cash, the said tract or parcel of land or as
much thereof as may be necessary ... after having given at least 30
days notice of the time and place of sale in some newspaper printed
in the town of Alexandria....[34]
[Illustration: Figure 4. Survey, Huntley, prior to May 15, 1868. Fairfax
County Deed Book 1-4, p. 240. Copy by Stuart C. Schwartz.]
There the ownership remained until the Civil War. A map of that era
(1862) shows "Huntley Pl--Mrs. Mason's". The overview is labelled "Wide
fertile Valley with but little Timber."[35] This map also labels Kings
Highway the "Gravel Road," a term used in many of the Huntley deeds.
Why the Masons became indebted to Benjamin King is not known, but on
June 12, 1862, the property was transferred from Smith to King.
According to the deed they did:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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