It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.
It was only recently that I concluded in my Colonial Era research that if I ran across a surveyor from the Granville District he was almost guaranteed to be a crook. I’ve started turning over rocks… and slimy crooked surveyors started crawling out. And I have refined my theory to now state with complete confidence that every damn one of the low life dirtbags was a crook… without exception. An apparent oddity might be one William Churton (the NC Head Honcho Colonial Surveyor) who simply stood above the everyday thievery by having his deputies shield him from the offensive profession of criminal mapping. (Mr Churton was Good Buddies with the Earl of Granville you see).To my consternation, I have failed to find a term to describe blatantly corrupt surveyors. I asked Grok.: It did not know either. Perhaps we are all a bit guilty …human nature?
The heyday of criminal mapping has to be the Blank Patent Scandal (modern surveyors who are in the know will toss back a bourbon at the mere mention).
Here is Grok’s account:
The Blank Patent Scandal was one of the largest land frauds in early North Carolina history. It occurred during the final years of proprietary rule and created long-lasting problems with land titles.
What Were “Blank Patents”?
A blank patent was a land grant that was pre-signed by the governor and other officials, but left with blanks for:
- The buyer’s name
- The number of acres
- The location/description of the land
These documents could later be filled in by whoever held them. This made it extremely easy to commit fraud.
I mean- Seriously, How Cool is That! Just Fill in the Blanks!
When and Why It Happened
- Peak period: 1728 (with some activity in 1727 and 1729)
- Governor: Sir Richard Everard (the last proprietary governor of North Carolina)
- Main Reason: The colonial treasury was empty, and the government needed money to pay for the 1728 Virginia–North Carolina boundary survey (the famous line surveyed by William Byrd and others).
The Really Hilarious part is that they did not actually PAY Billy Byrd II… they gave him a HUGE chunk of Land! Hahahahahahah!
Because there was no money to fund the survey, Governor Everard and his council began issuing large numbers of these blank patents and selling them to raise cash.
How the Scandal Worked
- The governor and council signed blank patent forms in advance.
- These blank documents were sold to speculators, officials, and wealthy individuals.
- The buyers then filled in the blanks with whatever acreage and location they wanted — often the best available land.
- In many cases, little or no money was actually paid into the treasury for the land itself.
This system allowed people to claim large amounts of land with very little oversight or payment.
Scale of the Fraud
- Historians estimate that hundreds of thousands of acres were granted through blank patents.
- One contemporary document specifically mentions 400,000 acres being granted in this manner.
- Much of the fraud occurred in eastern and central North Carolina, including areas that later became Edgecombe, Bertie, Halifax, and surrounding counties.
Key People Involved
|
Person
|
Role
|
Involvement
|
|---|---|---|
|
Sir Richard Everard
|
Governor (1725–1731)
|
Authorized and signed the blank patents
|
|
Council Members
|
Advisors to the governor
|
Approved the practice
|
|
William Little
|
Receiver General
|
Heavily involved in selling/handling the blank patents
|
|
Gabriel Johnston
|
Royal Governor (1734–1752)
|
Later had to deal with the legal mess after the Crown took over
|
Consequences and AftermathWhen the British Crown took control of North Carolina in 1729, the new royal government faced a major problem:
- Many land titles were now questionable or fraudulent.
- Settlers who arrived later often found the best land already claimed through these blank patents.
- Governor Gabriel Johnston tried to invalidate many of the blank patents, which created significant political conflict with powerful landowners who had benefited from them.
The scandal led to:
- Widespread clouded land titles (uncertain ownership)
- Long legal disputes over land ownership
- Distrust in the colonial government
Long-Term Impact
The Blank Patent Scandal contributed to ongoing problems with land records in North Carolina well into the 1700s. Even decades later, some land titles remained uncertain because of these fraudulent grants.It also damaged the reputation of the proprietary government and helped justify the Crown’s decision to take direct control of the colony in 1729.
__________________________________________________________________
What goes around…comes around…
“The owners of this country don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests.
…
It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted, folks. The game is rigged, and nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care.”
…
It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. You and I are not in the big club. By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table is tilted, folks. The game is rigged, and nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care.”
George Carlin
I do agree there was fraud early and later too as you can see in this article entitled:
Earl Granville’s “Proper Office” Edenton’s Cupola House, by Tom Newbern & Jim Melchor.
Patents were all over the place and Corbin did not appear to make any improvements.
Louisa Gay
June 28, 2026 at 1:58 pm
Thank you Louisa, I had not read that article and thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly liked this quote: (from page 11 of the article)
“As to his management of
your Lordship’s affairs, he carries it with a high hand to the claimant of
warrants for lands; he fixed his office at Col. Haywoods’ in Edgecombe
County for all warrants and deeds, and no person is to be admitted but
through Col. Haywood or his sons, for which money must be paid…to
gain his friendship…and no person knows what fees are charged.”
I may as well have written that myself… laughing
Marc
https://cupolahouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Granville-Final.pdf
anderson1951
June 29, 2026 at 5:00 am