While searching a Heritage Book for Washington County, Virginia there was an article entitled “Virginia’s Long-Lost Territory.” On page 3 of Families of Washington County and Bristol, Virginia, 1776-1996, there is a map of Virginia with a land gore along the southern border along Tennessee and North Carolina.
Seems the boundary line was incorrectly drawn by William Byrd from Jefferson County, Virginia west. And attempts of the states to work out the line amicably always came up short for Virginia–leaving parts of Cumberland Gap, Kingsport and Bristol in Tennessee.
[The road maps for this area of the United States show that Bristol is shared by Virginia and Tennessee. I have driven along those roads several times.]
Evidently local police departments usually defer to the other in matters of crime control.
My question: Gores usually create and maintain their own set of records. Does this area have records of its own? What of other jurisdictions that connect in or share this territory? Where do local residents say they reside? Do schools have to re-assign their students?
A Surprising Bonus! When my children were growing up, we lived in the farming area of a local town–between two railroad tracks. Two local school districts each went to the “railroad track.” Neither included the strip where we lived. When I went to check my daughter into Junior High School, we were not assigned to a school. Not knowing quite what to do, the principals of two adjoining schools agreed to let my daughter pick the school where she would like to attend. She was ecstatic–she was able to attend school with her friends.
Your favorite genealogist still wants to know about the records in Virginia–that is on my list for my next research trip to Virginia. Arlene Eakle http://arleneeakle.com
PS The Western Europe Genealogical Conference is teaching Finding your Ancestors in France today. Classes are just as informative as yesterday. Three more days are scheduled with three more countries: Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland. Stay Tuned!