Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

Kentucky-Virginia Boundary Settlement Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information:

Discovered in a book.

Processing Information:

Processed by Ellen Strong in 1996.

Description enhancement by Robert Browne, SCRC volunteer, 13 November 2019

Biographical / Historical

James Pleasants, Jr. and John Page both graduated from the College of William & Mary. The Pleasants and Page buildings, located in the Randolph Complex, are named in their honor.

Scope and Contents

Collection includes two official copies of Kentucky and Virginia's acts to confirm and establish a boundary line. The acts were fixed by Commissioners appointed by both states. Though the two acts serve similar purposes, they differ in how each Commissioner's report was written and rendered as official copies.

The Kentucky document is dated 26 May 1803 and it has several discrete parts. It contains (1) a copy of the "Agreement between the commissioners of the states of Virginia and Kentucky relative to the boundary lines between the said states, (2) a copy of Kentucky's enactment ratifiying and confirming the boundary line, and (3) a copy of a separate enactment concerning "the title papers of lands lying in the forks of Big Sandy." All of these parts are certified by Harry Toulmin, Kentucky's Secretary of State from 1796-1804, and Toulmin's authority was certified by James Garrad, Kentucky's Governor from 1796-1804. The document is bound together by several threads and secured by thin papers. It contains Kentucky's state seal that authenticated the copy.

The Virginia document is dated 5 July 1803 and it consists of three large papers, folded into six leaves and twelve pages. It is organized as follows (1) provides a date for passage in Virginia's General Assembly, (2) identifies the Commissioners appointed by both Virginia and Kentucky, (3) establishes and confirms the boundary, (4) memorializes a further report made by the Commissioners concerning the legitimacys of land claims made by Virginia and Kentucky, (5) validates Kentucky's land claims, and (6) states that enactment is dependent on the passage of a like law in Kentucky. It is signed by James Pleasants, Jr. as "Keeper of Rolls" or Clerk of the House of Delegates from 1803-1811, and his authority is certified by John Page, Virginia's governor from 1802-1805. The document is bound by a ribbon.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Boundaries, State
• Boundary disputes
• Kentucky--History
• Legal documents
• Virginia--Boundaries
• Virginia--Boundaries--Kentucky