So, back to the whole concept of James Sr., his wife Elizabeth, brother John Sr. and all James children traveling into Ohio. I am going to tentatively state that I believe that they traveled with a group. I just cannot believe that this kind of move could have reasonably been conducted without more protection and help. But with whom? There are some ways at looking for candidates and I will share the records that I used, but they are not conclusive for everyone who may have traveled into Ohio at this time.
What one must take into consideration at this early date, is that after Lewis and Clark went West on their Journey of Exploration that the continental US was WIDE open for settlement. Ohio had become a state in our young country just a couple years before James Sr. went there. And, almost everyone who was moving West looking for new open lands went through Ohio. So, settling in or traveling through Ohio was a common fact. And, the National Road (which goes right by the LaRue lands) was a well known and well traveled route.
I have used a couple of record groups to see who was in the State at that time, but none tell the whole story. So, first of all I looked at patents. A patent was the first ownership/title to land obtained by an individual from the government. Once the government obtained possession of the area, they had to survey the land, then they could sell or award it. This first title, was called a patent. While there were LaRue/Larue/Larrow/Larew/Larron names found in numerous areas around Ohio, I am going to stick with those patents for Larue/LaRues in the SE corner of Ohio and especially those whose residence is given as Belmont or Guernsey County on their patents. These records can be viewed online and are the records of the Bureau of Land Management. If someone bought their land from another individual or prior owner, they will not be in this collection, so a lot of land transfers will not be here, but it is a start.
Of course we can look for all names close to the spelling of LaRue as those are very likely related to our family in some manner. But, what if there was a sister with a married name other than LaRue? Or an Aunt? Those are names that we do not know at this point, even though I have one group of names that may or may not be related. Remember, LOTS of people were going to and thru Ohio, so just because they lived close by, it does not necessarily mean that they were related. So, back to the SE corner of Ohio and land patents.
The earliest LaRue patent that I can find is for one James Larron in 1811 (hand writing and spelling were very suspect in a time when many could not read or write their own names). It was a credit purchase which I think means that he bought it on credit at an earlier date and 1811 is the date of final payment. He is said to have been "of Belmont County" on the patent, which means that the area where he settled was in Belmont county prior to its breaking off to create Guernsey County in 1810. This is supported by the fact that the section, range and township numbers stay the same through time. It is in the NE 1/4 of section 8 in Richland Township, about 160 acres. This is the land that stays in the LaRue family for at least the next 80 years until the death of Laban LaRue in 1891 and the land is then purchased by Hans Weaver. It is the land that has the LaRue Road (see photo of sign in earlier posting) still bordering the property. It is lying in a kind of valley plain (see photo on early posting) between two elevated areas. Near by would be the small villages later of Gibson Station and Washington.
The next LaRue patent that I can find, before 1820 is where in 1819 a John D. Larue signs for land with another person, Nicholas Bichard for one Daniel Davis in Guernsey County in section 16 Township 1 Range 3 This could be the John D. Larue who on some later records is referred to as John DeLarue. We are not sure who this John D. could be at this point. He does not obtain the land for himself, but for Davis. So what could that mean?
The next patents down in this SE corner with Larue connections came about in 1825. And as I said again and will mention here simply as a reminder, patents were only one way to obtain the land. Purchase from an individual is another, and we do not have all those at this point. [This is another line of research that I should tackle.] Anyhow, the 1825 patents are found for William Lerow of Guernsey County (our William, son of James Sr. would have been around 26 years old at this time and married so a perfect candidate for this record) in Morgan County (just next door to Guernsey County) for about 80 acres in the E1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Section 21 , Township 1 Range 1. Also, in 1825 we find a John Larue obtaining a patent in Morgan County, in Section 20. On the same day and right next door to William. This John was also said to have been of Guernsey County. Was this John Sr?, he would be of age to make this purchase. But, John Jr., son of James Sr. who was about 24 years old could said to have been of age also, even though he was not married at this time. So maybe the two oldest children of James Sr. were spreading their wings.
Then again in 1825 we find a John Larrow of Guernsey County obtaining his patent of the NE 1/4 (therefore 160 acres) in section 13 township 1 and range 1 next door to James Sr.. John the son of James Sr. would only be about 24 years old at this time, and not married yet, so he could be a candidate but I think not. Especially when in 1832 I find John Sr. selling this land to John Jr. Therefore the original patent I feel was obtained by John Sr.
In 1827 we find a James Larrow (no residency county given on the record) as one of the signers with James Nichols, for land in Section 12 Township 1 Range 1 in Guernsey county for a George Gooderl. James Sr. is believed to have died by 1825, so it is not him. Therefore James Jr. son of James Sr. is our best candidate, although only about 22 years of age and not yet married.
Then, in 1837 we find a John Larrow of Guernsey County obtaining 5 patents in Perry County, just to the SW of Guernsey County. It looks like he obtained about 280 in 5 separate transactions in April and August of that year. We do not know where John Sr. would be living a this time. We believe that he is still living but have no conclusive proof of this. Some earlier researchers give his death as possibly around 1840, but still have yet to find him past 1830. Is this him buying land? Or is it again, John Jr. son of James Sr.?
By 1840 and later we find other sons of James R., all reported as "of Guernsey County" on the patents, obtaining patents with David in Noble County and Laban in Washington County. And these are only the records of patents. I wonder what land they bought? And since the 1820 census record for James Sr. says that he is not in agriculture but in commerce, I am wondering if land speculation was what this family business was all about?
From these records, we really do not learn of any other LaRue family. But, we do have evidence of records pertaining to them and any business interests in other counties in the SE corner of Ohio. So, what other records can I use to see who else may be in this area of Ohio at the same time and may be related to our family? If I want to find out where our family came from before Guernsey County, I really need to know as much about James Sr. and John Sr. and any possible other family members.
