On 23 Sep 1763 a patent was entered in Dobbs County, North Carolina for a 195 acre survey for Vaun Hilbern on the south side of Naughhunty (also spelled Nauhunty in another record for him).  This land joined John Elliot and Robert Fellow’s lines and ran south to John Worrell and John Elliot’s corner.  The chain bearers were John Rowell and Rich’d Worrell.  This grant #66 was issued on December 21, 1763 & found in Book 8, p. 7.

SOURCE:  Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Land Grant Files, 1693-1960. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.  Original data: N. C. Land Grants. Microfilm publication, 770 rolls. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina

(An interesting observation from these records- Vaughn/Vaughan’s name is consistently spelled “Vaun” although Hilburn is spelled in the following ways- Hilborn, Hilburn, Hilbern, Hilbourn and Hillburn.)

It is unknown which Vaughan Hilburn bought this land in 1763. Was it the “first” Vaughan Hilburn who was in Isle of Wight, Virginia as early as 1730? If so, he would’ve had to have been approximately 54 years old when he bought this land in Dobbs. We do know that Vaughn Hilburn, #2, who married Elizabeth Worrell in Dobbs, died in 1834 in Mississippi. If this land was bought by him, he would’ve lived another 71 years, making him over 90 at death, and born by 1742.

This land is in “Walstonburg Quad” of Dobbs County on the south side of Nahunty in an area which later became Wayne County. Persons named in this record are:

• John ELLIOT-  AL (adjoining landowner)
• Robert FELLOW- AL
• John WORRELL- AL
• Rich’d WORRELL-  CB (Chain Bearer)
• John ROWELL-  CB

Vaun Hilbern was the original patent owner and he owned this land for possibly 16 years and likely sold it between 1777-79.

Images of Vaun Hilburn’s 1763 land records:

In 1758, Dobbs County was formed from the eastern portion of Johnston County. Old Dobbs included today’s Wayne, Greene, Lenoir and small portions of several other counties.

RELATED LAND RECORDS: Vaughan Hilburn of Isle of Wight, Virginia was the first of the Hilbuns to be recorded as being in North Carolina. He was on a roster of the 1748 Edgecombe County Militia from John Sherrard’s company. This roster is from the State Records of North Carolina, Volume 22, pages 282-283. Other names on the list associated with Hilbern are (listed in order on the roster) John Rowell, John Worrel Sener, Richard Warrel, John Worrel, Juner, Vann Hilbern, and later on the list is Elisha Woodard and Thomas Woodard, Jun. Elisha Woodard later owned land in Duplin joining Hamblin Hilburn’s land on Buckhorn Creek. Also related is that in Edgecombe County in 1754, a John Hilburn was a sworn chain carrier on the land survey for John Proctor. The land was on Tyancoky Swamp and bordered Thomas Holliman’s land. Tyancoky Swamp is in the Pinetops Quadrangle.

SALE OF LAND: Not totally known. Vaughn Hillburn sold land to Samuel Pike p. 281 *, OLD DOBBS COUNTY BOOK 11 – January 1777 – April 1779. More details of this transaction are not known as the original deeds were lost. Although the following record sheds some light on Vaughn’s 195 acres he received in 1763- 1784 May 31 Sam Pike to son, Book 2, 1784-1785, 100 acres on the south side of Naughhunty Swamp, being part of a tract granted to Vaun HILLBORN on 21 Dec 1763.

ANALYSIS: Based on this 1763 land record and on other records mentioned, there is a preponderance of evidence to suggest that Vaughn and the Worrells were related. It’s believed that John Worrell was Vaughn’s father-in-law; Worrell’s 1788 will names a Elizabeth Hilburn as an heir. Two Worrell family members were named in Vaughn Hilburn’s 1834 estate in Hinds County, Mississippi after his death.

Both John Hilburn and Vaun Hilburn were in Edgecombe; Vaun #1 was there as early as 1748 and again in 1763 (Vaughan #1 or #2?) while John Hilburn was there in 1753. The distance between Tyancoky, now referred to as Cokey Swamp, and Nahunta (35.5126605, -77.7324773) is approximately 20 miles.