In the Quarter century, between 1730 and the French and Indian War of 1755, the lands of the future Loudoun became progressively more populous. Although Truro Parish had been created as recently as 1732, this pressure of incoming settlers seemed to call for the division, in its turn, of Truro and in 1748 the government of the Colony set off the upper part of Truro, beyond Difficult Run, as a new parish which was named Cameron in delicate compliment to the Lord Proprietor's Scotch Barony. Most unfortunately, the first vestry book of the new parish, which would be invaluable source material for the Loudoun student seeking information for the period from 1748 until the Revolution, has vanished or been destroyed. The first parson of Cameron was the Rev. John Andrews, probably the hero of a convivial incident soon to be related.[47]
[47] See Mrs. Browne's narrative in next chapter.
Increasing population meant rapidly rising land values, exercising an irresistible lure to many of the more active speculators of the Northern Neck. Such men of substance as Aubrey and Noland were developing the lands they purchased; but in another class were Benjamin Grayson, Catesby Cocke, George Eskridge, the wealthy Potomac trader John Colvil of Cleesh, that turbulent though gifted son of Dublin John Mercer and even William Fairfax himself, all of whom, so far as Loudoun was concerned, were active in land ventures rather than development. The Germans we have met coming over the Blue Ridge were more intent upon subduing the wilderness than skilled in the niceties of land titles; hence they, in common with many of the other pioneers, appear to have frequently omitted to secure grants from the proprietor for their holdings, giving Cocke, Grayson, Mercer and even Aubrey the opportunity, knowingly or otherwise, to secure the legal title to the lands of which they had taken possession.
In 1740 John Colvil bought out Cocke and his colleagues and, writes Fairfax Harrison "many lesser men and by pre-arrangement divided the territory with William Fairfax. Keeping for himself the lands lying between Catoctin Creek and the Catoctin Ridge and stretching from the Potomac to Waterford, he conveyed to William Fairfax 46,466 acres, constituting all the territory on the Potomac lying between Catoctin Creek and the Shenandoah River, including the Blue Ridge from Gregory's Gap to Harper's Ferry. The purchaser divided the property at the Short Hills into two estates, naming the northern one 'Shannondale' and the southern one 'Piedmont' and administered them as manors, on leases for three lives. By his will he left these lands, with his mansion house, Belvoir, to his eldest son, and the latter in turn, by his will of 1780, entailed them, with the intention that they should constitute the 'plantation' of Belvoir House, always to be held with it. But soon after this last will was written, the success of the American Revolution made it necessary for George William Fairfax, by codicil, to change his testamentary dispositions and his proposed entail was never made effective."[48]