Benjamin Borden (Bourden, Burden): Benjamin
Borden was born about 1675 in New Jersey or possibly Rhode Island. In 1710, Moses Butterworth was standing trial for piracy,
as it was said that he had sailed with Captain Kidd. A mob which included Benjamin and his brother, Richard, claiming that
the Governor and Justices had no right to hold Butterworth, was formed and broke into the court. The Bordens took hold of
the prisoner in attempt to rescue him, however they were injured in the scuffle. The other men rescued the Bordens, tore up
the examination papers, and held the governor, justices, king’s attorney general, sheriff, and court clerk for five
days while Butterworth escaped. Borden had an insatiable hunger for land, and acquired literally hundreds-of-thousands of
acres throughout his lifetime. In 1715 he purchased one-thousand two-hundred acres in Philadelphia, and after the death of
his father, he acquired an additional five-hundred acres in Pennsylvania. In 1734, Borden moved into Virginia, and was patented
over three-thousand acres in Orange County, Virginia. The same year, he was appointed as one of the first Justices for Orange
County, and later for Frederick County, but he died before Frederick was set up, dying in 1743. In the spring of 1737, Borden
met John Lewis on a trip to Williamsburg, becoming friends, and in turn he was invited for a stay at the Lewis household.
He spent several months with Lewis, exploring the country and hunting buffalo. A young buffalo calf was captured, in which
Borden would later present as a gift to Governor Gooch of Virginia. The Governor was delighted with the gift, and awarded
Borden upward of ninety-two thousand acres on the waters of the James River, with the promise that he would settle at least
one-hundred families on the land. Borden would travel to England in search for families to bring to the colonies, and brought
back upward of one-hundred families, primarily Irish Presbyterians.
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