In 1743, Patton applied for a grant of 200,000 acres on the "branches of the Mississippi" on the promise that he would bring one family to settle each thousand acres, however John Blair Sr. of the Virginia Council denied his request, arguing that it "might occasion a Dispute betwixt them and the French, who claimed a Right to Land on those waters." Besides, said Blair, he "could not conceive that any Benifit could arise to his Majesties Revenues or to the strength of this Colony by a handfull of Poor People that might Venture to settle there."Ryan S. Mays, "The Draper's Meadows Settlement (1746-1756) Part II," Smithfield Review, vol 19, 2015Rice, Otis K., "The Allegheny Frontier: West Virginia Beginnings, 1730–1830." United States History, vol. 79, 1970.
