Details of the grant were last recorded in the notes of historian, William Edward Fripp (1896-1965), a well respected member of Walterboro City Council, and founder of the Colleton County Historical Society, for which he served as president for many years.

His grandson now has his research notes, and offers the following quote from W.C. Fripp, Jr. of London: "Capt. John Fripp was a privateer in the service of the King and the grant was the price paid for his sea ventures in favour of the King, previous to the Restoration. The grant was for a vast tract of land in the latitude of St. Helena Island. The grant afore-mentioned was engrossed on heavy parchment or vellum, and was from Charles II dated 1662 and bearing his seal. I have seen the Royal Grant to the Fripps with my own eyes".

Another of his notes mentions Evelyn Fripp (1858-1901), who was raised by her uncle, William Oliver Perry Fripp. At the time of her death, Evelyn had the original Land Grant. After her death, a Miss Barnwell took possession of her records. Mrs. Cuthbert B. Fripp, aged 90 in 1963, said she had seen the Grant, then in the possession of Mr. William Elliott, Esq., of Atlanta, Georgia. William noted that he tried to reacquire the land grant in the early 1960's, but the gentleman, thought to be an attorney/art collector, did not wish to sell it.

Given this information, it seems almost certain that the grant exists, however, it's authenticity raises some cause for concern. If it is genuine, it is unlikely that it would have been given in 1662, as the first grants were not issued until 5 years later.

HISTORY
By 1629, the French and Spanish had left the area. King Charles I granted a charter to his attorney general, Sir Robert Heath, for all land in the Americas between latitudes 36 and 31, and named it the Province of Carolana. No serious attempt was made to colonise the land, and Sir Robert lost all rights when he fled England after King Charles I was beheaded in 1649.

In 1660 the monarchy was restored, and on 24 March 1663, King Charles II rewarded eight of his trusty supporters by granting the Province to them. These were known as the Lord's Proprietors, who would later issue grants for land to the first settlers in 1667.

Captain William Hilton was first sent to explore the coastline, and arrived at Port Royal in September 1663. However, the first detailed survey of the coastlands South of "Charles Town" took place on 16 June 1666. Two small vessels, the Speedwell and the Rebecca, made the voyage, commanded by Lt. Col. Robert Sandford. They returned to "Charles Town" the following month, on July 12.

A full transcript of Robert Sandford's account will be added to this website, but it contains no mention of a Fripp among the crew or owning any land. Another account was made by Joseph Woory, a member of the expedition. Brief details of his account can be found here.

When Sandford's expedition arrived at St. Helena, the area and surrounding islands were inhabited by the Yemassee Indians, who seemed willing to accept the English during their visit. Before returning to Charleston, they left behind one of their company, Dr. Henry Woodward, a young English surgeon, to settle among the Indians and to learn their language and culture. The first settlers arrived here in 1670, but decided to move north after being warned of Spanish threats. The first established settlement in this area was formed at Spanish Point (near present day Beaufort) in 1685 by a group of 148 Scotts, and was named "Stuart Town". However, it was raided by the Spanish the following year and burned to the ground.

One of the settlers to arrive in March 1670 was Nicholas Carteret. He gave an account of their visit to each island, and, after describing their greetings with the Indians of St. Helena, he follows: "Many of us went ashoare at St. Hellena and brought back word that the land was good land, supplyed with many Peach trees and a competence of timber, a few figg trees and some cedar here and there and that there was a mile and a half of cleare land fitt and ready to plant....."

CONCLUSION
These accounts show it is almost certain that John Fripp did not own any land on St Helena Island before 1667, and he is unlikely to have settled there until after 1685. If he was given a grant in 1662, the Lord's Proprietors or Robert Sandford would have recorded these facts. It would also be impossible for Charles II to grant a specific area of St Helena in 1662, as it was not even surveyed until four years later.

Fripp Island is one the smaller chain of Hunting Islands just below St. Helena. It was first documented in Feb 1695, when Richard Bennett "of ffripp's Island" recorded his mark for cattle and hoggs. See here. It is widely accepted that Fripp Island was named after John (or Johannes) Fripp. However, on 21 Feb 1857, Thomas B. Chaplin, made an entry in his diary that he was invited to join a hunt, the following week, on William Fripp's island. This suggests that the island was named for William Fripp, and helps to support other claims that; either John Fripp Sr. came to South Carolina with a brother William; or William was the father of John Fripp Sr. It is possible that Chaplin was referring to one of several islands purchased between 1764-1790 by William Fripp (1732-1794), but a footnote explains that Fripp's Island is between Chaplin's Island and Hunting Island. This is the location of the present day Fripp Island.

However, records for a plat to James Reynolds, granted 10 April 1738, describe the location as: "295 acres in Granville County, on the sea bay on an inlett from the sea, separating it from John Fripp's Island and from Helena Island." This was 120 years before Chaplin's comment, so perhaps it was owned by a William Fripp during that period.

Records show that John Fripp Sr. purchased a plantation on Edisto Island in 1696, but no records have surfaced for this period, to show any land purchased or owned by a William Fripp.