Category: Deeds

Deeds

Deed Records

James L. Douthat

In researching your family tree, don’t forget to check out the deed records. Sometimes the most subtle hints are found in the deed. You may find relationships, neighbors that married into the family, where the family migrated and later sold the land. A careful search of the deeds is well worth the time and effort. I just transcribed a deed for a possible ancestor. In this deed it mentioned the name of the wife and her parents. The deed began “In & for the consideration of the Love & Affection…

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Adoption Records Bastard Bonds Court Records Deeds divorce records Militia Records Road Orders Wills

Court of Pleas and Quarterly Sessions

James L. Douthat

In doing genealogical research, we often ignore the sources where we will find the information because we think it is too difficult to locate. The Court of Pleas and Quarterly Sessions as some states call them, is one of those sources. In every state and every county, there is an organization established to handle the day to day matters of that area. It is called by different names, but the actions are pretty much the same. A world of important records is found in their minutes with notations that are…

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Deeds Land Records Land Transfers

Land Records

James L. Douthat

Our lost ancestors will more than likely show up in early land records, if we know who they were and where they settled. In the very beginning of our nation, all land was owned by the Crown which used land as reward for service or land grants/charters as a way to “buy” loyalty. Once the colonies were formed, the free land was given to the colonies and they gave land as a reward for service by individuals who rendered aid in various kinds to the colonies. The next stage of…

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