Category: Land Transfers

Bondage Orders Court Records Land Transfers Ministers Returns Road Orders

Genealogy Information in County Court Records

James L. Douthat

One of the last places to look for your ancestors are the minutes of the official body that runs the county. They are sometimes called County Court, Court of Pleas and Quarterly Session, or later Board of Supervisors. The names will sometimes change within a county and within a state, but they all have much the same information. This body handles the day to day business of the county where your ancestors were or are living. Digging into these minutes is frequently very revealing. Depending on the time frame, there…

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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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