Deeds are one of the most important types of land records. Deeds are legal documents that prove the legal transfer of land. Deeds are often the accessible land record available to researchers. To locate a deed, you need to have an idea where the ancestor resided. It can also be helpful to take the time to read a county or regional history of the area.
Most deeds were kept on the county level. Most have been filmed and later digitized in recent years. Deeds can be located online through a variety of sources such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, etc. Deeds are normally indexed by the grantee (buyer) and grantor (seller). Deeds provide the name of the grantee and grantor, a description of the land, and the date of sale. As a bonus, besides the description of the land being sold, deeds often include the names of the owners of the adjacent properties. In some cases, deeds may include previous places of residence where your ancestor resided prior to purchasing this land, the name of his spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, or siblings.
As part of the research process, it is highly recommended that once you locate a deed for your ancestor, take the time to make an abstract of it. Abstraction forms are widely available online and in many print sources for copying. Here are the ten steps that should be followed in the abstraction process.
Identify the type of deed, such as gift, trust deed, warrantee deed, and so on.
List the exact names of the grantor/s (sellers) and the grantee/s (buyers). If listed, be sure to include their places of residences and occupations.
Locate the “consideration” or amount paid, or reason for transfer of ownership.
Describe the boundaries of the property and include the names of any adjoining property owners. List the number of acres if mentioned.
Include any distinguishing remarks that would potentially provide new information or clues such as “land I received from my father” or other specifically named person or entity.
Pay close attention to the signatures. Record the exact spelling of the name shown on the document even if it is misspelled. Mention if the signature is simply a mark.
Record the names of all witnesses exactly as they appeared on the document.
Record the name of the person who acknowledged the deed in court. Include the dower release, if listed.
Record the date and place where the deed was acknowledged in court. Also include the date of the deed, and the date the deed was recorded.
Document the deed. Include the county, state, volume, page number and so on.
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