Methods of researching ancestors in deeds

The first step for researching deed records is to determine if your ancestor owned land. All but the most impoverished long-term residents in an area owned land. Value of real estate may appear beginning with the 1850 census. You may find landowners in plat maps. Tax lists include real estate. Your ancestor may have received a land grant or land patent. You may find individuals owned land from local history books. If they owned land, they had to have received title, and the land title transferred.

Usually, governments keep deed records at the county level, so most of your research will be in county records. Sometimes using a search engine for the name, county and "deeds" might find them.

Hundreds of books of indexed deed abstracts exist for U.S. counties. Larger genealogical libraries have these, and local libraries might have them for their county and surrounding counties. Microfilm of deed books exists due to the efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) and state archives. Copies are in the Family History Library, state archives and local libraries and archives.

The LDS church digitized microfilms, and they are available via the catalog option in Familysearch.org. Access involves creating a free account and logging in with a username and password you create. Next, click on the "Catalog" option under "Search," then enter "United States, , . Choose "Land and Property" from the resulting list of records, and a list of deed indices and deed books appears. Click on the small camera icon to view digitized images.

If you prefer to work with original deed books, travel to the county seat. Prior to your visit, check the history of county boundaries to make sure you are checking the correct location and the history of the courthouse to check for record loss. Call ahead to check for hours, location of records (courthouse, annex or archives), instructions for researchers, restrictions and whether you may make copies. Prepare to get dirty -- old books can be dusty!

The first step once you access images or original deed books is learning the index system. Most counties index grantors and grantees separately, so each deed has two index entries. The index is usually by first letter of the surname, but there are myriad variations. If you are confused, try the "United States Index Systems" wiki in Family Search, or the book, "Courthouse Indexes Illustrated" by Christine Rose. Record the grantor, grantee, book letter/number, page number, dates and land description (if given). Organize the information in a spreadsheet as you go, then consult the spreadsheet to locate deeds. Check a few pages before and after the deed -- often there are related deeds recorded on the same day.

If you access the deed using Family Search, you can download the pages or record the URL to construct a source citation. If you work with the original books, photocopies of original deeds are useful, but are difficult if you have many pages or if courthouse personnel need to make copies. Use digital photography if allowed. Write location information on copies (deed book, page number, date, location) or photograph the deed book spine or cover for source citation.

An effective way to "take" the essential information is to abstract the deed. The "classic" method is to transcribe the deed, delete repetitive "boilerplate" language, organize and proofread. However, as you learn the form of a deed, extract the essential information directly from the deed.

Deed loss can occur due to natural disasters, fire or human intervention. Some counties encouraged landowners to re-record deeds, so check with local experts or officials. If the land stayed in the family, title sometimes changed by "silent transfer." One strategy if chain of title is unclear is determine a later landowner, then trace the title back using the grantee indices. Researching the neighbors' land may show change in ownership, if the land description mentions adjoining landowners.

Finding deeds may be complicated when counties index sheriff's deeds with the grantor as "Sheriff" or the sheriff's name. Rarely, buyers recorded deeds in adjacent counties because of better access. Buyers sometimes failed to record deeds for many years (the record is 198!), so check the index for at least 20 years after suspected transaction date.