2

because they do not seem to give us the vital

genealogical facts we are after, i.e., names of

parents, dates, children, and so on.

But genealogists who dig into the land records

deeper will discover that land grants and deeds

can provide evidence of the places where an

ancestor lived and for how long, when he moved

into or moved out of a county, and in many

cases,

a

surprising

amount

of

detailed

information about a person.

Why Land Records?

Here are three good reasons why land records

are valuable for genealogical research:

1. The odds are good. Since 90%

of

the

adult

white

male

population owned land before

1850, land grants and deeds

provide an excellent way of

records. Deeds are recorded at

the

county

level

and

when

property

is

sold

a

deed

is

recorded at the local courthouse.

It is a protection to both the buyer and seller that

the land being transferred is properly recorded.

There are rare exceptions, such as a deed held

by a private party and never recorded -- which is

every Title Insurance agent's worst nightmare --

but deeds are almost always recorded at the

courthouse of the county wherein the land is

located.

2. Land records are more complete than other

records. Land records such as property tax lists,

deeds and deed indexes, and the written

transcripts of real estate transactions all go back

further in time than any other type of record we

use in genealogical research. The earliest records

in Europe other than those recorded for the Royal

Courts are land records. For example, the

"Domesday Books" -- which are property tax lists

-- were first gathered for William the Conqueror

in the 11th century and are the earliest English

records in which a common farmer or tradesman

may be listed by name. Certain Scandinavian

land records date back to 950 A.D. In this

country,

land

ownership

has

always

been

important -- so much so that if a courthouse

were to be destroyed by fire or natural disaster,

the deed records -- proof of land ownership --

were reconstructed by local authorities soon

after.

For

example,

deed

records

were

reconstructed for several Georgia counties after

General Sherman's troops burned courthouse

after courthouse during the Civil War.

3. Land records often reveal the

name of a man's wife. The

English

common

law

system of "dower rights"

for a widow was followed in

the American colonies and

continued

in

most

U.S.

states well into the 19th

Century.

Dower

rights

entitled a widow to 1/3 of her

husband's estate upon his death. No written will

had to specify that amount. As a result of the

dower rights of a married woman, early land

deeds will almost always mentioned the name of

a man's wife because she had a legal interest in

any land being sold or purchased. In fact, a

woman had "veto power" over the sale of land by

her husband. Under the English system, a

married woman could not own land in her own

name, but with her dower rights, she could veto

the sale of the land. Many early deed transcripts

will include an affidavit in which a wife was

interviewed privately by the court clerk to

determine if she was in favor of the sale or not.

State Land States vs Public Land States

Before digging

into

the

land

records,

genealogists

need to know if

their

ancestor's

land grant was

located

in

a

Public Land state

or a State Land

state.

In 1787

the United States

Government

created

the

Territory

Northwest of the

Ohio River and

the "Public Domain" of the United States was

born. Public Domain areas today comprise a total

of thirty (30) states, which are called "Public

Land States". The distinction of Public Land

States versus State Land States is in who owned

the land originally and who was empowered to

sell the land.

There are a total of twenty (20) State Land

States. They are the original thirteen states plus

five states whose bounds were taken from the

original

thirteen,

i.e.,

Vermont,

Kentucky,