TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Land deeds can be clues to family history

ADVERTISEMENT

By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 5, 2009

To many people, deeds are boring legal descriptions of land bought and sold. But for the genealogical researcher, they are rich records.

Hidden within them, one might find the maiden names of female ancestors, evidence of prior marriages, children's names, even records of slave ancestors.

Land descriptions include the names of those who owned boundary lands. Members of these families often eventually married their neighbors, since people in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were much less mobile than today.

When someone sold land, it was standard to give a listing of the previous owners of the land. A 1746 deed in Isle of Wight County, Va., showed that a Mary Prise had married Ralph Bozeman (whom she survived) and then Stephen Powell (whom she survived), and then Robert Hooks. Mary and Robert Hooks deeded the property to her son Samuel Bozeman in 1705. This history of landowners also provides a nice summary of Mary Prise's married life.

Since slaves were treated as property, those tracing African American roots should look closely at deeds. For example, On Nov. 21, 1796, Daniel W. Easley sold to Roderick Easley "one Negroe man Bob and his wife Molley and two children Rachel and Clary; one Negroe woman named Lucy and children Abram, Nancy & Winney; two Negroe men Tom & Peter; two boys named Bob & Adam; two Negroe women Frank & Fann; and one Negroe Girl named Ester."

That same year Jonathan Jackson Hays and his wife Jenny (Jane) sold a tract of land to Samuel Phillips. The land description included the tidbit that the land had originally been granted to Jenny Phillips before she became Hays' wife. Finding such a deed should send any researcher off to track Samuel and Jenny.

In 1883 Stephen Kirby of Pickens County, Ga., claimed his illegitimate son (whom he identified as William Davis Coly, the son of Adaline Coly) by giving him a piece of land. Kirby's later will identified all his legitimate children but made no mention of William.

Benjamin Waters sold land in 1808 to an Elizabeth Lane, revealing that her father, John Lane, lived on the land.

In another deed in 1808 Jackson County, Ga., Polly Moore was identified as the wife of George Moore. The record stated she had been married two others times, first to Micajah Williams and then to Thomas Cowan. The deed also provided the identity of her father, Jacob Easley. In this case, one deed provided information that usually takes researchers months or even years to assemble.

In 1810 John Wright set up a trust for his wife, Jean, because they were having "disputes and unhappy differences." The deed identified her as the former Jean Harrison of South Carolina. The deed further identified his daughter, Harriet Wright, and two sons, Thomas and James.

In Isle of Wight, William Flake sold 50 acres of land in 1845, describing it as having originally been granted to his grandfather Robert Flake, who first gave it to his grandson Robert, who died. The land then went to William as his heir at law.

From the deed you can conclude that Robert and William, both were Robert's grandsons and therefore they were either brothers or cousins.

Genealogists must study the laws in the eras of their ancestors. By doing so you would know that if a man died without a will his children were his heirs at law. Generally, if he had no children, his parents became his heirs and if he had no living parents, his siblings became his heirs at law. With this knowledge, one can conclude that William came into possession of the land because his brother Robert inherited it and then died without children or parents, making his brother his heir at law.

Sharon Tate Moody is a board-certified genealogist. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her at stmoody0720@mac.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT