Go to the Start of the Next

Documents in handwritten ledgers can be of varying length. Always make certain that you have gotten a copy or images of the entire document in which you have an interest. When copying make certain that you went until at least the start of the next document. Don’t stop when you get to the signature (or transcription of the signature).

Acknowledgements and certifications often appear at the end of the document and some times these can be easy to overlook. These items may contain geographic clues help pinpoint the chronology of the document and its recording.

A deed from Indiana contained the names of all the children and children-in-law of a deceased relative. The acknowledgements of the deed (after the transcription of the signatures) had the counties where they were living at the time they signed the document. That was a clue as to where they were living when the document was signed and acknowledged.