The 1880 US agricultural census asked the farmer about his land tenure–indicating whether the farmer:
- owned the land–there may have been a mortgage–“free” or “encumbered” was not asked.
- rented for “fixed money rent”–cash rent in today’s jargon.
- rented for “shares of product”
Could be a clue as to whether land records need to be searched.
One response
WOW! How interesting!