Ancestral estate planning can create challenges for the genealogist. At one point in the late 1860s James and Elizabeth Rampley owned several hundred acres in Hancock County, Illinois. One would think that by the time they passed away in the 1880s, there would be an estate settlement for one of them. It was not to be. James and Elizabeth sold all their real estate to their sons before they died. The deeds were of the “$1 and love and consideration” variety. No money really changed hands. On one deed, James and Elizabeth retained a life estate in a ten acre portion of the property they sold to one son and they were to remain “undisturbed” on that property for the duration. The deeds partially explained why James and […]
I located two property deeds where Samuel Sargent purchased property in Addison County, Vermont, in the 1830s. I thought I had looked in all the appropriate indexes and initially could not find where he sold the property. It’s worth noting that there might not necessarily have been any deed where he sold the property in a land deed. It may have been sold for back taxes (in which case he’s not the seller). It may have been foreclosed upon if he had a mortgage (in which case he’s not the seller). It may have been transferred in a will and not mentioned in a land deed specifically. It was also possible that I overlooked it in the grantor index. That’s apparently what I did because two property deeds […]
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