Determining where your farmer who rented all his farm ground lived can be difficult. Census records and other materials in many rural areas may only be as precise as the township where your ancestor lived. Newspapers in rural areas often contained gossip columns that may mention when your ancestor was moving from one farm to another. That could provide the name of the tenant. Keep in mind that the land owner may have owned more than one farm. Use local records to determine what parcels that owner owned. Plat books which map out who owned what parcels of the county can be helpful in determining what parcels were owned by the landowner. County records, such as tax records and deeds, can also help with this determination. If your […]
We’ve brought back my trip to the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. There are details on our announcement page.
It was ingrained in my head from a small child to always read something over before you signed it. It seemed like pretty good advice. Apparently Thomas and John Sledd, Sr. of Louisa County, Virginia, in the 1820s did not follow that same advice. John Sledd, Sr. was the grantor on the deed and his bill of complaint and the deposition of his son Thomas indicated that Sr. did not read the deed until after it was recorded. Oops. The deed included property that was not supposed to be a part of the transaction. Because the deed had been recorded, the Sledd’s apparent recourse was to have a “friendly suit” to petition for the court to correct the deed. There is no indication in the bill of complaint […]
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