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 tenant farmer rented the property when the owner died, there may be reference to the lease agreement in the probate records of the owner. If there were ever any serious issues regarding the lease, a court case may also have resulted.
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