Posts in July 24, 2026

When obtaining a copy of a deed record from the local records office, don’t forget that the “deed” in the courthouse is a record copy of the original. It is not the original. In the early days of record keeping, those deed copies were handwritten or typed transcriptions. Later courthouse copies of deeds were made by some sort of photographic process. It’s not the original deed in the courthouse–it’s a transcription or a reproduction. The original was retained by the person obtaining the property, just like today. Of course that record copy in the courthouse is the legal equivalent of the original. That is why it was so important to render as accurate a transcription or copy as possible.