Land records are some of the most underutilized, yet most useful, records available in genealogy. Often, they are the only records which state a direct relationship between family members. They can also be used to prove relationships indirectly by studying the land laws in force at the time. Sometimes they can even be used to locate an ancestor’s farm or original house, so that we can walk today where our family walked long ago.Land records exist in the United States in abundance for most … [Read more...]
How a 200-Year-Old Family Feud Solved a Brick Wall Problem
In a recent case we worked on, a dispute over land led to identifying the parents of an individual and solving a family brick wall problem. We share this story with permission to illustrate the importance of thorough searches - not just in vital records, newspapers, and censuses - but in land, probate, and court records.Our client asked us to trace the ancestry of his Boykin family, and research had stalled with a direct-line ancestor named William T. Boykin of Southampton County, Virginia, … [Read more...]
How I Traced the Genealogy of a House
Have you ever been curious about the history and genealogy associated with a house? Here are 10 ideas help you trace the lineage of a home. Several years ago my family and I had the opportunity to spend one year at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania while my husband attended the U.S. Army War College. Carlisle Barracks is one of the oldest Army posts in the United States – second only to West Point – having originally been a British outpost before the Revolution. We were thrilled when we were … [Read more...]
Get to the Courthouse: Three Southern Records You Should Be Searching
If you've hit a brick wall in extending your Southern family history, try searching these three types of Southern genealogy records.Doing research in the United States pre-1850 can be challenging anywhere, since the colonial and early federal period across the nation generally affords genealogists fewer record types with much less biographical information and variety than later eras, but the South is notoriously even harder to research than other parts of the country.Common Obstacles with … [Read more...]
Dealing with Shifting County Boundaries
Maps can be the very tool for breaking through your brick wall... or causing one. County boundaries that have changed over time can be overwhelmingly frustrating in your genealogy research. Here's a deeper look at understanding and dealing with shifting county boundaries. As anyone who has ever delved very deep into American research knows, the shifting boundaries of counties and even states can complicate research. You want to get right to the source, to know where to look for records of … [Read more...]
Decoding Property Records: Genealogy and the Base and Meridian
Property records are full of genealogy information! Here's how understanding the baseline and meridian in land records can help in your genealogy research.Back in 1855 when the state of Utah was getting organized, the Salt Lake Meridian was established and it was from this very point that the entire state of Utah was surveyed. The stone post in this photo is essentially the center of Utah, and the baseline (or latitude) and meridian (longitude) is still surveyed from here. This was an … [Read more...]
Maps and Family History: Early United States Maps We Love
Linking maps with family history research can help us better understand the lives of our ancestors. Here are our top resources for finding early U.S. maps!As genealogists, we love maps. They're such a helpful way to show a client where an ancestor was living, especially if the ancestor lived near the border of another town or county, which can affect what records need to be searched.Here are some great resources for early United States maps:We love http://mapofus.org. When you click on … [Read more...]
State Land Grants or Patents for Genealogy
Using state land grants or patents to obtain vital genealogy documents is one way to help tear down your family history brick walls.We've recently been helping a client discover more about an ancestor who lived in North Carolina in the mid- to late-1700s. Southern U.S. research that's this early requires a careful look at existing documents, especially since often there aren't nearly as many documents available as there are for the mid- to late-1800s. We were happy to find that this … [Read more...]
Deeds and Other Land Records
If you're stuck in your genealogy journey, access to deeds and other land records may help break through your genealogy "brick wall"! Deeds, and land records in general, can provide helpful pieces to the puzzle you are trying to solve about your United States ancestor. They are especially helpful in areas or time periods where few records of other types are available, like the southern United States before 1850.Most counties and some towns in the United States kept deed books, … [Read more...]
