Why Land Records?

Genealogists often think that the Register of Wills is where their ancestor’s records will be found.  But many of our ancestors, had by the time they died,  no estate to leave.  Even for propertied estates, land may not have been distributed in the decedent's will.   Many early wills do not mention all of the heirs, assuming that the eldest son would inherit the land.  Many decedents provided for at least some of their children when the child married, and so omitted them from wills.  Whether research begins in the Register of Wills' Office or the land office, one will need to find out what real property a decedent owned, as estate inventories only cover personal property, so other records need to be reviewed for a full picture of an ancestor’s estate.

Finally, land records also help to identify neighborhoods – and it’s often the neighbors that were brothers and sisters and the parents of spouses. Many examples will follow in the days to come. Here is one from my most recent book of Land Abstracts, covering Libers P, S,T and U in Frederick County, Maryland: 

Frederick County Deeds, Liber P:492.  John Wells recorded deed 27 Nov 1772 from Elijah Hall of Linganore on Bush Creek, for £1..2 all my right to a certain school house on Ths Plummer’s land, legally purchased by work there, in shingles, nails and cash, paid to make up equal proportion to the rest of the subscribers.  Witness: Chris Cons Robotiau, teacher of school house.

This is an unusual deed, of interest because it shows the interest of a resident in providing education to (his?} children in a specific community.  It also identifies the teacher of the school house, who was a witness to the deed.