A deed is defined as a written legal document that transfers ownership of property.
Land deeds are a tremendous help in tracing family history. A land (real property) deed can locate a particular person in a particular place at a particular time. Granted, the metes and bounds system used in Virginia and other English colonies is more complicated than the section, township, and range description used in the western states, but it will still locate the property.
A deed may distinguish between two men of the same name. For example, a deed can identify the properties of “John Jones of Back Creek” and "John Jones of Bald Mountain.” The tax commissioner needs to distinguish the two men, also.
Another piece of information found in a land deed is the wife’s first name. Dower rights are an important part of land ownership in colonial history. The dower rights law entitles a surviving spouse to at least one-third of a deceased spouse's real property when the husband dies. The wife must sign off and relinquish her dower right in a property sale.
A deed may identify the heirs in an intestate estate (estate without a will).
Use deeds to enhance your ancestor’s story, and use your ancestor’s lineage to trace land and deeds.
