The Date of the Deed...Truth or Fiction Written in the Grantor Index?

A couple of years ago, the Massachusetts Land Office Records found in County Courthouses throughout Massachusetts, 1620-1986 came online on FamilySearch.org.  I was doing my "genealogy happy dance" thrilled to find my Thomas Dakeynes (Dakin) selling his early lands in Concord MA in 1659 to J Hayward.  I spent time admiring the beautiful records that I could easily view online, even though they weren't indexed.   The joy brought with it some questions, beginning with the actual date.  I blogged about that in 2013.

I revisited the questions and what I learned about the dates in the Grantor Index in an article that is in the current MASSOG (Vol. 40 (2015-2016), no. 1, 22-26).

It is easy to say that the Grantor Index clearly gives a date of 12 August 1659, so that MUST be the date of the deed.  Looking  at the deed "clouds the issue" -- it is NOT dated 12 August 1659.  The word "August" doesn't appear anywhere in the deed!  

If you can't easily find a copy of my article in the current MASSOG (it is available online to Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSOG) members), I recommend you go back and read my blog and you'll understand the challenges of the date of the deed.

I will recommend that folks take a look at the whole issue of the MSOG's Journal MASSOG, it has interesting articles besides mine.  Happy reading!

©Erica Dakin Voolich, 2016

The link to this page is http://genea-adventures.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-date-of-deedtruth-or-fiction.html

"Taken with a Large Grain of Salt"

Take a look at that wonderful family pictured above.

They are the case study for my talk: "Taken with a Large Grain of Salt" -- Verifying Family Stories.

I can tell you that the Richardson family did not make it easy to verify the family stories, but I found success with other records beyond the usual (vital, census, immigration, land, probate, etc.)

I will be giving the talk as a webinar on Tuesday 3 March 2015, at 2 p.m. (EST).

I will be giving a longer version of the talk at the Worcester Chapter of the Massachusetts of Genealogists (MSOG) on Saturday 7 March 2015, at 10 a.m.  Non-members are welcome to attend but there is a $3 visitor's fee.

Here is the sign-in information from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (NIGS) for the Webinar on Tuesday:

Join us on Tuesday, March 3rd at 2:00 PM EST when Erica Dakin Voolich presents "Taken with a Large Grain of Salt" - Verifying Family Stories".

Presenter: Erica Dakin Voolich is an author, blogger and teacher who has transitioned from using her problem solving skills in the mathematics classroom to solving family history problems.

Presentation Description: We collect family stories, but we can't assume veracity. Traditional sources don't always confirm the legend. Doing a case study, we look at other sources to verify the family information.

Time zones: Tuesday, March 3rd - 2:00 PM Eastern; 1:00 PM Central; 11:00 AM Pacific; 7:00 PM in London, England; Wednesday, March 4th - 6:00 AM in Sydney, Australia

MEETING LOCATION: http://genealogicalstudies.adobeconnect.com/lecturing/
(NOTE: No user name or password required. Please type in your first and last name; then click "Enter as a Guest".)  Please sign-in about 10-15 minutes early so that you are all ready to start at 2.

I hope you will be able to join me at one of the venues.
Erica


The link to this page is: http://genea-adventures.blogspot.com/2015/03/taken-with-large-grain-of-salt.html
©2015, Erica Dakin Voolich