WHAT'S NEW IN RELIC
June 2005
The Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center for Genealogy and Local History
Prince William Public Library System
Bull Run Regional Library, 8051 Ashton Avenue, Manassas, VA 20109.
703-792-4540 www.pwcgov.org/library <http://www.pwcgov.org/library>
Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> .
To read the latest lists of new materials in RELIC (through the end of
May) click on
http://www.pwcgov.org/default.aspx?topic=040034001060002048
<http://www.pwcgov.org/default.aspx?topic=040034001060002048>
RELIC After Dark, our gala held on May 14, was a stimulating evening for
our patrons and staff alike. The response to the event has been so
positive we are already at work on plans for a similar evening to be
held next spring. Stay tuned for details.
Thanks to a donation from former County Supervisor Ben Thompson
(Brentsville District), special lighting controls were recently
installed over RELIC's microfilm reader area, allowing us to dim the
lights for better viewing of low-contrast microforms.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS - NOW TAKING REGISTRATIONS
Following are upcoming programs at Bull Run Regional Library related to
local history and genealogy. Regular times for monthly programs
(Genealogy Resources Users Group) are the fourth Tuesday of each month
(except December) at 7:30 p.m. Group programs are held in the
Library's community room. Sign language interpretation of library
programs is available if requested three weeks in advance. Funding for
RELIC programs is supported by grants from the Friends of the Central
and Bull Run Libraries.
Tuesday June 28 - What's New in Genealogy Online?
The Genealogy Doctor is In - Thursdays, July 7, August 4, 18.
Tuesday July 26 - Genealogy 101.
Tuesday August 21 - Progressing to Europe.
(For details, see below.)
Also in this issue:
Delving Into RELIC: Tracing Land Titles (Part 2)
Tuesday June 28, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
WHAT'S NEW IN GENEALOGY ONLINE?
Although one must be careful when using the Internet for family
research, there are many tools there that are great time-savers. Learn
about some of the latest and most useful resources for genealogy on the
Web, on Tuesday June 28, at 7:30 p.m., presented by Don Wilson of the
RELIC Staff. The program will include a live demonstration of
important free sites as well as subscription sites available free to
Library cardholders.
To register for this free program contact RELIC at (703) 792-4540 or
TTY: (703) 792-4524, or through email at [log in to unmask]
Tuesday July 26, 2005, 7:30-8:45 p.m.
GENEALOGY 101
Family history enthusiasts will have an opportunity to learn about
methods, strategies and resources for tracing their roots at a free
session sponsored by RELIC on June 26, at 7:30 p.m. The program will be
conducted by local genealogy instructor Diane Nesmeyer.
Both beginners and those who have dabbled in various aspects of their
family heritage will benefit from this presentation, which will
highlight the numerous free genealogical resources available at RELIC
and Nesmeyer's expertise as a veteran researcher.
To register for this free program contact RELIC at (703) 792-4540 or
TTY: (703) 792-4524, or through email at [log in to unmask] Sign
language interpretation is available for Prince William Public Library
programs if requested at least three weeks in advance.
Tuesday, August 23, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
PROGRESSING TO EUROPE: A GERMAN EXAMPLE
Learn what's need to locate your European ancestor before you cross the
Atlantic. Learn which records lead to his/her place of birth, and about
alternative records to try if the "usual sources" aren't available.
Sample the use of maps, gazetteers and common web sites. Examine a
record. This program will be presented by Carol Whitton, coordinator of
the Fairfax County Genealogical Society's German Special Interest Group.
To register for this free program contact RELIC at (703) 792-4540 or
TTY: (703) 792-4524, or through email at [log in to unmask] Sign
language interpretation is available for Prince William Public Library
programs if requested at least three weeks in advance.
The Genealogy Doctor Is In
Schedule a private, 30-minute visit with RELIC's Don Wilson to start
your research or discuss and analyze an historical or genealogical
problem that has stumped you. First and Third Thursdays of each month,
10:00 a.m. - 12 noon.
(Upcoming available dates: July 7, August 4, August 18. Choice of
times: 10:00, 10:45, 11:30 a.m.)
Call RELIC at 703-792-4540 for a free appointment.
DELVING INTO RELIC
By Don Wilson, Virginiana Librarian
TRACING LAND TITLES: PART 2.
Last month we covered sources for Prince William County land research
since 1865. Research prior to the Civil War is made difficult by the
loss of numerous records during the Federal occupation of Prince William
County. An eyewitness account by a Massachusetts officer in October
1863 highlights the damage that had been suffered by the Clerk's Office
and its records. An upcoming article in Prince William Reliquary will
enumerate the records surviving at the end of the war and the County's
attempts to reconstruct lost files.
From Prince William's creation in 1731 until 1865, more than 50 deed
books were created. Of that number least 15 deed books are now missing,
and 11 others have missing or damaged pages. One volume called "Land
Records" (1835-1843) is a collection of fragments from four otherwise
lost books (14, 15, 17, and 18). See the Library of Virginia's website
for an inventory of existing records:
http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/local/local_rec/county_city/prince_w
illiam.htm#land_records.
After the War, land owners were encouraged to re-record documents that
had disappeared from the court house. Nevertheless, many if not most
title searches today run into a brick wall at some point before 1865.
RELIC has copies of all the surviving deeds for this period, on
microfilm, including a microfilm copy of an index that was prepared in
the 20th century. The index does not include Deed Book A (1731-32) and
District Court Deed Book B (1795-99), which were apparently recovered
after the index was prepared.
Here are my recommended steps for tracing a title backwards from 1865.
* Begin with the name of the owner in 1865 and a description of
the property.
* Check the General Index to Deeds (on microfilm, 1732-1799 and
1799-1887) for that name as a grantee (buyer).
* If you find the name, make a note of the book and page
references and check them one-by-one until you find the correct
document.
* Repeat the process using the newly-found seller's name.
If an owner had many transactions, this may become tedious. The General
Index gives no property description to help you. The date of each
document can only be estimated by the book reference.
If you do not find the name or do not find the correct document (or find
the number of transactions to check to be overwhelming):
* Work backwards through the annual land tax lists (on microfilm
1782-1861) to see how long the land was in that person's name. On some
lists you may find the name of the previous owner after the current
owner's name. [For example: Smith, John (of Jones) means that this
property was conveyed by someone named Jones to John Smith.] RELIC has
the films for Prince William and Stafford. The films can also be
borrowed through interlibrary loan from the Library of Virginia. See
http://www.lvalib.va.us/whatwehave/tax/index.htm
<http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/tax/index.htm> .
* The tax lists will give you the owner's name, county of
residence, type of ownership (fee simple, life interest), number of
acres or lots, location clue (such as nearby stream or adjacent owner,
distance and direction from the courthouse), value per acre, value of
improvements, total value, and tax rate.
* The first year the property is in the person's name, there
should be a memo in the Remarks column indicating how it was obtained.
[For example: "By Deed from Robert Jones" or "By will from William
Brown."] If that memo is missing, you may need to scan properties on
the previous tax year to find one whose acreage, location and value
match yours. That property must disappear from the previous owner's
list as soon as your owner picks it up.
* Examine the surviving deeds for a year or two before the
reported tax transfer to see if it might have been overlooked in the
deeds index. Most times you will find a gap in the records. If the
deed is lost, you will have to reconstruct the provisions of the deed
from the other clues you have.
* Check the minutes of the County, Circuit or District Court for
the immediate period to see if there is a reference to the conveyance
being recorded. That will give you the full names of both parties, the
date of recording, and names of witnesses. Occasionally other details
will be found there.
* In 1827 a manuscript index was prepared by the County Clerk
which covered all deeds back to 1731 (including deeds that are now
lost). Unfortunately, the first volume of the index (surnames A-L) has
disappeared, as well as the pages for the letters X-Z. RELIC has
prepared a cross index for the surviving manuscript, M-W. Names A-L and
Y appear as the second party for many of these deeds. Thus it is
estimated that perhaps three quarters of all original deeds are indexed
here (lacking those in which both parties are within the missing
alphabet).
* Occasionally you may find an early newspaper advertisement that
describes your land for sale. It can be a valuable source for details
about the buildings and landscape of the tract. See Ronald R. Turner's
series Prince William County Virginia [.] Newspaper Transcripts
[1784-1860, 1865-1875, 1876-1899] (Manassas: Author, 1999-2001).
* For the period prior to 1799, take advantage of the published
abstracts of deeds by Ruth and Sam Sparacio (1740-1799) and by June W.
Johnson (1731-1740). These have comprehensive name indexes and some
volumes have helpful place-name indexes. When you add to the 1827
manuscript index the indexing by Sparacio and Johnson, something
approaching 90 percent of early deeds are probably accounted for.
* Prior to 1782, when the Land Tax lists begin, a series of Rent
Rolls exist that were maintained by the Proprietor's Office. RELIC has
collected all known surviving lists: 1735/6 [Hamilton Parish], 1738/9
[Hamilton Parish], 1751/2, 1753, 1754, 1760, 1761, 1762, 1765, 1767,
1773, 1777, and 1779. Poll lists for 1741 and 1761 identify
landowners, although they don't describe their lands. RELIC has
collected copies of these lists in a notebook.
* Before 1731, Prince William County lands were part of Stafford
County (the Potomac watershed) or King George County (the Rappahannock
watershed, now totally within Fauquier County). King George County
(created 1721) and its parent counties of Richmond (created 1692) and
Old Rappahannock (created 1656) have intact files of deeds. Those of
interest to Prince William land titles have been abstracted by Ruth and
Sam Sparacio.
* The early records of Stafford County (created 1664) are spotty.
The Sparacios have abstracted most of what survives, including deeds
1680, 1686-1693, 1699-1709, and 1722-1728. A Rent Roll for 1723 may be
helpful. The Land Causes of Prince William County's District Court
(beginning 1789) contain transcripts of early land titles, including
some going back to the first settlements. The first volume of Land
Causes (1789-1793) has been abstracted by the Sparacios. The second
volume (1793-1811) is being published serially in RELIC's online journal
Prince William Reliquary. More volumes await publication.
* Private papers found in archives and historical societies may
supply copies of missing documents. One prime example is the Land Book
of John Mercer of Stafford County containing Northern Virginia documents
from 1654 to 1767. See "John Mercer and His Land Book," by Wesley E.
Pippenger, in Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, 34:85 (Spring 1996).
* Continue working backward until you reach the original land
grant obtained from the Proprietor's Office. (The earliest grant in
present day Prince William County is believed to be that of Thomas
Burbage, 1653.) The text and some plats of original Prince William
grants are available online at www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/land, click
on Virginia Land Office Patents [etc.]. Abstracts of the grants appear
in book form by Gertrude E. Gray (covering 1694-1862) and by Nell M.
Nugent (the period before 1694 is in Cavaliers and Pioneers).
* In addition to the original grant, other papers (warrants and
surveys) may be available that add detail about the first settler. See
Peggy Shomo Joyner, Northern Neck Warrants & Surveys [volume 3]:
Dunmore, Shenandoah, Culpeper, Prince William, Fauquier & Stafford
Counties, 1710-1780 [Portsmouth: Author, 1986].
* A RELIC volunteer is working on a map showing original grants
within present-day Prince William County. While it is still at a
preliminary stage, the information currently available to us may help to
identify the first owner of your land. Working forward in time from
that grant is another option to the researcher who is stuck on his trip
backward in time.
Although the above instructions are especially for Prince William
research, the general principals may be useful in doing land research
throughout Virginia, and may give you ideas of what to look for in other
states.
#
Donald L. Wilson, Virginiana Librarian
Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center for Genealogy and Local History
Prince William Public Library System
Bull Run Regional Library, 8051 Ashton Avenue
Manassas, VA 20109-2892
703-792-4540 www.pwcgov.org/library
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
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