It wouldn't be so bad but I am a bit perplexed when it comes to my
researching Capt. Charles Wills (1775-1820) and his family. He was a
prominent grocer-merchant and had several stores and was probably the
biggest if not the only in Richmond prior to 1820. His son Josiah Wills
moved to Norfolk and became a bank president as well as part owner of a
steampacket company. His grandson John F. Alvey, Jr. was in partnership
with Lewis Ginter prior to the war. Son Charles Wills, Jr. was the
deputy clerk for Henrico County for years... so why is it that I can't
seem to find any information on the senior Wills or his wife? Thinking
that deeds may give me even a hint of his wife's name but nothing yet
and she is only listed as Mrs Charles Wills on the St. John's Church
attendance records. And unfortunately, both died in that period where
the vestry book of burials are missing those buried prior to 1836 or
so...and no headstone as with many early burials since the cemetery was
left unkempt for many years prior to the war.
The house itself is holding some mysteries as the first Mutual Assurance
record is January 1813 so figure the land sale deed for 1811 was for it
- yet it also states that mysterious 1808 deed of adjoining land so -
what, if anything, was built then? The store he owned and built on the
corner (which still stands) was built in 1815 and the insurance policy
validates that too mentioning his "new store". The land did have a
carriage house facing Clay street so maybe that was the property as that
building was eventually sold as a residence?
And Josiah had a house on N. 30th Street but no longer there as of the
1980s since all buildings along those blocks were torn down for modern
suburban ranchers and such.
I am hoping to have as much information possible for the house's 200
year birthday celebration. Was able to get copies of about 30 letters
(coming in a week or so) from UVA's archives that Josiah Wills wrote to
painter and friend of Thomas Jefferson, James W. Ford. The Valentine
Museum had a copy of a photograph taken of the portrait of Josiah but no
info on when, where, or who owns it and nothing yet on his brother
Charles in which a portrait was also painted. Ford painted Martha
Jefferson's portrait among others. But the papers are correspondences
between Ford and Josiah and some mention disputes with his sister Sarah
(Wills) Alvey. I am excited about that as she owned the main house
after their father's death in 1820 but the estate wasn't settled until
1829.
Then will be seeking a painter who can do possibly a watercolor or oil
of our house and property as it looked in 1812.
More digging ahead.
Eric
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of W. Scott Smith
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 4:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Missing Deeds?
I would add to what Brent said by saying that the quality of indexing in
each locality can vary. The deed may very well be there, but the
individual who created the index may have accidentally omitted the deed
in the "grantee" index, but listed it in the "grantor" side, etc.
Chain of Title
SMITH (now the grantor) to ADAMS (grantee), 1808 HAWKINS (grantor) to
SMITH (grantee), 1801
Sometimes, I will have to look for a deed both ways before I can find
it. I may also have to go back and look for the deed where SMITH in my
above example was the grantee (when he purchased the lot), and then I
can narrow my search from there.
If you decide to take the plunge and simply look through the deed books,
keep in mind that the deeds are transcribed into the books
chronologically based on when they were RECORDED at the Clerk's Office,
which is not necessarily close to the time that the deed was WRITTEN
(which is the accepted date that the land changed hands). An 1808 deed
may not appear in a deed book until later that year, or even several
years later, on rare occasions.
Sometimes, a property was sold, but the deed was never recorded, so
there is a scramble to record a deed (either by the original grantor,
say HAWKINS) or by his heirs, before SMITH can sell the land to ADAMS.
Also, if SMITH got the land through a will/estate, there will likely not
be a deed, and if a special commissioner was involved (say, in the
instance of a chancery court case), that commissioner will be in the
index as the grantor to SMITH, not HAWKINS.
One final trick is to troll the land tax records for those years and
find the year that SMITH starts paying taxes on the property. Typically,
there will be a notation in the right hand column that says "bought of
ADAMS"...or perhaps someone unexpected.
--
W. Scott Smith, Principal
HistoryTech, LLC
Historic Preservation Consulting
Office: The Piedmont Center, 311 Rivermont Avenue
Mailing: P.O. Box 75, Lynchburg, VA 24505 Mobile 434-401-3995
www.historytech.com
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