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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