Property Owners: Got It, Were Taxed on It, Got of Rid of It

If your ancestor owned real property, you should search for at least the following records:

  • record of acquisition: a deed of purchase, patent, inheritance, etc.
  • payment of property taxes: do that or lose it.
  • record of disposal: deed of sale, will, foreclosure, tax sale, etc.

In the United States these are county-level records. Knowing your ancestor owned property is not enough–those records may provide more information.