This is an excellent resource. Land records are not the first place to go when researching your family. However, when you've gotten back far enough that the vital records are nonexistent and census records aren't necessarily telling you what you need to know, land records are a necessity!
The biggest trouble with researching land records is that what's easily available online varies greatly from one location to another. In fact, simply what's available at all may vary from one location to another! The land records of the original colonies are different than those of the public land states. The information contained in deeds will also vary even within a given location.
Having said that, you can find some really wonderful information in land records that may not exist anywhere else. Ms. Hatcher serves as an excellent guide. She walks you through the differences in types of land records and what information they're likely to contain. Full use of land records is an absolute must if you expect to push that family tree back from 1850 or so. Even in more recent times, land records will give you more detailed information and better substantiation in some cases than what you'll find elsewhere.
Ms. Hatcher includes information in the book on the different surveying systems (very important to land records), what records to access, where to find information on county formation and boundary changes, and even how you may be able to access the needed information without traveling to the county in question. (This varies by location, of course!)
One point which especially resonated with me was her commentary about burned courthouses. Most of us have encountered a "burned county" at some point in our research. But as Ms. Hatcher points out, it's unlikely that all records burned. In fact, the land records would likely have been among the first saved (picture deed books thrown out the window onto the courthouse lawn) or even partially recreated. Why? Remember that land records were important to the county, because counties collect taxes based on land ownership. Duh. Why didn't I think of that?! As an example, the Lawrence County, AL courthouse had a fire in 1859, yet deeds are available beginning in 1818. The Dodge County, WI courthouse also burned, in 1877. Yet there is a local title company that retains records of earlier land sales.
The book is a wonderful resource, which will give you the information you need to confidently utilize land records in tracing your family history.
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François Chassé
Land and genealogy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 22, 2016Verified Purchase
