Adventures in land ownership

[Treefarmer]

Now for some history of the area.
Recently I visited the Burra Burra Mine Museum in Ducktown, Tennessee.
I bought a book there, and I'm attaching a few pages from it which deal with mid 19th century history of this area.
The book is It Happened In Tennessee, by Susan SAWYER, The Globe Pequot Press, 2002.

This website gives a pretty good history of some of the mining activities that went on, even though it only talks about one small area.

I was told that the federal government "owned" the land after the Cherokee removal via the trail of tears.
A land sale office supposedly existed in Cleveland Tennessee where mining companies could buy land from the federal government and record their claims.
There were neither land grants nor land patents, only land sales, according to a County Recorder office employee with whom I spoke recently.
Large companies bought up all the land holdings of smaller companies.
The Cities Service Company apparently owned tens of thousands of acres of land in several counties of south-east Tennessee.

[Treefarmer]

The mining companies clear cut all the forests, for fuel and lumber.
In the early 1980s the relatively trashed surface lands were sold off, mostly via Warranty Deeds, but the "hydrocarbon estate" was held back by the companies.

While digging in some Deed archives I came across a hydrocarbon transaction for an area near me.
I'll show that next.

[shikamaru]

I was told that the federal government "owned" the land after the Cherokee removal via the trail of tears.
A land sale office supposedly existed in Cleveland Tennessee where mining companies could buy land from the federal government and record their claims.
There were neither land grants nor land patents, only land sales, according to a

http://www.archives.gov/research/land/index.html

Wow! I didn't know this ...

For land records in the remaining 20 states that were never part of the original public domain, check the State Archives for that particular state. This includes the original 13 colonies, plus Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia.

This looks interesting: http://publicrecords.onlinesearches....-and-Deeds.htm

You may want to investigate as to what the highest form of title is in Tennessee as well as get copies of the treaties that have bearing on Tennessee.

This will be important too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Territory

[Michael Joseph]

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/

http://www.land-records.com/land-records/north-carolina-land-records.htm

http://members.tripod.com/gardner_2/landentry.html

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familyhistory101.com/maps.html

If you are on North Carolina, I can help you because I have done extensive research. The BLM cannot help you for the original 13.

I have the Metes and Bounds for the North Carolina and the Metes and Bounds for Wake County. Boundaries are important as these go to survey.

[David Merrill]

Both of you are Great! I do not think I have ever read any Website that goes into this kind of detail and research. I don't believe it can be found prior to here.

[shikamaru]

Both of you are Great! I do not think I have ever read any Website that goes into this kind of detail and research. I don't believe it can be found prior to here.

There is much more, my friend.
You can raise the roof ....
David Wilbur Johnson has tons of great info on this stuff.

Bring in the financial side such as pertaining to the CAFR of the State, bonds, and the commercial standing of the court, I have a very good feeling that if your case goes to controversy, it may be sealed

Bring the boom

Plat maps
Surveys
Treaties
Patents or grants
Acts and Statutes in effect at the time of the creation of the muniment
Abstract of Title

Makes for a really nice sandwich

Micellaneous case jacket wouldn't hurt in this case either ....

[shikamaru]

From my perspective, there are several divisions to address with regard to land:

1. Financial and banking law (mortgage, liens, foreclosure, insurance, pignus (collateral), etc.)
2. Land law (law, equity, and "case" law, conveyancing, forms of conveyance, etc.)
3. Government (CAFR (comprehensive annual financial report), bonds, municipal services, registration, regulation, taxation, affidavit of residence, statutes, acts, treaties, etc.)

[David Merrill]

Very comprehensive! Thank you!

[Treefarmer]

OK, on with the story.
I recently had the chance to dig deeper into old archives and I found an old document recorded at the County Court house which, from the survey description, appears to include the little piece of land that I've been calling home for over a decade now.
As far as I can tell the document does not have a title, such as "Warranty Deed" or any other Deed, or even Bill of Sale or other such name.
It simply starts out by saying "This indenture made this twenty sixth day of June A.D. One thousand Eight hundred and ninety nine between..."
At the bottom of the last page after the date and time it says "Then was the foregoing Deed of Conveyance noted in Note Book No..."

This land deal includes a few thousand acres, mines, rail roads, buildings, and engines and equipment. It is based on a metes and bounds survey of township, range, and section divisions.
Older books and surveys are referenced in this document, which were destroyed in a fire long ago, according to the County Records employee who helped me locate stuff.
So this is as far back as I can go, as far as extant documents go.

This puts to rest the myth which I keep running across on the internet that if one goes back far enough one will find a land grant or land patent.
At least here in South-East Tennessee this is not true.
It seems that much of the land was traded by logging and mining corporations, after it was taken from the Cherokee tribes by military conquest.
The rumor is that the corporations "bought the land from the government", but I have yet to see the evidence of this.

Interestingly, this document says nothing about property taxes, unlike the later documents I've seen.
I still have not figured out at what point in time property taxes began to be paid in this area. I need to dig a little more I believe.

I have scanned the first and last pages of the 8 page document, and my scanner only captured the top 3/4 of the pages, which are 8 1/2 x 14 inches.
The 6 pages in between the first and last contain the land area descriptions, as well as mention of the other things included in the deal.

[Treefarmer]

Here's the hydrocarbon estate transaction which I came across recently.
Even though folks like me own all the surface lands around here, after the Chemical and Mining Corporations sold off their rights to it, the so-called "hydrocarbon estate", under the surface, is still owned by Corporations.
In other words, the land has been split up into surface and below-surface, with different ownership of the two.

[Treefarmer]

continued...

[Treefarmer]

last page of hydrocarbon deed

[Treefarmer]

There is much more, my friend.
You can raise the roof ....
David Wilbur Johnson has tons of great info on this stuff.

Bring in the financial side such as pertaining to the CAFR of the State, bonds, and the commercial standing of the court, I have a very good feeling that if your case goes to controversy, it may be sealed

Bring the boom

Plat maps
Surveys
Treaties
Patents or grants
Acts and Statutes in effect at the time of the creation of the muniment
Abstract of Title

Makes for a really nice sandwich

Micellaneous case jacket wouldn't hurt in this case either ....

I looked up David Wilbur Johnson and found his talks on property rights.
Interesting stuff, but it will take me a while to listen to it all.

I think that the biggest obstacle to finding facts about land records is the un-availability of the old records in many areas.
At least in my particular search I keep running into dead ends because of "records burnt up in court house fire", "maps were not kept by County at the time", "Cherokees didn't have written records", "land sales were recorded at an office which hasn't existed in over a hundred years", etc.

I appreciate the many good points you raised shikamaru.

[Treefarmer]

It sounds to me that you have done quite a bit of extensive research in the State archives or in the Land Records Office. So have I. Who granted the land to the States? You cannot get around the King's Grant. The King sent His Citizens, His subjects to settle these new proprietory settlements - commercial ventures. Think me wrong? Let us explore just one such settlement. The Carolinas.

Sir Walter Raleigh, being the Surveyor - so that the Claim could be made....

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That document looks interesting Michael Joseph, thank you.
Have you seen or read some of the books described therein, such as The History of Land Titles in Western North Carolina?

[Michael Joseph]

That document looks interesting Michael Joseph, thank you.
Have you seen or read some of the books described therein, such as The History of Land Titles in Western North Carolina?

I was looking for the original land grants for Wake County. I found them filed in a library on mclenburg county. I admit i have not read those sources. I mean looking thru those archives was like a needle in haystack. The curator would not let me in some rooms - sensitive State information - you know.