... that does NOT have an STR (that's Section, Township, Range) index in your title records office? In other words, does your title office use a Grantor/Grantee index or an STR index?
Just curious.
JBS
That's the way it is here, or at least in this county. Makes for a p-poor way to research the records. There is no way you can do your own research, even the recorders office people will tell you this. You're stuck with working through the title companies to obtain what you need, which most often does not enable a complete and thorough check. Also, makes one wonder how much pertinent data is missed when doing an ALTA. Most of the other info needed is picked up in a document that was furnished and requires you to go back to the title companies several times to gather more documents. When I was in business in Wyoming, we would do our own abstract of the records in any county we worked in to obtain all the necessary documents. All the route surveys we performed in the State, we would do this to get the ownership of lands we crossed and make contacts for permission to gain entry prior to setting foot on their property. Made for very good relationship with the ranchers, leasees, etc.
I like to see one of those STR thingys.
In California it would have to be STR and Rancho and possibly Pueblo in SF, LA and SD. It seems like there is a 4th one.
They are in what are called "Plat Books". They are not plats, but are an orderly listing of all transactions showing transfers, liens, mortgages, etc. from the beginning up to current. These are by Township and Range, then with every section and ¼ section in the Township. There are also other books such as: Misc. Records, Mineral, AC&L (Assignments, Contracts & Liens) & others. The platted subdivisions (lots,blocks) are referenced to another book thar contains this information. This system can't be beat from a research of the records standpoint. Very easy to perform for the surveyor and layman.
> I like to see one of those STR thingys.
This is one page of the STR abstract. You'll notice that the abstract page states the Section, Township and Range at the top of the page. The left page has the document recording information and the right page is used to show the location by Quarter-Quarter section (or multiples). The far right column shows the general description.
JBS
Heck, we don't even know ....
what STR's are here on the East coast. We do our own research using grantee / grantor books. We can't call up a title company and expect anything out of them. In fact most of the time the title companies and lawyers want our survey first so they know what they are looking for.
I will admit to one place I tried to do some research in a PLSS state. It was in Indiana and the only indexes they had for deed books were at the front of each deed book. No seperate grantee - grantoor index. What a pain. Most counties in Virginia (and WV) have their indexes cover a span of years - any where from 5 to 100+ years.
Ditto Dave...
I've always done grantee/grantor searches. There are also land books, index to plat/map books, new and older tax records with gpins and such (the ones prior to 95 in tidewater were the best. lots of hand written stuff). Heck I've had to call title co's to tell them their search was wrong...then provide them the info. I don't see the big deal.
In Illinois the STR thing you mention is called Tract Indexing and it varies by county. Generally speaking, one is more likely to find Tract Indexing Books in the northern counties of the state. In the southern counties the Grantee-Grantor system has been more the norm. Illinois developed from south to north and their records system evolved as they learned from their past mistakes. Computerized records have greatly improved this, making STR searches even in the southern counties more possible, but only back to the earliest records put into the computers. Some counties are more aggressive than others in getting old records in the system, mostly due to population sizes and budgets.
In general, Chicago and the collar counties have the best accessible records, followed by counties north of I-72, and followed after that by southern counties (with the exception of Madison and St. Clair counties, which are St. Louis metro area counties).
Heck, we don't even know ....
We have the STR index book that directs you to the correct Deed, Mortgage or Miscellaneous Books in Kansas. Actually, these are labeled by T/R with each section then being listed sequentially. Some counties have started putting all three categories of documents in one book. Some counties have now gone to filing all new documents in computer files only. I've not been to any that have tried to scan in all of the old records yet.
While trying to research some family property history in Missouri I encountered that ridiculous system of only having Grantor/Grantee books. I finally found one property where the deed was recorded something like 17 years after it was created. I was in a dungeon-like room in the basement, two floors below the Deeds Office, by myself, except for the single 60-watt light bulb. The door to that room was nearly two-feet thick.
With our STR index books, you can find everything in a reasonable amount of time. I work in a couple of counties where there has been so little action over the past 150 years that some specific sections may only fill up two or three pages with entries. Some other counties will have 6 to 10 sequential index books for a specific T/R. One county has really screwed-up index books in that whenver a certain section in a specific T/R has filled its available pages you are directed to a different index book. This way Section 1 may jump to book 143, while Section 2 jumps to book 186, and Section 12 jumps to book 113, while Section 11 jumps to book 149. Meanwhile, you really want contemporary information in all four sections. Most counties I work have added pages for busy sections so that the jump to a new index book is made for all T/R index books at the same time. This way, if you want to find a deed recorded prior to, say 1945, it will be in either the first or second index book for that T/R. Something filed in the past 8 years will be in the fourth index book.
Marc
Do you mean St. Clair County is easier or worse? I intend to visit there one of these days to follow part of the Cow's family records during their seventy-year stay there.
Marc
Better than most of southern Illinois. Madison has lots of money (being the class action lawsuit capitol of the nation) and therefore a stellar records system.
St. Clair, not so much, but still much better than most of the southern counties.
Financial resources generally make a huge difference in the quality of a counties records.
In Colorado, Kansas, North and South Dakota, Township Range and Section, Quarter Section, Quarter-Quarter, etc. also Grantor-Grantee Indexes. But I don't use those much. Easy to do a land search.