The only warning is that Essex Deed Book A (to 1790) was at some point destroyed. Sometimes mortgages discharges contain much of the information that was in the original deed. The other problem, particularly for those interested in the western part of Essex, is that many early deeds are clouded because those who settled in the "Horseneck" never had clear right to the land, having failed to purchase them from the Proprietors of East Jersey. Again, later deeds may help clarify if the land was in the family. WB