I believe many of you would find answers to your land ownership questions by visiting the below site. Land records were handled differently in different states. There were deeds, quit claim deeds, leases, and releases, land bought through a "straw man". Some land ownership passed from father to son for many generations and a deed was only prepared and recorded when it was sold to someone outside the family. In some states the wife was questioned privately by an officer of the court to see if she agreed to the sale. (This one is great because you get to find out the name of the wife of the man who is selling.... but not the buyers wife...So most of the time... there is an exception to everything... if a man sold property in VA in the 1700's and 1800's and no woman was questioned, then he was not married at the time.) There are as many different ways as you can think of. As far as taxes, in our state OH you paid personal property tax on everything you owned if you were a laborer and worked for a farmer. You might live with he and his family or you might have a cabin on his property but if you owned your own horse and cow.... you paid taxes on them. something's never change. Ha! http://users.rcn.com/deeds/landref.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: "William Hartman" <mrbill1033@comcast.net> To: <NJHUNTER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 11:09 AM Subject: Re: [NJHUNTER] Homes and Land >I agree with this [see below] as the "law" today, but I am not sure what >the law was back in the mid 1800s. I'm sure you remember that Blacks and >Women did not have the right to vote back then! As I mentioned, I am not a >historian and we need that input to confirm the situation! > > Regards, Bill > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Susan Pena > To: NJHUNTER-L@rootsweb.com > Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 10:53 AM > Subject: Re: [NJHUNTER] Homes and Land > > > I have been a public official in Texas. Here, it is not required to own > property to be an elected official or run for public office. You can be > a > renter or a "live in" person to be an elected official. The criteria is > that you must be a "resident" of a certain place (town or city). I would > imagine this is true most everywhere in the US because you can rent > property > and still have a voter's registration card and vote in elections. > > Susan > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "William Hartman" <mrbill1033@comcast.net> > To: <NJHUNTER-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 9:12 AM > Subject: Re: [NJHUNTER] Homes and Land > > > > Hi Susan, > > > > I cannot give you a definitive answer to your question, perhaps a > > historian or scholar is watching the list and can fill in the details. > > > > My observations come from reading the Hunterdon Gazette and trying to > > locate people using the 1852 Cornell Map of Hunterdon County. > > > > There does appear to be many renters or tenants, or at least people who > > occupy a farm [property] location. This I derive from the many listings > of > > property for sale and a statement near the end of these items, in which > > interested persons can view the premises by calling on so and so. So & > > So's name is usually different from the subscriber - the person who has > > listed the property. > > > > All names printed in the Gazette are listed in the Gazette Index! > > > > I also presume, which needs verification, that "land tax" was paid by > the > > owner of record, just as it is today. > > > > And finally, the only way to know if a "renter" exists, is to consult > the > > Gazette Index and hope they are noted in one of the advertisements. > > > > Sorry I can't be more helpful. > > > > Regards, Bill > > > > P. S.: And I have a general question to the NJHUNTER List: > > > > Each year there are Township and County Elections for the various > > positions of responsibility. > > Must the people elected be land owners [Freeholders]? > > > > If 'YES', this would rule out renters' or tenants' names appearing in > > these newspaper items! > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Susan Pena > > To: NJHUNTER-L@rootsweb.com > > Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 7:58 AM > > Subject: [NJHUNTER] Homes and Land > > > > > > I was wondering if anyone can answer this question. In the early to > mid > > 1800s and before when the country was mostly rural and farmers, were > there > > a lot of people who rented property from someone or possibly "rent to > own" > > type land arrangements as we have them today. > > > > When you know your family lived in an area and you can't find a deed > for > > them or their parents, is it likely they could have "rented" property, > > especially if they were young and just starting out? Also in places > where > > there was land tax collected, was the tax collected from the owner or > from > > the occupant of the land? Is there any way of knowing renter's names > of > > property, if they were just renting the land? > > > > Susan > > > > > > ==== NJHUNTER Mailing List ==== > > Visit the Updated Hunterdon County GenWeb page at: > > http://www.rootsweb.com/~njhunter > > > > ============================== > > New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your > > ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. > Learn > > more: > > > http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > > > > > > > > ==== NJHUNTER Mailing List ==== > > This mail list is archived at: > > http://newsarch.rootsweb.com/th/index/NJHUNTER > > > > ============================== > > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx > > > > > > > ==== NJHUNTER Mailing List ==== > This mail list is archived at: > http://newsarch.rootsweb.com/th/index/NJHUNTER > > ============================== > Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. > Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx > > > > ==== NJHUNTER Mailing List ==== > Visit the Updated Hunterdon County GenWeb page at: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~njhunter > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > >