Came across this information in an old (1987) South of the Mountains, the quarterly of the Historical Society of Rockland County (the author was not given), and thought it might be of general interest: "Determining where an ancestor lived and what land he may have inherited, owned and sold during his lifetime, or devised after his death, is a very essential part of genealogical reserach. In fact, no genealogy could be complete without a search of the land transactions on record in the Clerk's Office of the county in which a family is known to have resided. Aside from the information about land ownership, deeds often contain genealogical facts not available elsewhere. In order to convey title to land owned by a decedent who died intestate, a deed would be required from all the heirs as well as from a surviving widow....(it) would provide and confirm the names and marital status of children and heirs... There was a period during the 18th century and earlier when a mortgage as a recorded proof of indebtedness was not commonly used. Instead, the borrower executed a personal, unrecorded bond as security for the amount of the debt....these bonds were usually payable at certain intervals, generally the same terms provided by a mortgage. Those were the days when mutual trust was more prevalent, and 'a man's word was his bond.' Later, bonds were replaced by recorded mortgages, which gave notice to the public that such an indebtedness existed and was a lien on the land. One important fact about a recorded mortgage is that the description of the land set forth therein could be the only knowledge of ownership because down to the first part of the 19th century, many settlers never took the trouble to record their deeds. The reason for this is vague. They may not have wanted to release possession of the deed even for the time it took to take it to the county seat, pay the fee and leave it until it was properly copied into the records." So - after getting your hopes up about how wonderful a resource land records are - we are told that many settlers never troubled to record their deeds! But if they happened to have a mortgage, rather than just a bond, it *was* recorded. I have checked many records of deeds, but had not thought to check for a mortgage. Hoping this will help someone - Regina Haring, Nanuet, NY