Leon, My g-g-g-g-grandfather Peter HECKMAN (originally of Alsace Township) secured 70+ acres in Windsor (now Perry) Township from the descendants of William Penn in 1808, as I recall. In subsequent years, he added land from the Shoemakers and others to it, increasing it to 150-250 acres (I'm going to have to dig out my maps). I believe that farm may now be the Perry Township golf course (just north of Shoemakersville and east of Route 61), but I cannot be sure - without understanding where the warranted land maps in the Township. Or, is there another way? Can I simply request a copy of the deed for that land today, to see if it traces back (to my g-grandfather Charles E., who inherited it from Peter in the mid 1850's)? I was blessed to be able to visit Berks County about 1 1/2 years ago, and I found many of the properties owned by my ancestors. I was shocked and dismayed to hear last Fall that the Perry Township Golf Course was to be sold (for an undisclosed amount - in excess of $1 million) and turned into a giant distribution center! ["They paved paradise, and put in a parking lot", as the song goes.] Don't know if this is still the case. When I was there, I came across an old barn on the property - it looked very, very old, and quite possibly dates back to Peter's time. Last week I came across a modern tax map for the Township - the barn parcel (due east of Zweizig Road) is separate from the golf course - even though the latter surrounds it. Can I do any research on that? All of this land stuff is still kinda foreign to me... I would also be very interested to know if anyone is buried on the property. It took me many years to determine that my g-g-g-g-grandmother Barabara LEINBACH Heckman died while a young woman - posssibly in Alsace Township - and years later Peter remarried, to Sophia FIN(C)K Reif(f)schneider. Sophia's brother Peter (and other relatives?) were nearby lanholders in Perry Township. Also, Peter's son John L(einbach?) HECKMAN was quite the real estate tycoon; he owned a lot of properties in and around Shoemakersville in the mid 1800s. Perhaps he subdivided some of his father's land holdings... Too bad none of the value the family accumulated back then survived to this day!! Thanks, Leon. Jeff Heckman Penfield, NY ----- Original Message ----- From: "Leon F. Borst" <leon811@verizon.net> To: <paberks@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2008 10:30 AM Subject: Re: [PABERKS] PA Land Warrants & Surveys > > Jeff, > > Thanks for the kind words. > > You know that Perry Township was formed from the lower part of Windsor > Township in 1852. This was 100 years after Berks County was formed in > 1752, > so I would guess that most (if not all) warrant records for land currently > in Perry Township would place the land in Windsor Township. As far as I > know, the State does not intend to finish compiling connected draft maps > for > those counties east of the Susquehanna. There are some people working on > Albany, Windsor/Perry, Greenwich, and Maxatawny Townships in Berks County > (no, I won't give you their names). Are you trying to locate warranted > land > in what is now Perry Township? If so, what names are of interest to you? > > Leon F. Borst > Chester County, PA > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jeff Heckman" <jheckman@frontiernet.net> > To: <paberks@rootsweb.com>; "PaBerks-L" <PABERKS-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 10:26 AM > Subject: Re: [PABERKS] PA Land Warrants & Surveys > > > Hi Leon, > > You have blessed so many with your land warrant research - thank you! > > Do you know if efforts are ongoing to completely map the few Berks County > Townships that are not done? How about Perry Township, in particular? > > Thanks, > Jeff Heckman > Penfield, NY > > > ==== PABERKS Mailing List ==== > PABERKS@rootsweb.com > > To contact the List Administrator: > Rick Berkheiser, PABERKS-admin@rootsweb.com > > To visit the Berks Message Board: > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.states.pennsylvania.counties.berks > > To visit the Berks County, PA website: > http://www.pa-roots.com/~berks/ > Hosted by Nancy Freehafer > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > PABERKS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >