Our forefathers left many useful hints for today's family historians. Not all of them were intended to whisper secrets of the past. Some of them were simply a measure of record keeping and a way to maintain civil order. Land records are among the documents that help genealogists to trace the migration of families, lines of inheritance and to understand their ancestors' means of living.
Land records can add one more piece to a puzzle that is slowly pulling together.
Family historians must be careful to check and crosscheck records to assure they are focusing on the right individual ancestor. Conflicting reports are abundant and confusing. Land records help substantiate stories by connecting an individual to a certain state, county, town or neighborhood. Our forefathers were creative in the use of credit. Security deeds might list other assets belonging to the family you seek, if those assets were offered up as collateral for land or other personal property.