Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-07-21
INDEXING DEEDS.

Clerk of the Court Wylie has big job
on his hands just now. 1t is long, dry
and musty, and there are few who would
like to take it off his hands except at a
big price. He is required to practically
read almost every record in his office
from 1856 to 1876, period of 80 years.
This duty comes about as the result of
an order of the court. When Expert
McLarnon examined the records Of the
clerks Office last year, his attention was
called to the fact that up to 1876 deeds,
mortgages and other papers had been put
on the books indiscriminately and index
ed very much in the same manner. This
was not as it should have been, and Ex-
pert McLarnon recommended to the
grand jury that all deeds should be re-
corded in a separate book. The grand
Jury endorsed the recommendation, the
court ordered that it be carried into eff
feet, and that is how Clerk Wylie came
by his big undertaking.
The purchase of the necessary index
books was authorized by the county
board of commissioners at recent meet
ing, and few days ago Clerk Wylie
com menced his task. He has read Books
"a" and "B," and is now reading Book
&C." But this is hardly a beginning.
Before him are in the neighborhood of a
hundred or more large manuscript vol
umes that will also have to be gone over
before the work is finished.
The task, however, is not altogether
without its compensation, especially to
one who may be interested in York coun-
ty history. Clerk Wylie gets more or
less pleasure out of such matters, and
mixed up with the dry, musty records,
he has already been finding various mis-
cellaneons papers which help to relieve
the monotony of the work.
A reporter for THE ENQUIRER was in
the clerks office yesterday, and his atten-
ton was called to quite number OF inter-
esting facts, some of which will bear re-
peating to the curious.
Book "a" was opened in January,
l7S6. In it are recorded various kinds OF
papers, the first one being deed. 1t is
the first deed ever recorded in York
county. 1t was proven in open court in
January, 17S6, and is conveyance Of a
tract of 375 acres Of land on Catawba riv-
er. The makers of the deed are David
and Sarah Johnson, Moses Shelby, Eliza
beth Shelby, Robert Leiper and James
Leiper. The conveyance is to James
Hawthorne, and the consideration is ELS,
lGs and Sd.
A curious paper also in this book is one
put on record by Daniel Sturgis. 1t seems
that Sturgis had come down from Della
ware to York county, shortly after the
Revolutionary war, and before he had
been here very long, reports had been put
into circulation to the effect that he was a
Tory. He could not very well rest un-
der charge of this kind, so returning to
Delaware he got Il certificate from proml-
nent citizens-some of whom had been
officers in the Continental army-to the
effect that during the war he had comport-
ed himself as became loyal and patriot
ic citizen of the United States. In order
to settle the question then and forever, he
had this paper recorded in the office Of
the clerk of the court.
Hills Iron works, which were located
some seven or eight miles northeast of
Yorkville, are several times mentioned
in Books A and B. 1t seems, however,