Land records are often the last record a genealogist checks. They can be challenging to navigate, and there’s a significant chance they do not indicate relationships. Yet, especially in colonial Connecticut, they are a must check document for one simple reason: land was key to a family’s survival.
In an agrarian society, land was a family’s most valuable position. That’s how they earned their income and how they passed wealth to the next generation. Because land was so important, families were careful to record any changes in title, even when they skipped other records.
For information on how to access land records, click on the link below.
Land records vary in their contents.Some list as little as the names of the buyer and seller and the property description. Others include multiple family relationships. You won’t know the level of detail without checking!
This land record explains that the seller is selling land that “was given by will from my Grandfather Fitch unto my mother Anna Stark.” That short sentence identifies the mother’s full name as Anna (Fitch) Stark.
Happy hunting!
Connecticut Roots by Charter Oak Genealogy 