Monday, September 29, 2014

Amanuensis Monday - Post 237: 1870 Deed of Land in Taylor County, Iowa from Devier and Abby Smith to D.B. McMurry

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme years ago called "Amanuensis Monday."  John offers this definition for "amanuensis:" 

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is an 1870 deed in the Taylor County, Iowa deed books for Devier J. Smith and Abby A. Smith selling land to D.B. McMurry:


The transcription of this deed is (handwritten text in italics, form fields underlined):

01 DEED RECORD, TAYLOR CO., IOWA
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02 Devier J. Smith           }       Filed for record:  July 1st A.D. 18 70
03                                       }                             at    9    o'clock,    A.  M.
04 To:  D. B. McMurry   }      WARRANTY DEED.
05                                        }                             James P. Flick, Recorder
06                                                                                Taylor County, Iowa.
=================================================
07 Know all Men by these Presents:
08 That      We Devier J. Smith and Abby A. Smith    
09 of the County of   Taylor   and State of    Iowa   in consideration of
10 the sum of    One Hundred                                              Dollars,
11 in hand paid by      D. B. McMurry                  
12 of     Taylor     County and State of     Iowa    do hereby SELL AND
13 CONVEY unto the said     D. B. McMurry               
14 the following described premises, situated in the County of   Taylor    and State of   Iowa   
15 to-wit:
16        Lot No. Five (5) it being ^Situated in the South
17    West fourth (1/4) of the South West qtr (1/4) of Section
18    Twenty three (23) in Township No. Sixty- eight
19    (68) Range Thirty four (34) West as Shown by the
20    Surveyor's Platt made June 11^th 1870 and Recorded
 21   in Book B.     Surveyor's Record    Page 366   

22 and   we   hereby covenant with the said     D. B. McMurry                      
23 that   we   hold said premises by good and perfect title, that   We   have good right and lawful authority
24 to sell and convey the same, that they are free and clear of all liens and incumbrances whatsoever,
25 And   We  covenant   to WARRANT AND DEFEND the said premises, against the lawful claims of all per-
26 sons whomsoever.  And the said    Abby A. Smith                   hereby
27 relinquishes her right of dower in and to the above described premises.

28 Signed this    18^th      day of     June      A.D.  18  70 
29 IN PRESENCE OF          {   U.S. Revenue Stamp  }       Devier J. Smith     
30                                                                                                  Abby A. Smith       

31 STATE OF IOWA          }
32     Taylor       County       }  SS
33  On this   18th   day of    June    A.D. 18 70  , before me
34                   L. N. Lewis                        a    Notary Public      
35 within and for said County, personally came   Devier J. Smith and        
36                                                                               Abby A. Smith his wife    
37                                     personally known to be the identical person s whose name s are  
38                                     affixed to the above instrument as Grantor s , and acknowledged the
39                                     same to be   Their   voluntary act and deed, for the purposes therein
40                                     expressed.
41                                       In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed
42                                   my official seal at     Bedford      on the date
43                                   last above written.
44                                                                                             L. N. Lewis             
45                                                                                              Notary Public        
============================================
46      I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original deed, as filed for record
47  on the     1st      day of      July       18 70  
48                                                             James P. Flick       Recorder.

The source citation for this Deed is:

Taylor County, Iowa, Taylor County, Iowa, deed records, 1855-1953; index, 1855-1902, "Deed Records (Land) v. M-N (1869-1872), v. O to p. 311, 1872-1873)" Volume M, page 177 (stamped), Deed of Devier J. and Abby A. Smith to D.B. McMurry, 1870; accessed 4 February 2014 on FHL US/CAN microfilm 1,535,634.

Devier J. Smith bought the southwest quarter of Section 23 in Township 68 North Range 34 West from Tobias and Lydia Denny on 10 December 1867.  He then sold half of it to his father, Ranslow Smith, on 2 March 1868 for $500.  He bought that half back from Ranslow Smith on 15 September 1869.  So at the time of the current transaction, he owned the full 160 acres in the Southwest quarter of Section 23.

Apparently, he subdivided the Southwest quarter of the Southwest quarter into about 40 lots, each containing about one acre, and sold them for about $75 to $200 each.   You can see the Section location and the boundaries of the Devier Smith properties in Finding the Taylor County, Iowa Properties of Devier J. Smith.  

There are a total of 16 deeds similar to this one sold between 1870 and 1875 - only the lot number, the grantee, the date and the price varies.  

Devier J. and Abby A. Smith are my second great-grandparents.  By 1875, they were residing in Concordia, Cloud County, Kansas.  Subsequently, they moved to McCook, Red Willow County, Nebraska in 1885, and then bought land in Cheyenne County, Kansas before Devier died in 1894 in McCook.  Abby came to San Diego to live with her daughter's family in the early 1890s.


Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver


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