Monday, November 24, 2014

Amanuensis Monday - Post 245: 1873 Deed of Land in Taylor County, Iowa from Devier J. and Abbie A. Smith to C.S. Meeks

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 C.S. Meeks:


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

DEED RECORD, TAYLOR CO., IOWA
=================================================
 D.J. Smith & Wife     }       Filed for record:  27    day of  August  A.D. 
                                   }       18 73   , at    9    o'clock,    A.  M.
To:   C. S. Meeks       }                                               E.G. Medford    Recorder
                                  }                        
=================================================
Know all Men by these Presents,       That      We                                      
   Devier J. Smith and Abbie A. Smith                                                            
of the County of   Taylor   and State of    Iowa   in consideration of the sum of
                                      Six Hundred                                              Dollars,
in hand paid by                      C. S. Meeks                                                                     
of     Taylor     County and State of     Iowa    do hereby sell and convey unto the 
said                          C. S. Meek                                      the following 
described premises, situated in the County of   Taylor    and State of   Iowa   to-wit:
       Lots 1, 2, 3, 16, 17, 18 and 19 Situated in the South West fourth of the South West fourth of 
Section Twenty three (23) in Township Sixty eight (68) North of Range Thirty four (34) West
according to the official Platt of the survey of said tract of land as Recorded in Book "B"
of Surveyors  Rec ord Taylor Co. Iowa Recorded on page 366.  Except 30 feet off south Side of  18 and
19, and 30 feet off East Side of  16, 17 and 19 of said Lots for the purpose of Street
The Grantor to lift a certain Mortgage given by him to Saml Fisher 2nd for 16 or upon the
payment of the Amount by the Grantee.

 and   We   hereby covenant with the said        C. S. Meek                      
______________________ that   we   hold said premises by good and perfect title; 
that   We   have good right and lawful authority to sell and convey the same; that they are 
free and clear of all liens and incumbrances whatsoever; and   We  covenant   to Warrant and Defend the said premises, against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever.  And the said                        
       Abbie A. Smith                   hereby relinquishes her right of dower in and to 
the above described premises.
           Signed this    26th       day of     August      A.D.  18  73 
IN PRESENCE OF                                                         Devier J. Smith     
                                                                                          Abbie A. Smith       

STATE OF IOWA,      Taylor       County, SS
 On this   26th   day of     August    A.D. 18 73  , before me
                  E. G. Medford                        a    Notary Public      within and for said County, 
                                                personally came   Devier J. Smith and Abbie A. Smith his wife    
                                    personally known to be the identical person s whose name s are      
                                    affixed to the above instrument as grantor s , and acknowledged the
                                    same to be   Their   voluntary act and deed, for the 
                                    purposes therein expressed.
                                      In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name and 
                                   affixed my official seal at     Bedford , Iowa    on the date last
                                   above written.
                                                                                            E.G. Medford          
                                                                                             Notary Public        
===========================================
     I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original deed, as filed for record
on the     27th     day of      August       18 73  
                                                                                          E.G. Medford      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. O (cont'd), 1873-1874, v. P 1871-1873, v. Q (to p.391)" Volume Q, page 33 (stamped), Deed of Devier J. and Abbie A. Smith to C.S. Meeks, 1873; accessed 4 February 2014 on FHL US/CAN microfilm 1,535,635.

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.  From 1870 to 1875, Devier Smith partitioned the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 23, and then subdivided that 40 acre parcel into about 40 separate lots (probably about 1 acre each) and sold them individually or in groups, such as this transaction.

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 numbers, 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.

The URL for this post is:  

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver


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