On his TransylvanianDutch blog, John Newmark defines an amanuensis as “a person employed to write out what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.” For more information about this daily blogging prompt, see John’s post Amanuensis – Why?.
I have amassed quite a collection of scans of handwritten documents related to my ancestors—primarily marriage records, deeds, and wills. As I have been transcribing these documents, it occurred to me that most of these documents were not actually written by my ancestors, but rather dictated to someone else, and then transcribed by a clerk into official records.
This week I have transcribed an 1874 quitclaim deed between three of the sons of my maternal 3rd great-grandfather Arad Franklin—Arad W., Asahel, and Culwell. For $50, Arad W. and Asahel, along with their wives, relinquished to brother Culwell their title in two acres in Union County, Ohio. I haven’t yet discovered how the brothers acquired this land and whether the fourth son Joseph (my 2nd great-grandfather) also held an interest. It is possible that, in 1874, Joseph was living in another county (probably Marion), and I need to research deeds there to see if a quitclaim deed was recorded.
“A W
Franklin & wife )
To
Deed )
Colwell
Franklin )
Know
all men by these presents that we A W Franklin Nannie M Franklin this wife
& Acel Franklin Madora Franklin his wife in consideration of the Sum of
fifty Dollars to them paid by Culwell Franklin do hereby remise[?] release and
forever quit claim unto the said Culwell Franklin his heirs and assigns forever
all our title interest and estate legal and equitable in the following premises
with the appurtenances situate in Union County & State of Ohio and bounded
and described as follows to wit Being part of survey No 3696
Beginning
at the south west corner of the Farm[?] former owned by richard Hoskins
de(s)cribed running thense easterly with Delaware & Bellfountain Road and
in the center thereof twenty Rods to a stone thence N 7o50"
sixteen Rods to a stone thence westerly parallel with the aforesaid Road twenty
Rods to the west line of the said Richard Hoskins Farm thence with the said
west line Southerly to the Beginning containing two acres more or Less.
In
Testimony whereof we the said A W Franklin & Nannie M Franklin his wife
& Acel Franklin & Medora Franklin his wife have hereunto set their
hands and seal the twenty fifth day of February in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and seventy four
A
W Franklin {seal}
Nannie
Franklin {seal}
Acel
Franklin {seal}
Medora
Franklin {seal}
Executed
& Delivered in presence of
G. W.
Cray
O
Mirrel[?] Jewett
The
State of Ohio Union County, SS..
Before
me a Justice of the peace in and for said Coun[t]y personally came the said A.
W Franklin Nannie M. Franklin his wife & Acel Franklin Medora Franklin his
[wife] and acknowledged the signing and sealing of the within quit Claim Deed
to be their voluntary act and Deed for the uses & purposes therein
mentioned and the said Nannie M Franklin & Medora Franklin being at the
same time examined by me separate and apart from their said husbands and the
contents of said instrument being by me made known and explained to them they
then declared that they did voluntarily sign seal and acknowledge the same and
are still satisfied therewith as their free act and deed
this
the twenty fifth Day of February AD 1874
O
Merrill Jewett Justice of the Peace
Recd
March 10th 1874 Recorded March 17 1874
Hiram
Rouey Recorder”
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© 2012 Denise Spurlock
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