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Most People (But Not Mine!) Owned Land

This week I spent my research time looking at land records for Illinois. My ancestor Thomas Sherman lived there from about 1870, and many of these records are online at Family Search (https://familysearch.org). I hoped to find some mention of his second wife, Mary. Unfortunately, I found no record of land ownership for him in the records I could search from home.

Thomas worked as an itinerant blacksmith for most of his life. After the Civil War, he lived in the following places:

  • 1870 – Baldwinsville, Hunter Township, Edgar County, Illinois
  • 1872 – Logan, Brouiletts Creek Township, Edgar County, Illinois
  • 1880 – Edgar Township, Illinois
  • 1881 – East Nelson Township, Moultrie County, Illinois
  • 1884 – Mattoon, Coles County, Illinois
  • 1887 – Nelson, Coles County, Illinois
  • 1889 – Johnstown, Cumberland County, Illinois
  • 1891 – Janesville, Cumberland County, Illinois
  • 1900 – Morgan Township, Coles County, Illinois

According to the U.S census, Thomas owned no real estate in 1870, but by 1900 he owned a home. From the land records available to me for the intervening years, I can conclude that normally he did not own land. I can still look at a few of the records not yet available online, but I do not expect to find anything.

Thomas probably was a man who followed the work, owning just his personal property and blacksmith tools. His family led a nomadic life. The rich information sometimes found in our ancestors’ land records is not available for Thomas Sherman.

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