Meroa Andrews - Remarkable Woman

 

by Kathy Petras

In many ways, Meroa ANDREWS was a typical 19th century Victorian woman. (No photograph has been found of her.)

And as often was the case in this time period, she was often defined by her relationship to others. 

She was the daughter of Sheriff Morgan Andrews. 

She was the sister to Civil War soldiers, Addison and Morgan Andrews and also to the Girard, Pennsylvania bank president, Fairman Andrews. 

She was an employee of A.I. Root.

She WAS all those things. But she was also much more.

She was:

• A teacher
• An inventor
• An entrepreneur
• A Librarian

Some amazing accomplishments for a Victorian era lady. 

Let's take a closer look at the life of this remarkable woman.

Meroa was born in 1838 in Schoharie County, New York. She was the fourth child of Morgan ANDREWS (1816-1867) and Esther LEVALLEY (1809-1846):

• Sarah L. ANDREWS (1830-1910) BROOKS
• Addison P. ANDREWS (1833-1896)
• Fairman ANDREWS ( 1835-1910)
• Meroa ANDREWS (1838-1910)
• Morgan ANDREWS ( 1843-1862)

In the mid 1840's the family moved to Hinckley Township, Medina County Ohio. Shortly after that, in November 1846, Esther died. With small children in the household, Morgan quickly remarried to Cordelia BROOKS (1828-1908) in October of 1847. Cordelia was only 2 years older than Sarah, Morgan's oldest daughter.

1857 Plat Map of Medina County Ohio from the Library of 
Congress. This excerpt is from the northwest corner of 
Hinckley Township.

In the 1850 Census, the ANDREWS family is enumerated in Hinckley Township. Morgan's occupation is "tailor".

In that same year, Morgan buys his first property in Medina County, a 1 acre plot.

Sarah ANDREWS married Ransom BROOKS in 1852. Ransom (aka "Doctor") was Sarah's step-mother's older brother!

Two more children were added to the family with the birth of Meroa's half-brothers, Finley in 1855 and Charles in 1863.

The family's residence and fortunes were about to change. In 1858, Morgan was elected as Medina County's Sheriff and they moved to Medina Village. How do you go from being a tailor to being the county sheriff?

The 1860 Census of Medina lists Morgan as the county sheriff and Meroa (listed as Maria) is a "C S Teacher" There are two non-family members listed in the household. Christopher Breeman is a farmer who is listed as "insane" and John Reed is a convict. Unfathomable  to modern minds that the sheriff would house  these men in his home with his family. Both were probably awaiting transportation to more permanent facilities. 

1860 Census for the Village of Medina, Medina County, Ohio.

While Meroa's occupation may look like "C P Teacher", if you compare the second letter to how "Sheriff" is written two lines above Meroa's listing it becomes obvious that it is "C S Teacher".  "C S" stood for common school, comparable to elementary schools today (For more on Medina City's schools see this blog from December 21 2021 Medina City Schools  We don't know which of Medina's three common schools Meroa taught at. 

We do know that it was far enough away from the Andrews home for her little brother Morgan to drive her during inclement weather. He mentions it three separate times in his diary during the early months of 1862. To find out more about Morgan Jr's diary view this blog from December 2018 Touching History.  These rides were probably a very poignant memory for Meroa. Morgan joined the Union Army and died in Cumberland, Maryland of disease in July 1862.

Sometime early in 1867, Morgan Sr. died and was buried in Bennetts Corner. His widow, Cordelia was relatively young at the age of 39 and had small children to raise. She remarried to George Houck in November of the same year.

Sometime during 1860-1870, possibly after her father's death, Meroa had a change of occupation. In the 1870 census, she is living in the household of a very prominent Medina business man:

1870 Census, Medina Village, Medina County, Ohio

Meroa is working in a "Rings & Chain Factory"  and living in the household of Amos Ives Root! They had a business relationship that spanned many years.

In 1872, Amos & wife Susan, named their third child Constance Meroa Root. AND A.I. and Meroa took out patent #128,072 for an improvement in bee hive frames in same year!

Patent 128,072 with Meroa's name right next to A.I. Root's

Front page of their accepted Patent application

For those of us who cannot read the design, the Medina Gazette published an article that describes how the improved frame works:

Medina Gazette 28 June 1872 p. 1

A few short years later, Meroa left the A.I. Root Company:

 Medina County Gazette June 18th, 1875, page 3.

Meroa kept busy.

When the Medina Circulating Library Society was formed in 1877, she was among the founding members, serving as the Librarian for nearly ten years (1882-1891) at a salary of $20 per year.  She housed the books in her jewelry store.

Then, she sold queen bees, advertising them in the early editions of A.I. Root's Gleanings in Bee Culture:

Gleanings in Bee Culture Vol 7 issue 6 June 1879 page 4.

In the same issue, A.I. was advertising that he would buy quality Italian queen bees.

The 1880 Census finds Meroa and her niece Carrie (brother Fairman's daughter) boarding in the home of Archibald Matteson, Life and Fire Insurance Agent (later the Ohio Farmers Insurance and currently Westfield Insurance).

And in the 1880's these advertisements were in every edition of the Medina Gazette:

1880 Oct 15th Medina County Gazette  Page 7

1880 Oct 15th Medina County Gazette  Page 2

1881 Feb 18th Medina County Gazette Page 4

1883 May 4th Medina County Gazette  Page 4

Medina County Gazette March 23rd, 1883, page 8

Medina County Gazette November 18th, 1887, page 5
Besides serving as the Librarian, Meroa was also
the treasurer. 

When she wasn't busy inventing things or running a library and a jewelry store, or teaching the ladies of Medina how to knit lace, Meroa was busy visiting friends and relatives. Meroa's friends were the upper echelon of Medina society: Cora Munson, the McDowells, A.I. Root, and the Barnards.  Among the trips noted in The Gazette:

• 1875 - After leaving the A.I. Root Company, Meroa visited her sister Sarah BROOKS in Mankato, Minnesota from May to September.
• 1885 - Along with Sarah Smith she traveled to West Virginia to visit their friend Josephine Manning, who was dying.
• 1893 - In June she visited her brother Fairman in Girard, Erie County, Pennsylvania. Fairman became the president of The National Bank in Girard.
• 1898 - Meroa joined Cora MUNSON and Bertha BARNARD in an outing to Put-In-Bay. A good time was had by all.
• 1899 - In September, Meroa's sister-in-law died in Pennsylvania and Meroa traveled to the funeral. When she returned, she brought her niece Carrie with her. She sold off her jewelry store stock, intending to move to Girard to live with her brother. Fairman arrived in October to bring Carrie back home. Meroa moved out of her Medina lodgings and visited with friends in Elyria and Berea before moving to Pennsylvania. In November she attended the Opera in Cleveland with Miss Cora Munson, Mrs. Chris Griesinger, Mr. & Mrs. B.L. Wells & Halcyon Wells. Finally she left for her "future home" with her brother.
• 1900 - Meroa again "visited" her sister in Mankato and returned two years later in December 1902.
• 1906 - In October, Meroa joined a "Trolley Party" from Medina to the Hotel Morton in Seville for some fine dining. The party included Mmes. R.M. & O.H. McDowell, H.G. Rowe, Blake McDowell, Bessie Hewes and Hattie Elder.

Meroa has not been found in the 1900 census. Theoretically, she should be living with her brother, Fairman, in Girard, but she isn't listed with him. She also isn't listed with her sister in Mankato, Minnesota. Neither is she in the Medina or Cuyahoga county censuses. The census was taken in the early part of June in 1900. 

Medina County Gazette, June 28th, 1900, page 3

This June 28th article indicates that Meroa did live with her brother for a short time, but returned to Ohio, settling in Berea. It was possible she was traveling at the time that the census was taken and she was missed completely. 

In 1903, at the age of 65, Meroa once again set up a business in Medina.

Medina County Gazette, May 22nd, 1903, page 3.

Once she returned to Medina, Meroa resided as a boarder in various homes:1903 - 

• 1903 - In February she had rooms at S.G. Barnard's home 
• 1904 - She moved into the L.S. Smith house
• 1910 - On 15 April, the census counted Meroa among the household members of Alonzo Case, 412 Lafayette Rd. in Montville Township.

Finally, on May 2nd 1910, just  two weeks after the census was taken and after losing her sister Sarah and brother Fairman earlier in the year, Meroa died at the home of Clara Wheatley at 303 East Washington. The Wheatley home is just one block east of the Medina Library, whose genesis Meroa contributed to.

The end of the life of a Victorian Medina Lady who was so much more than what could be found in records.

The Irish of Medina County

Jeff Schmaltz - NASA Earth Observatory

 By Kathy Petras

The people of Ireland were among the earliest settlers in America, falling only behind the English in immigration during the colonial years. 

Indeed, the first St. Patrick's Day Parade on this continent was in 1601 when the Irish vicar, Ricardo Artur, organized a parade in St. Augustine, Florida, which was then a Spanish colony. Then, in 1737 and 1762, homesick Irish soldiers in the English army marched in St. Patrick's Day Parades in 1737 in Boston, and 1762 in New York City.

Destitution in Ireland. Failure of the potato crop illustration
was published in The Pictorial Times on 22 August 1846
Image courtesy Researchgate.net.

The potato blight in Ireland during the 1840's launched a renewed wave of immigration to America when millions of Irish left their homeland. As destitute as they were, they were better off than the millions who could not even afford the fare to leave. One third of the immigrants coming to the U.S. were Irish between 1820 and 1860.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the influx of Irish immigrants created a powerful political force in cities. They helped immigrant Irish get jobs, become naturalized and VOTE! And with this new pride and power came celebration of Irish culture, food and music. 

It's impossible to say who the first Irish man (or woman) was who entered Medina County, but it is safe to say that they were among the earliest settlers. The early histories of the county Pioneer History of Medina County (1861) and The History of Medina County and Ohio (1881) are almost silent on the topic except for a few nameless individuals:

 

Page 479 of the 1881 History of Medina County
and Ohio. The man lost his life and his name, 
apparently.

History of Medina County and Ohio, page 538.

This Irishman, last name "Clark", accompanied Justus Warner who pioneered Liverpool Township in 1811!

No "Clark" appears in the 1820 Census for Liverpool Township.  And without his first name, his identity would be difficult to find in land records.

These few examples show why the first Irish person in Medina may never be known.

What we are able to tell is, that by 1850, 216 people who had been born in Ireland then resided in Medina County. While we might want to assume that these Irish-born immigrants came to Medina as a result of the potato famine, a sampling of the individuals indicates that a large portion had been in the U.S. for 10 years or more and only a very small number had immigrated in the last 5 years.

The "born in Ireland" population in Medina, even in 1850 at its height, was never more than 1%.

Censuses of Medina County, showing residents reporting "born in Ireland"
1940 is the most recent census available. The 1950 Census becomes available later this year.

Also, the Irish immigrants in 1850 did not settle evenly throughout the county. Brunswick, which ranked 6th in overall population, had the most Irish-born residents. Homer had the next most Irish residents which is surprising because it ranked 16th in population (out of 17). The top five townships with Irish populations were:

• Brunswick - 38 people
• Homer - 23 people
• Litchfield - 22 people (12th in overall population ranking)
• Medina - 36 people (first in overall population ranking)
• Montville - 12 people (last in overall population ranking)

But by the time the 1881 History of Medina County and Ohio was published, the descendants of those early pioneer Irish were eager to claim their heritage with numerous claims of "of Irish descent", "born in County Donegal, Ireland", "of Irish stock", "native of Ireland" and "of Irish extraction."

Many Irish surnames are familiar in Medina, including, Dague, Martin, Burke, Warner, Berry, Munson and Canavan.

And while we can't track recent "Irish born" Medina County residents, we do know that 16% claimed some Irish ancestry in 2019...

2019 American Community Survey from Census.gov

Although Medina County doesn't host a St. Patrick's Day Parade, Medinians have celebrated the day for over 100 years.

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY IN MEDINA THROUGH THE DECADES

This tiny snippet in the 14 March 1879 Medina Gazette
informs us that they knew when St. Patrick's Day was.

Medina Gazette, 15 March 1907

This 1907 article may be one of the first events commemorating St. Patrick's Day in Medina. "The Story of Ireland by One Who Knows It" by Father J.R. Kenny. As reported in the 1910 Census for Medina County, Father John R. Kenny was born in Ireland in 1871 and came to the U.S. in 1902. He was a naturalized citizen. 

Medina County Naturalization Records.
John O'Rourke Kenny's Petition to become a
 naturalized citizen no. 4031

This is Father Kenny's Petition to become a citizen. He first filed his papers in 1903 in Erie Co., New York. He died in Cleveland as the pastor of St. Patrick's Church on Bridge Avenue. His memorial on FindaGrave.com lists 3 other male relatives who were also priests.

14 March 1913 Medina Sentinel  from
Newspaper Archives March 14,  Page 5 

By 1913, St. Patrick's Day was an excuse for a party. The W.CT.U. - Women's Christian Temperance Union - utilized the Town Hall for their "social". Note the error in their announcement - Feb. 14 instead of March 14.

 

Medina County Gazette from Newspaper Archives
April 19,1935, page 7

During the height of the Depression, Medina housewives were urged to use green in their color scheme for their St. Patrick's Day meal. Their suggested meal for the 1935 event included celery, green olives, creamed lobster, Shamrock rolls, Emerald Isle Salad and green tea. Creamed lobster in the middle of the biggest economic depression that this country has ever known?

 Medina County Gazette 9 Mar 9,1951, p. 5 

By the 1950's advertisers had claimed  

St. Patrick's Day for their own purposes,

 a trend that won't go away. 

Medina County Gazette, 15 Mar., 1969, p-4

This "ad" from 1969 took the form of an old Irish Blessing.

The Lodi Advertiser February 14th, 1973, p. 5 

These two items from the 1970's:

The first reminds us that "We are all 

Irish on St. Patrick's Day"

Medina County Gazette from Newspaper Archives
 February 23,1979  Page 32

And the second is a fun event at the Medina County Community Center, at the Medina County Fair Grounds.

These two articles from 1986 shared space on the newspaper page with articles about debris still being found after the space shuttle Challenger explosion.

Medina Gazette 8  March 1986

Medina Gazette 11 March 1986

A dubious addition to St Patrick's Day celebrations, green beer, was being offered at the Medina Bowling Lanes in 1995:

Medina Gazette 16 March 1995 

In 2002, The Gazette ran a word scramble contest featuring local businesses some of which no longer exist. How many can you make out?

Medina Gazette,  12 March 2002. 
This is just months after the 9/11 attacks. The war in Afghanistan was just heating up.

This rather bad scan of a 2012 ad for the On Tap restaurant was probably originally in color, green of course! Their celebration included Karaoke, corned beef and cabbage and Killians beer.

Medina Gazette 13 March 2012 

And remember, we are all Irish on Saint Patrick's Day!

Including this "Irish Lass".   DNA tests estimate that I have as much as 29% Irish ancestry, thanks to my 4X great grandmother, Fair Sabra Connolly, and my JOHNSON forebears.

WILL THEY SHOW UP!?

March 15th is the day the buzzards are supposed to return to Hinckley. Many will be there to witness the event and then the celebration will begin!

Wonderful World of Ohio, March 1970, p 21

Why do they celebrate buzzards in Hinckley? 

Cleveland Memory Project

In 1957, a Cleveland Metropark's patrolman told a Cleveland Press reporter how the buzzards return to a certain area in the Hinckley Reservation every year and how their return was logged for over 30 years. The reporter wrote up the story and then other media reported on it and the word spread. That year area bird watchers, along with about 9,000 others, came to see if it was true. They were not disappointed, the buzzards did return.

However, Hinckley was not prepared for the number of visitors and area restaurants actually reported running out of food. In later years, The Chamber of Commerce rallied together and began offering a pancake breakfast and other activities. The official "Buzzard Day" is now the first Sunday after March 15th. It has grown into a full blown festival with the pancake breakfast along with crafts, history and other entertainment.

Why do the buzzard's return each year?

Folklore and some of the local history books will tell you it was because of a "Great Hunt" in 1818. The story says that a group of over 450 men came together to hunt and reduce the number of bears and wolves that were causing problems in the area. After the hunt a lot of carcasses were left behind which led to the arrival of the buzzards. 

There wasn't any information as to why they come back on March 15th, but the event was compared to the sparrows who always return to San Juan Capistrano on March 19th. 

Do they truly come back on March 15th every year? 

Medina County Gazette, 15 March 1984

Most every year the buzzards do return to Buzzards Roost on March 15th. However, in March of 1984 they failed to appear. According to an article written in the Medina Gazette, the buzzards broke a 150-year tradition and did not show up! 

Are they really buzzards? 

Technically, they are turkey vultures. Yet, early Americans identified them as buzzards and the name stuck. So, they can go by either name. 

How can you celebrate Buzzard Day this year? 

On March 15th you can take your binoculars to Buzzard Roost and scan the sky for the first sighting of buzzards. The area opens at 8 a.m. and is just off State Road near West Drive at the Hinckley Reservation.

On March 16th the Highland Library is celebrating with a Buzzard Day Story Time with buzzards, crafts, snacks and stories! Click on the link to sign up.

https://medinacounty.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=44990&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2022/03/16

The Hinckley Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating on Sunday, March 20th, with a pancake breakfast, arts & crafts, animals and storytelling. For more information, click the link to the Chamber of Commerce website:
https://www.hinckleyohchamber.com/

We can only hope the buzzards don't get lost this year and show up on March 15th! 

Sources:

Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History & Learning Center (VWMFH&LC), Medina Library, Landmark files, books 40 & 41, 9 March 2022.

VWMFH&LC, Medina Library, hanging files, Hinckley, 9 March 2022.

Perrin, William, History of Medina County and Ohio...etc., etc., (Baskin & Battey: Chicago, 1881) volume 2, p 607-611; Virginia Wheeler Martin Family History & Learning Center, Medina Library, 9 March 2022. 

How to Read Old Land Deeds

By Lauren Kuntzman

Land Deeds are an excellent resource to learn about your family’s history and property. They can help prove your ancestor’s residence and their relationships to family members. In spite of their usefulness, when faced with pages of old handwriting, land deeds can seem intimidating...

This week's blog post will share tips for reading deeds and show an example of how you can make the process more manageable and the details you might learn about your ancestor in the process.

5 Tips for Reading Deeds

Tip #1 - Before reading the deed, familiarize yourself with the units of measure used in property descriptions. These include measurements in chains, links, rods, and perches.  To help you envision these unfamiliar measurements, here are their equivalents in feet and miles:  

• 1 Chain = 100 Links = 4 Rods = 4 Perches = 66 Feet

• 80 Chains = 800 Links = 320 Rods = 320 Perches = 1 Mile

Tip #2 - Don’t try to read the deed all at once. Break deeds up into four sections: an introduction, a property description, a conclusion, and a dower release. Each section has important details that we’ll review below.  

Tip #3 - Try to transcribe each section of the deed, word-for-word, as best you can in either your own handwriting or by typing. For words or letters you can’t (yet!) read, substitute square brackets and a question mark [?] in their place. (Also, if you’re having difficulty with the handwriting, check out our blog post on 5 Tips for Reading Old Handwriting!) This tip is especially helpful if you ever need to read it again – then you can look at your transcription and make it easier to read in the future!

Tip #4 - Read the deed aloud. One of the challenges in understanding a deed is that capitalization and punctuation wasn’t standardized. Reading it out loud may help you determine where sentences stop and start, and make the meaning of the record easier to understand. 

Tip #5 - Practice makes perfect.  Read a lot of Land Deeds. Many deeds follow the same format and use the exact same language and phrases. The more you read, the easier it becomes.

A Sample Deed

This deed documents a sale of property in Liverpool Township, Medina County, Ohio, between William and Clarissa Warner and Lucius Warner, from 16 June 1825.  The deed is from Land Deed Book 2, page 376.

Underlining has been added to highlight specific elements of the deed.  

 

Introduction

The first section of a deed, often includes the following details about the sale: 

• Name and residence of the land seller (grantor)  

• Name and residence of the land buyer (grantee) 

• Transaction price 

"William Warner to Lucius Warner. Know all men by these presents that we William Warner and Clarissa Warner his wife of the township of Liverpool Medina County, in the State of Ohio for the consideration of love and esteem and for the consideration of the sum of one dollar Received to our full satisfaction of Lucius Warner our son of the town, County and State aforesaid do give, grant, bargain, sell and convey to him the Lucius, his heirs, and assigns forever…"

In this section of the record we learn that William and Clarissa Warner are spouses and that Lucius Warner is their son.  We learn that all three live in Liverpool Township, Medina County, Ohio. In the event that there was more than one “William Warner” living in Medina County, the details about his wife, son, and residence could help distinguish him from others with the same name.  Also, even if the deed hadn’t specified that Lucius was their son, the property sold for love, esteem, and one dollar would be a clue that there is a connection between these individuals.  

Property Description 

The next section of the deed contains a legal description of the property. Details may include:

• State, County, Township, Section, and part of the section.  (A fancy term for a “part of the section” is “aliquot.”) 

• Boundaries, which include distances, directions/angles, and landmarks.

• Amount of acreage. 

• Previous owners. 

“...the following tract or parcel of land situated, lying and being in said Liverpool, and being a part of Section number fifteen bounded as follows to wit, East on the East line of said Section No. 15 Ninety eight rods. South on land of said William Warner, North on land belonging to Joseph and Jared Warner; thence to extend so far West as to contain fifty acres of land the West line to be parallel to the East line of said Section, the same forty acres of land being conveyed by us the said William and Clarissa to him the said Lucius Warner as his full share, part and proportion of all the real estate, which the said Clarissa Warner inherited from her father Mark Warner."

From the property description, we learn that the land is in Section 15 of Liverpool Township. The east/west boundaries are just over a quarter of a mile long, and the property contains fifty acres. It’s important to note that there was a typographical error in this record – in one place it says the property contains 50 acres, while elsewhere it says 40 acres.  We also learn that Clarissa’s father was Mark Warner, which is curious since it suggests Clarissa’s maiden name was the same as her married name.  (Definitely a detail to investigate in the future.)  We also learn who some of Lucius’s neighbors would be and since they include more Warners, they might be other relatives!  

Conclusion 

After the description of the property, the deed includes details like: 

• The type of deed it is. 

• The date the deed was written. 

• The grantor(s)’ signatures. 

• The names of Witnesses.

"To have and to hold the before granted and bargained premises with the appurtenances and privileges thereto belonging unto him the said Lucius his heirs and assigns forever to his and their own proper use, benefit, and behoof. And also we the said William and Clarissa do for ourselves our heirs and assigns covenant with the said Lucius his heirs and assigns that at and until the ensealing of these presents we are well seised of the premises that we have good right to sell and convey the same in manner and form aforesaid. And furthermore we the said William and Clarissa, do by these presents find ourselves and our heirs forever to warrant and defend the same premises to him the said Lucius his heirs and assigns against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals the Sixteenth day of June A.D. 1825. 

William Warner [Seal]

Clarissa Warner [Seal]

Signed Sealed and delivered in the presence of us, John Freese and Wm. Austin." 

In this section we find that the deed was written on the 16 June 1825. The language suggests this is a warranty deed, which means the seller (the Warners) had the title and the right to sell the property.  We also see that both William and Clarissa signed the deed, indicating that both were literate.  Their witnesses were John Freese and William Austin.  It is important to note that these aren’t the Warners’ original signatures – this deed is a copy of one that Lucius Warner would have brought to an official to transcribe into the records at the courthouse.  

Dower Release

After the witnesses, the deed concludes with a dower release. Since a wife was entitled to dower – that is, a portion of her husband’s property after his death – an official would confirm that she hadn’t been coerced into the sale.  This section – and the entire deed – ends with the date that the Deed was received and recorded by the county courts and the name of the recorder.

"The State of Ohio, Medina County s.s.

Brunswick June 16, 1825  Then personally appeared the within named William Warner and Clarissa Warner his wife, signers and sealers of the within deed, and the said William acknowledged the same to be his free act and deed and the said Clarissa having then by me examined, separate and apart from her said husband, and the contents of the within deed having been made known to her acknowledge that she signed the same of her free will and accord without fear or compulsion of her said husband.

Given under my hand and seal the day and year abovesaid. 

Before me, John Freese, associate Judge. 

Recd [Received] & Recorded July 30th A.D. 1825 J. Hudson, Recorder."

In this example, we learn that Associate Judge John Freese (also a witness to the deed) confirmed that Clarissa was not coerced into selling the land. The deed was recorded by the courts about six weeks after it was written, with J. Hudson serving as the recorder. 

Learn More

If you’d like to find Medina County, Ohio deeds to explore, a collection of records is available on FamilySearch.  Access them at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1087. (Remember to sign in, to view the records.)  This collection of deeds is also available on microfilm at the Family History & Learning Center.  As always, if you’re having trouble reading or interpreting a land deed, feel free to reach out to the MCDL Genealogy Team for help at 330-725-0588 x5017 or me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info.