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The O'Neal Genealogy
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TOGA NEWS
Volume III,
Issue 3, March, 2003

 What is Land Genealogy ?

Land Genealogy is a useful tool in finding unknown spouses, siblings, children, in laws, etc. Most land deeds required spouses to sign when land was both bought and sold. Land deeds also give a personal flavor to an ancestor's life when other source information is scarce. Often they can provide a relative view of a persons wealth and social standing. In addition, they can pinpoint the exact location where our ancestors lived and died, allowing us the opportunity to actually walk on ground they owned during their lifetimes.  By knowing where they lived we are better suited to finding documentation on their lives.

A lot of what we've learned about our O'Neale family is based on Land Genealogy. To provide a better understanding of our ancestor's lives and to share what we've learned through this valuable tool, we've started a land genealogy page on The O'Neal Genealogy Association or TOGA Website. The information is so large we won't be able to adequately cover it in the newsletter, so we'll just mention it here and provide the opportunity for each of you to check it out for yourselves.

Just go the the website and click the LAND GENEALOGY link in the menubar. At this time we have only done the state of Maryland where our earliest known ancestors resided. As time goes by we will be adding more states, until hopefully, some day we will have a complete US Map with all our ancestors included.

Volunteers Needed.

How can you help speed up the process? Take a look at the information already listed on the Land Genealogy maps. We're looking for similar documented information. If you have land deeds, plats, wills with land names and/or locations, etc. gather them up and send them along with the following information.

If you live in a county where our ancestors resided and would like to volunteer some time, visit your local courthouse and see what you can gather up in the way of deeds, wills, land plats, etc. let me know. Also  we could use volunteers to coordinate the research in a state and or county. For example, if your ancestors lived in Chelan County, Washington State, or Bedford County, Pennsylvania, you could volunteer to coordinate the research of the land records of that state or county. Then, if other family members have information to donate for your state or county, they would be advised to send them to you.

If you'd like to volunteer to coordinate your state or county, please send an email to : John W. O'Neal, II, mailbox = <johnoneal@onealwebsite.com>
I'll forward a map of your county or state along with instructions on what to do with the map. If we all work together on this I think we can have a US map put together in no time.