posted on January 7, 2001 07:51:14 AM
I am looking for someone that has some knowledge on land deeds and there value. How to tell if there authentic. I ran across a deed signed by Martin Vaun Buren and do not even know where to go with this. Any help out there?
posted on January 7, 2001 08:01:53 AM
First of all, read some biographies of Van Buren and see if it is possible for him to have signed the deed (Was he alive? Did he live in the area?)
posted on January 7, 2001 10:32:46 AM
No info on Van Buren, but this morning (Sunday) there is a wire service story about an item originally shown on Roadshow, a big document written and signed by Jefferson (I think a deed was part of it). Sold at Sotheby's for around 250,000.
posted on January 7, 2001 01:07:23 PM
You might try contacting the Smithsonian Institute. They've been great in helping me identify several historical items.
BTW, I have my family's original land grant signed in 1833 by Andrew Jackson. Wonder if that would bring in as much as Jeffersons??
posted on January 7, 2001 03:39:40 PM
Very few of the land grant deeds were actually signed by Presidents. Most were signed by clerks in the Presidents behalf.
If the writing on the entire document including the signature is in the same hand chances are its a clerks signature.
posted on January 7, 2001 03:50:31 PM
I agree with bruder.
Most deeds of this era were signed by a clerk or secretary for the President.
The deeds are quite common and usually overpriced.
