My Trails into the Past

About a month before the wedding of my parents, Bill and Lea Hork, they stood on the piece of land where their first house was built. [1] The housing development was called Shore Acres in what used to be called West Pittsburg, but is now known as Bay Point. They look so happy. The story, as I remember it, was Lea’s parents, Pansy and Tom Johnston, put up the down payment for the property as a wedding present. The deed mentions only Bill, a single man, as the grantee. He purchased “lot no. 606, as designated on the map entitled ‘Shore Acres, Unit No. 5, Contra Costa County, California’.” [2] The grant deed was signed 4 Jun 1953, two months after their wedding and recorded six days later. The deed of trust gives the address of the property: 35 Wharf Drive, Pittsburg, California. The holder of the load was Bank of America. The loan was for $6,350. [3] What was the occasion of the photo? Was this the day Bill agreed to purchase the house from the developer? Was the down payment put ...

This is my third year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. Many deed records about land transactions do not give much information about families except for the buyer and seller. Better deeds might also include the seller’s wife name. This can help us keep same-named men separated, and also know that the man was married or that his wife was still alive at the time of the sale. The best deeds are those full of family information. These are usually about the division or sale of land after the death of the owner. The index might give a clue about these deeds, listing the first seller’s name and then “et al” after their name. Grantor Deed Index with the highlighted et al  The actual deed will list the names of all of the sellers. The cropped example below from Rankin Cou...