My mother is the widow of a man who's grandfather was a wildcat oil man back in the early to mid 1900's. He had bought mineral rights in Michigan. I am relatively sure he bought them in other states that he drilled in.
One of those hit a large gas well of which my mother inherited a small part.
As a teenager I remember my step-grandfather talking about he and his father working in Meigs County (Ohio) and Rippentuck (wherever that is) and Tidioute (titty-ute) in PA.
Mom only gets about $1400 a month from the gas well and money at this point is an issue.
My question is what is the best and most cost effective way of researching court house recorder's offices in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia?
I would first check to see if the area being searched has tax on unused mierals because by this time it would be unlikely that you have any ownership if they do. Then I would consider if the areas in question have a dormant minerals act where the surface owner could reclaim the unused minerals under their surface. Any place that does not fall under these catagories would be where I looked first.
I think the most cost effective way to find such properties would be to search for them yourself, you may be slower at first than a trained landman but I think you would pick up skills quickly. I say this because good landman work probably won't come cheap, possibly $300 to $500 a day whether they find anything or not. I'd save my money because if you do find something, you are probably going to have to pay a lawyer for help getting the minerals put into the current owners name, probate or possibly a quiet title action since it's a few generations down the line. I wish you and your mother the best of luck.
Thanks RW
I am heading to Meigs County in the morning.