My sisters and I have inherited mineral rights in Hughes, Creek and Lincoln Counties. When I search in the OK County Records site, I find nothing pertaining to our relatives claims. I do have descriptions of the land involved. We have never had any communication with companies involved with this property.
If you find nothing, are you certain that you inherited these interests? If your ancestors didn’t own anything, then they had nothing to hand down to you and your sisters. Its also possible, the last record title is in one of you ancestor’s ancestor. Further, OKCountyrecords only goes back so far. Also, if your ancestor inherited through a probate, that wasn’t recorded, or if there is no probate, then you won’t find anything of record. You may need to acquire as much information as you can, and then hire a landman to search the records for you.
The OKC records include very little information if the mineral deeds were acquired before the 1990’s. If you live near one of these counties, and know the section, township and range, you can research the old ledger books yourself at the county courthouse (County Clerk’s office). If you are out of state, and know the section, township and range, then hire a landman. The ledgers will provide the from/to/book number/page number/deed number and other pertinent information. Most county clerks will then pull the old copies for you, generally charging $1 per page. Newer records are on computer. Depending on where your relative died, you should get a copy of the final decree (probate) which should list the mineral deeds owned. The section, township, range information should be included on the list of assets. Mineral deeds/interets must be probated in each county where there was ownership, and probate records are separate from mineral deed records. You can get copies of those at the courthouse as well. If you don’t know the section, township and range, then it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack, as each county contains many ledgers. Search the Oklahoma Unclaimed Property to see if there are royalty payments that are due to your relatives from old leases, as that might also provide a clue. I was in Hughes County less than 2 weeks ago researching my own family’s information, and the folks there are extremely helpful and efficient. Good luck.
Thank you for your prompt reply.
Thank you very much for your information with the plan for going forward. I do have the list of assets which gave us the descriptions drawn up in the 1980s. With your information and a trip to Oklahoma, I might just find something. Thank you.
You’re welcome. If you are going to pull documents, here are a few additional tips. Tell the county clerks that you want to research mineral deeds, as there are different sets of books. The range/township books include all the sections. The designations you will primarily see are MD (mineral deed), QCD (quit claim deed), CD or Court Decree (normally the final decree from probate) and OGL (Oil & Gas Lease). If these were very old records (1930’s) your ancestors may have given a mineral deed to the bank to ensure their mortgage wasn’t “called” during the Depression, and when the debt was repaid (generally between1938 and mid-1940’s based on what I saw), the bank issued a quit claim deed, which transferred the mineral deed ownership back to the original owner (I saw that in a number of records). You will want to pull all the information so that you have an audit trail. Take a notepad and write down the names, section, book, page, deed number, and the type of record (MD, QCD, etc.) as the clerks may need to copy these records from different books - 2 of the county clerks thanked me for including that information (type of record) as it made it easier for them. If you think your ancestors may have been listed on the deed along with other relatives, look for their names in the ledgers as well, as the first name of the person may be listed with an “et al” to denote the others listed on the deed (found that to be the case in Hughes county records). Look for court decrees in each county, because if it wasn’t probated in a county where there were holdings, then it probably needs to be probated there. Even the “old,” prior ownership. You’ll need to talk to an attorney about that, if that’s what you find. Happy hunting!
I really do appreciate your assistance. Thanks. It should be interesting.
I agree with most of what BG said, but the probate case need to filed only in one county, This can be filed in the county of residency or if the relative died while residing out-of-state, or the case can be filed in any county were the minerals or located. Once a final order is issued, copies can be filed in the counties where the properties are located.
Also, it is possible to probate the estates of multiple individuals in one case. This is known as a joint probate.
If you’re going to Oklahoma to visit the court houses, you may have to look through old ancient books of records. It’s a good idea to take a high quality digital camera with you, one that can take sharp pictures up close, because there’s no way to photocopy these records.