Thanks for that very helpful information. We are obtaining the certified copies of the probate records, gift deed, etc., and are filing them in all the appropriate counties that don’t already have them. From talking to several county clerks, it sounded like those would all go in the deed records, but my brother, who is doing some of he legwork, went to one nearby county, and the clerk there, or rather her assistant, seemed to want to file the wills in the probate records, despite the fact that none of the people involved had their wills probated in that county, so I wanted to double-check.
As for filing a copy of a probate record in the deed records of a county where that will was probated, we will definitely consider doing this. However, the cost involved in backfilling these documents in 11+ counties is considerable, so we may wait on that for the time being.