Researching in Ritchie County

Here is a website for searching deeds, leases, wills, trust and mortgage records, and a few other things, currently for the period of July 1 1985 to (as of 8/9/2013) July 31 2013.

https://www.uslandrecords.com/wvlr/controller

Searching is free, there is a fee to view and print. If you were in the courthouse in Harrisville, this same database is available on their computers (very crowded with landmen doing research) and printing copies is $1 per page.

If you were in the courthouse, on their computer they also have the older records and the indexes to them. These are somewhat complicated, and the older ones are handwritten.

It is recommended to trace your property back to the original Land Grant or Patent if possible, or at least to about 1865 when the first oil was being discovered. This is important to see if you have what you think you have. Never trust a landman to have all the correct information. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. The more you know the better.

When trying to research your property, start with how you acquired it: inheritance or purchase. If purchase, you can go to the index, find your deed, see who sold it to you, and go backwards. If you inherited, are you getting tax bills for it? In your name or the name of your ancestor? If you are not getting tax bills, see if someone in your family is (cousin, aunt, etc).

You need to find a name and search in the index for the appropriate period, and find the correct person, find the property and get the deed.

There are complicated situations you might run into going backwards, such as when someone purchased a property at at tax sale. Sometimes the deed says who owed the taxes, and thus the prior owner. Sometimes it is several properties sold the same day, and the individuals are not listed, so you have to go to the court records to see the circuit court order about the sale. There are other complications as well.

If anybody wants to talk about this, I have been researching things long distance for multiple properties (oil and gas interests) I inherited in Ritchie County. Very few documents came with this inheritance so I have had to learn a lot on my own, with one trip to the courthouse last year. Very interesting, and it really can be like detective work sometimes.