I am taking care of my late uncle’s estate. I found a deed from Reeves County, TX from 1927. No idea if it has been sold or if it is nonoperational. Where can I check? I have looked around but the searches don’t have the same categories. The deed was made in Tarrant County, but not sure why. “That certain tract of 640 acres, described as section 285., block 13, H &G Railway company, original grantee, and situated in Reeves County, Texas”
You will need to provide some more information before someone can help you. If the deed was to your uncle, in other words he was the grantee, then you would need to check the Reeves County deed records to see if he sold it. That’s probably the case if you haven’t found any other records, tax payments etc. on it but it’s also possible when he sold that he retained some mineral interest.
Not sure what you mean by “searches don’t have the same categories” and when you say the deed was made in Tarrant County, do you mean that’s where the person who sold the land to your uncle was when they signed the deed?
You can search the Reeves County grantor indexes online at CourthouseDirect.com or TexasFile.com but what they have probably won’t take you back nearly that far. If you can’t go to the courthouse in Pecos to check it out yourself you could hire a landman to research it or get a title company there to make a run sheet for you and then contact the county clerk to get copies of any deeds that appear to be related.
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Sorry for not being clear. When I looked at searches (probably the wrong ones) I can’t find out how to do it. The deed has sections and blocks but the web page searches don’t show those categories. I will look at your links to see if those work for me. I am sure a lot has changed since 1927. I checked the website for unclaimed property in Texas, and nothing is there, so they probably sold it, or the well is plugged.
I thought you were talking about a deed givng your uncle title to a piece of land or possibly just mineral interest. When you say…or the well is plugged…are you saying there was a well producing there in 1927?
If you are trying to determine whether your uncle sold land or mineral interest that was deeded to him in 1927 you would do a name search looking for his name in the grantor indexes of the deed records and check any deeds you find to see if they match the legal description in the deed you have. But if you are trying to see every transaction that has taken place in that block and section since 1927 you’ll need a title company that indexes deeds by location.
My post was deleted, not sure why. But your uncle conveyed the interest from 1927 to 3 other family members with the same last name as you. Volume 113, Page 581 August 1947
Thank you. I do see that now. It is my understanding that there has not been any activity on the land.
Does this mean it is just a big open undeveloped field? Or could there be structures around but no oilwells. Just curious. How would I find this plot of land on a map, like on google maps?
Attached is a picture of what it actually looks like. You can go here https://gis.rrc.texas.gov/GISViewer/ click the magnifying glass at the top middle > click surveys > select Reeves county and type in 285 where it says section. To change to the satellite view like attached click the button that is to the right of the Print button and select imagery
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Thank you! I appreciate this.
Lisa, there is a Mineral Deed recorded on 9/3/47 where Leon and Margaret conveyed their mineral interests to Betty, Maruice and Albert Nathan Janco. It is in Book 113 at page 581
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Those three are my father, aunt, and uncle! Leon and Margaret are my deceased grandparents. They purchased in 1927 and deeded to their children in 1947. And nothing has changed with that land, apparently. I have the 1927 deed and the recorder office has the 1947 one. Not sure why. So my question is if I have this right… Albert passed away. So I need to send the Reeves county clerk the notarized legal documentation to have them record this. Albert’s shares go to Maurice and to Betty’s daughter. (Betty passed away), So Betty’s daughter needs to send information to have Betty’s share recorded into her name. In the event that there is drilling to happen, the operator will check the records and contact the shareholders. And they will issue the physical deeds? Am I missing a step here? I am very new with this and every time I learn something, I realize I don’t understand the procedure.
You are correct that the chain of title needs to be recorded in Reeves County for any future operator to know who presently owns these mineral’s. Best to contact a local Reeves County Attorney or you might start with a call to the recorder’s office. Typically, the Will and Probate doc’s will need to be recorded to show who the correct heirs are. Good luck, it shouldn’t prove to be very complicated!
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If I have sent the documentation to the recorder’s office, then that should be it. On other deeds where there is production, I contacted the county clerk to have it recorded. And also the operator. If that is done, what does a landman do? I have talked to a couple, but not sure what other services they offer that would be necessary for the transfer. Do they also to valuation?