Old Texas Mineral Deeds & Shares

[Jim_Brock]

My grandmother’s aunt’s husband owned several Texas leases, they were inherited by my grandmother from her aunt, then inherited by my father. My stepmother just sent me, as my father’s heir (he past in 2009) , several documents: Mineral Deeds, Certificate of Shares and Texaco [Distribution?] “Orders”. The dates range from 1919 to 1975. Reading other recent posts about getting the rights into my name, etc. - most suggest to hire an attorney. It does not appear that my Grandmother nor my Father tried to transfer to their name. I do have some wills/trusts for the chain of inheritance. I will try and research online to see what I can learn. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Warmheartsland]

Hi,

I would look at the legal descriptions contained in the mineral deeds. You can try to search in the county records to see what comes up.

You may want to sign up for an account for Texas file to see how far back the records go online. https://www.texasfile.com/ Check to verify if the interest was ever sold or if not then the last person whose name it is under.

Then you can check out the Texas Railroad Commission website using the legal description to see if there was ever production in the area. (Go to https://rrc.texas.gov/about-us/resource-center/research/gis-viewers/)

You can also see if funds were ever sent to the State at claimittexas.org.

As far as getting title into the current name, you may need to hire someone to help assess what is needed. A landman, title consultant, attorney, etc.

Best of luck!

[PeteR]

Jim, see if you can get a good description of the property locations from the deeds or division orders. With that information a landman could visit the county courthouse and determine if your grandmother’s uncle was still the owner of record. The mineral rights could have been sold, gifted or re-assigned over the years. If your grand-uncle is still the owner, an attorney can help you to get the rights in your name.
You can also check unclaimed property for your grand-uncles name, but only the courthouse work can determine if there is anything for you to become the owner of.