Hello. Like so many others, I have been contacted by a landman wanting to lease some rights that I didn’t know I had. Is there a way to find out the listed legal owner of these rights online? I know who owns the surface, but can’t find a way to see the miners rights listed owner. Thanks in advance!
Mineral, not miner.
Try reading the information on this site https://geology.com/articles/mineral-rights.shtml and see if it might at least give you a little insight on how the process works. We only knew of ours and the percentage of ownership through a will. If you find the information and you have several acres you may want to consult with a mineral rights attorney.
The only thing I can think of is the Wetzel county document website Wetzel documents
If the other owners have signed leases they should be filed there. If the landman is doing a good job, he should have made sure that documents such as wills and affidavits of heirship are filed in the system to trace the rights from the early owner to the present descendants. Often this step is not done, or done later.
If these rights are taxed separately you might be able to find some names that you recognize on the tax inquiry part of the site. However if you didn't know you had them you were not being taxed. There are various scenarios that might have happened in this case. Good luck!
I’ve tried using that website, but the ancestor’s name I was given doesn’t produce any results. I entered my fathers name and still no results.
I was told land agents get the mineral rights owners names from doing title searches ( very expensive process I'm told ) and find heirs through probate records that are free to the public and will be found in the courthouse of the county where it was filed. Your best bet is to contact someone in the Wetzel County courthouse assessors office in New Martinsville for more information. like I mentioned above courthouse records are free if you go there and look them up but you will pay for copies. I seriously doubt you will be able to do it online at as far as WV goes. The courthouses in WV that are drilling or getting ready to drill are full of land agents searching records on any given day so I think that's a good indicator that those types of record you are looking for won't be online!
The Wetzel recent deeds, leases, wills, and some other documents are online at the link I posted above. The older records were available on a different version of this, but I can't find it at this link now. Probably a good idea to call the Wetzel County Clerk's office and ask. However some things are not recorded (or at least not yet) and you might need to do a lot of research.
If you give me the tax map parcel number and the tax district the parcel is located in...Ill abstract it for you. I'm sort of busy but given the weather forcast this week...I think Ill have a rainy evening to myself.
Okay, I tried it again last night, and was able to get some info. I still don’t know how my father is related to the property, but I will keep looking. Off to pose another question. Thanks for your replies everyone!
Shelly, Ask your landman who sent you the letter. He should be able to explain how it got to your Dad in relatives and they should give you some names. That is how I found out about mine. Good luck. Ask a lot of questions. That is what I am going through right now. Linda