In this next post, let's look at the first time we definitively see James Dailey show up in some land deed records. He has a few transactions in Frederick County, VA that we can dig into.
James and Rachel are married in December of 1825, and the first land transaction shows up in Frederick County six years later in 1831. The record is found in Frederick County Deed Books, Book 59, Page 159-160, and is for a Deed of Trust. Not knowing what this meant, I had to consult one of my favorite bloggers, "The Legal Genealogist", to see what she had to say about this special type of deed. What I discovered is that this type of deed is not really a deed, but more of a mortgage with two or three parties involved. In our case, we have three parties involved in this transaction.
- Lender – The party who loans the money
- Borrower – The party who is borrowing the money and receiving the property
- Trustee – The party who holds the title to the property on behalf of the lender and whose main purpose is to sell the property at public auction if the borrower defaults on payments
According to Legal Genealogist, "If the borrower meets the conditions — that is, pays the money — then the trustee transfers title back to the borrower. If the borrower doesn’t meet the conditions, then the trustee can go ahead usually without any court action and sell the land, giving the money to the beneficiary, the lender. In both cases, possession of the land stays with the borrower, and all that’s being documented is the debt and the fact that the land is security for the debt. The deed of trust form just makes it easier for the lender if the borrower doesn’t pay what’s owed."
For the James Dailey Deed of Trust, he purchases some farm equipment and animals and the parties involved are as follows:
- Lender – Jesse Calvert loaned $290.60
- Borrower – James Dailey
- Trustee – George Fyst
The Items are interesting and my favorites are when they call the farm animals by name - one bay mare named "Bet", one bay horse named "Dragon". The other items are farm equipment like shovels, hatchets, and log chains and household items like beds, a cupboard, and split bottom chairs. See below from the actual deed for the complete list.
While reading this, I am wondering where James and Rachel are staying to keep these animals and household items because land is not purchased until the next deed which is 8 years later in 1839. Perhaps he could be staying on family land (don't I wish I knew who that was) or renting land.
Let's look at the next two land transactions dated, 23 Feb 1839 and found in Frederick County Deed Books, Book 67, Pages 275-277. James Dailey paid Jesse Calvert $370 for 297 1/4 acres of land that adjoins the land of Jacob Switzer (Make note of this name. It will come up again in a few). It mentions two tracts of land - one for 250 3/4 acres and another for 46 1/2 acres. Notice this deed does not mention his wife, Rachel; however, the next deed does.
The next deed transaction occurs on the same day, 23 Feb 1839, and is one of the only other times James and Rachel are mentioned together in a document. This deed is another Deed of Trust and for the same 297 acres of land mentioned above.
- Lender – Jesse Calvert loaned $1,920
- Borrower – James Dailey
- Trustee – George Fyst
I want to close this post but want to point out a few items first:
- The acreage purchased seemed like a large amount of land. I did a little research and found that by the 1850 Census, "farms in Frederick County were generally larger than ones in other counties in the Valley. Sixty-six percent of the farms in the county had 100 to 5,000 acres of improved farmland."
- I am not sure how Jesse Calvert relates to James Dailey, if at all. James did a couple of property and land transactions with James and there may be no relation. Maybe Jesse is just a friend of the family. This could use some additional research.
- I am also not sure if George Fyst is acquainted to James. He serves as a trustee on both deeds of trust. I did a little investigating on who could be the trustee and discovered that according to parkerpollard.com, "The trustee can be a business entity or an actual person like an attorney or a bank employee. Although the trustee is selected by the lender and can be replaced whenever the lender chooses, the trustee represents neither the borrower nor the lender. Rather, the trustee is a fiduciary with duties to both parties. He or she holds title to your real property subject to the terms of the deed of trust, until the loan is paid in full." Given this, George Fyst may just be an outside party with no relation to James.
- Jesse Calvert - Lender on Deed of Trust dated Oct 1835 and Grantor in deeds dated Feb 1839
- George Fyst - Trustee on the Deed of Trust dated OCt 1835
- Jacob Switzer - Land James bought in Feb 1839 adjoins the land of Jacob Switzer
- https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2016/07/12/deed-of-trust/
- Frederick County Deed Books, Book 59, Page 159-160, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSL6-QQ7K-V?i=91&cat=408287
- Frederick County Deed Books, Book 67, Page 275-276, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRG-1QL1-6?i=147&cat=408287
- Frederick County Deed Books, Book 67, Page 276-277, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRG-1QGF-Y?i=148&cat=408287
- https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/pdf_files/SpecialCollections/FK-022_Rural_Landmarks_Survey_1988-1992_PH_I-III_1988_KALBIAN_report.pdf, Page 120
- https://www.parkerpollard.com/trustee-deed-trust/
