63 Acres in Boone County

In August 1868, my 4th great-grandfather James Vail bought 16 acres of land in the North west quarter of Section 4, Township 19, North of Range 2 West in Boone County, Indiana. James bought this land for $350 from George and Margaret Elrod, a young couple who later moved to Miami County, Kansas. I am hoping James' land records in Boone and Montgomery Counties will help connect me to his parents or other members of the Vail family. I am still not certain on his connection to others in the Vail family who were in the area around the same time.

Original from Boone County Court.

It is interesting to see in these deeds that James is listed as being from Montgomery County, Indiana. A year after his purchase of 16 acres, James paid $1000 for 32 acres of land in the North west quarter of Section 6, Township 19 North of Range 2 West. He bought the land from Larkin B. Hobson and his wife Phebe Hobson.

There does not appear to be a family connection between the Hobsons and James Vail. The deed entries were out of order, so the next in the set was a 15 acre purchase from Larkin and Phebe Hobson to James Vail on 20 February 1868. This transaction was for $400.

There are a few more in the set prior to 1868, and I'll describe these in the subsequent post.