A deed for John and Bridget

 

Illinois & Michigan Canal.

Thanks again to FamilySearch Labs new search tool, I've stumbled onto a deed for my 3rd-great-grandparents, John and Bridget O'Brien, in La Salle County, Illinois in 1854. For $65, the couple purchased the east half of Lot 5 in Block 61 in La Salle on 27 May 1854. The land had been granted to the trustees of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, as part of the creation of a waterway to link trade up the Mississippi to the Great Lakes. The Canal is currently celebrating its 175th anniversary (see the link above to the I&M Canal website).

FamilySearch. LaSalle, Illinois Deeds. 1854.

The previous year, John and Bridget had purchased the rights to the eastern half of the land from Patrick Dooley (who was also listed in the above deed as owning the western half of the block). This purchase was located based on a misspelling of the O'Brien name (listed as Obrine in the 1853 record).