In 1965, my grandparents received a letter from a lawyer, Ernest B. Ross of Houston, who was buying up 850 acres of land in Wharton and Waller Counties that once belonged to W.A. Rowe.

W.A. Rowe had died intestate, leaving several heirs and at least 115 owners of this property. 1/8 interest passed to the Ellsworth H. Manchester, who left his interest to be divided among 41 first cousins or their heirs.

So someone had to track down all those cousins. How would this have been recorded and where? Is there a record in Waller County that lists them all?

8-28-2004

I can't answer your question as to whether records about this may be available in Waller County, but I thought you would like to know that there was an Ellsworth H. Manchester (born 10-2-1872 in Iowa) who died 7-1-1947 in Napa County, California (you would need to order his death certificate for about $10 from the State of California (www.vitalchek.com) to find out the exact city in that county where he died, since I don't see him listed on the Social Security Death Index or anywhere else. Maybe the probate file has the heir information in it you are seeking. I am guessing that this is the same man you were looking for--perhaps he has lived in various cities during his lifetime and seems to be fairly prominent/perhaps even a bit wealthy at some point since he seems to have owned many properties/interests.

GENEALOGICAL RESEARCHER

Any papers will be filed in the court house in each county affected. ie. there has to be filed a death certificate showing the owner died, the attorney has to file public notice in the local newspaper, the list of the heirs could be3 obtained from old census records, old land records, any old records, drivers license, autos purchased, tax records, etc. JUST LIKE# GENEALOGY< everyone leaves a pathway in paperwork. Now all of that is being placed on internet, so you can sit at home/office and find the information you need.Make a habit of reading LEGAL NOTICES.