Glossary

Chain of Title

Document showing the transferrence of a property from owner to owner

Deed

Physical document expressing ownership of a property

Deed Poll

A deed executed by a single party

et ux.

'et uxor,' Latin for 'and wife'

Plot Number

The number assigned to a property by the city for use in municipal recordkeeping, which is not necessarily the same as the number in the street address. The plot number can be found by looking at the plot maps kept by the city.  Click here for an image

Transfer Sheet

A transfer sheet is essentially a summary of the deed, showing only the grantor, grantee, date and possibly some other basic information. They were used from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century and are kept by the city department of records. While they do have the most important information for constructing a chain of title, they are not a substitute for the deed itself.