Joseph McDermott Abstracts of Title, 1907-1963
RECORD GROUP: Special Collections
RECORD SERIES #: 10900
SERIES: Joseph McDermott Abstracts of Title
DATES: 1907-1963
VOLUME: 1 box
Joseph McDermott was born at Tennent, New Jersey on October 12, 1858. He lived and studied in Englishtown and Freehold in Monmouth County. At the age of seventeen, he began a career in law as a copyist, messenger, and utility man at Robins & Hartshorne. At twenty-one, he was admitted to the bar. After working with his brother, Frank McDermott, Joseph McDermott went on to establish his own law office specializing in title work.[1]
In 1898, McDermott was appointed Monmouth County Clerk by Acting Governor Watkins following the death of the County Clerk-elect, Theodore Aumack. McDermott served in this position until his death forty years later. In addition to his position as County Clerk, McDermott conducted a title searching business on Court Street in Freehold for many years. He was one of the organizers of the Monmouth Title Company and was a recognized authority on titles in Monmouth County.[2] A title search is an examination of official county government records to determine whether title to the property is good; i.e. whether there are any defects in the ownership of a certain tract of land. The examiner then prepares an abstract of title, a summary of the material examined that provides a condensed history of the title to the land.
In addition to his Monmouth Title Company, McDermott organized the Freehold Trust Company and served as its president until his death. McDermott died on June 10, 1938.[3]
[1] “County Clerk Died In His Sleep Last Friday,” Red Bank Register, June 16, 1938, accessed December 3, 2012, http://209.212.22.88/data/rbr/1930-1939/1938/1938.06.16.pdf.
[2] Memorials and Resolutions COUN 6200, “Joseph McDermott, June 10, 1938,” Monmouth County Archives, Manalapan, NJ.
[3] “County Clerk Died In His Sleep Last Friday,” Red Bank Register, June 16, 1938.
The collection includes abstracts of title for properties in the Freehold area. The bulk of the title searches were conducted through the offices of Joseph McDermott, specifically the Freehold Trust Company and Monmouth Title Company. Principal family names occurring throughout the collection include Conover, Minkerson, Quackenbush, Stokes, and Throckmorton.
Abstracts of title include property deeds, mortgages, wills, affidavits, sales, leases, lists of relatives, and geographic descriptions of the premises. The collection also contains correspondence between interested parties, correspondence with courts, names and dates of births and deaths of family members related to property holders, and diagrams indicating family relations.
In addition to abstracts of title, the collection also contains corporate records on the formation of the Stokes Bros. Manufacturing Company; a partition suit between the Conover and Minkerson families; property diagrams for JCP&L electrical lines; correspondence between JCP&L and the General Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey; and property surveys requested by the utility company JCP&L.
The collection covers the period from 1907 to 1963, but the documents referenced in the abstracts date to as early as 1745. There is a significant gap between records created by the Monmouth Title Company, which end in 1941, and those created by JCP&L, which begin in 1961. Note cards in the JCP&L records refer to the earlier abstracts of titles in the collection.
This collection is open to researchers.
The collection is available for use in its original format. A container list is included in this finding aid.
The collection is in two sections, Abstracts of Title and Other Records. Abstracts of title are arranged alphabetically by name of the client who requested the title search. Other Records, consisting of surveys, diagrams and tax maps requested by JCP&L are arranged chronologically.
Monmouth County Archives
125 Symmes Drive
Manalapan, NJ 07726
Phone: 732-308-3771
The collection was donated by the Battleground Historical Society of Freehold on July 5, 2011.
Finding aid created by Tad Shubert on December 3, 2012.
Folder # |
Folder Title |
Date of Title/Search |
Notes |
Abstracts of Title | |||
1 | Condo, Minnie E. | 1934, Oct. 13, | Originally deeded from Henry, Charles, Barret and Sarah Bennett to Hudson Bennett (1850) |
2 | Crine, Joseph | 1932, May 9 | Master’s Report and Bill of Foreclosure; case between Freehold Mutual Loan Assoc. and Joseph Crine |
3 | Freehold Company | 1941, Jan. 18 | Premises known as The Armory Building; Originally deeded from Aaron Throckmorton to Richard Davis & James Burtis (1864) |
4 | Freehold Mutual Loan Association | 1927, April 28 | Original property holder James Benson (1883); settlement sale Robert McLean to Jacob Goldberg (1929) |
5 | Freehold Mutual Loan Association | 1929, July 5 | Originally deeded from Mary Throckmorton to Gordon Conover (1882) |
6 | Freehold Mutual Loan Association | 1929, Aug. 14 | Originally deeded from Charles & Mary Throckmorton to Peter Thompson & David Conover (1872) |
7 | Freehold Mutual Loan Association | 1929, Aug. 20 | Originally deeded from Board of Chosen Freeholders (Monmouth Co.) to John Craig (1799) |
8
|
Goldfarb, Joseph
|
1930, Apr. 8 | First listed property holders Joseph & Ethel Mazursky; deeded to Samuel Gellman (1920) |
9 | Gorlich, Demitry & Katie | 1932, Jan. 4, | Deeded from Joseph Brakeley, Inc. to Jacob Sokol (1927) |
10
|
Greenberg, Jake | 1930, Nov. 15 | Originally deeded from Morris Rubinstein to Jake Greenberg (1919) |
11 | Greenberg, Sadie | 1929, Nov. 23 | Previous property holder Max Finegold; deeded to Sadie Greenberg (1920) |
12 | Jennings, Fred Jr. | 1921, Nov. 28 | Originally deeded from Maria & William Sammons to Frederick Jennings (1888) |
13 | Jersey Central Power & Light | 1966, May 26 | Original property holder Elisha Lippincott (1838) |
14 | Lefkowitz, Theodore | 1935, March 19 | Premises on Avenue ‘A’ in Freehold; previous property holders James & Sarah Applegate (1907) |
15
|
Monmouth Company, Inc. | 1927, July 22 | Original property holder Thomas C. Throckmorton (1850); deeded to John R. Waln (1872) |
16 | Mount, William H. | 1918, Oct. 4 | Original property holder John W. Slocum |
17 | Mount, William H. | 1922, Apr.17 | Warrantee Deed; original deed holder John W. Slocum |
18 | New York Telephone Company | 1913, Feb. 21 | Originally deeded from James S. and Margaret Thompson to Silvester and Henry Buck (1835) |
19 | Ozomko, Samuel & Mary | 1930, Apr. 14 | Also listed as Samuel & Mary Chomko; first listed property holder John E. & Vickie E. Smith; deeded to William G. Conover (1909) |
20 | Podralsky, Gregory & Paulina | 1934, July 10, | Originally deeded from Martin & Annie Daley to Morris Badanes (1917) |
21 | Quackenbush, Eliza | 1929, May 11 | Inherited from Robert McLean |
22 | Rogers, John L. & Stanley L. | April 10, 1934 | Original property holder John W. & Ann Maria Estle; deeded to William D. Reid (1870) |
23 | Sherman, Benjamin B. & Blaisdell, E. Thurston | 1899, May 3 | Original property holder George H. Slocum & Sarah Lavinia (1868) |
24 | Smith, Hezekiah | 1919, Jan., ca. | Originally deeded from Joel & Maria Parker to Hezekiah Smith (1854) |
25 | Township of Atlantic | 1909, Oct. 1 | Originally deeded from Mary and John Rutherford to William Marshall (1841) |
26
|
Yorkus, Peter | 1931, June 25 | Deeded to James L. Hendrickson (1890) |
Other Records | |||
27 | Stokes Bros. Manufacturing Company | 1908-1939 | Official documents on the extension of corporate existence for Stokes Bros. Manufacturing Co. |
28A | Partition Suit: Conover v. Minkerson | 1916-1917 | Holmes L. Conover, complainant; Eustace Minkerson, Minnie Minkerson, Alice A. Conover (et al) defendants |
28B | Partition Suit: Conover v. Minkerson | 1916-1917 | Holmes L. Conover, complainant; Eustace Minkerson (et al) defendants |
29 | Electrical plans: JCP&L | 1961, Aug. 7 | Electrical plans and profiles of Jerseyville – Farmingdale line |
30 | Surveys: JCP&L | 1962, Sep. 13 | Surveys of Marlboro property divisions, including property of Rouleff Schanck |
31 | Surveys: JCP&L | 1962, Dec. 12-19 | Surveys from George J. Miller, Registrar of the General Board of Proprietors of Eastern Division of State of NJ |
32 | Family chart: Hezekiah Smith | n.d. | Family chart and property divisions(?) for family of Hezekiah Smith; Monmouth Title Co. |
WPDOCS\FINDING AIDS\SPECIAL COLLECTIONS\MCDERMOTT ABSTRACTS OF TITLE