Browse the Collection

Collection includes 1,449 handwritten land indentures, mostly on parchment and some on paper. The materials relate to the sale and ownership of land in England over nearly three centuries, including deeds, leases, manorial records and mortgages. Also included are prenuptial and loan agreements, wills and probate records. Original provenance of the collection is unknown. Several documents were apparently mailed to George Minns, a Salt Lake City genealogist, but how the whole collection was compiled prior to its donation to the Harold B. Lee Library in 1983 remains unknown. These materials have been used as examples of handwriting for paleography courses.

• Finding Aid for the Collection of Land Indentures (MSS 1779).
• Browse digitized items from the Collection of Land Indentures (MSS 1779).
• BYU’s Center for Family History & Genealogy Script Project.
• “Deeds in Depth” at the University of Nottingham.
• Paleography Tutorials at the UK National Archive and the Folger Library .