Lot Deeds: Reconveyed, 1842-1884 | The Green-Wood Cemetery

This series contains original deeds to lots in Green-Wood Cemetery, dating from the early 1840s. The majority record a transaction in which the deeded land was later reconveyed, or sold back to Green-Wood.

The series was bundled together by cemetery record-keepers at some time in the nineteenth century; the latest reconveyance took place in the 1880s. Around this time, Green-Wood began a more rigorous method of file-keeping for conveyance records, and likely any conveyance information was filed with the Transfer Records series after this point. However, in the Transfer Records series, the original deed is not returned to the cemetery when a lot is reconveyed. By contrast, the return of the deed seems to have been the primary legal act required for reconveying the land in these early cemetery documents.

Cemetery lots may have been reconveyed to Green-Wood for a number of reasons. Some documents are simply marked "cancelled," suggesting that the deed was given up soon after being issued, possibly due to non-payment. Other records contain a series of other conveyances and business transactions that took place before the lot was eventually returned to the cemetery. Researchers should note that lots may have been used for burials before being reconveyed to the cemetery; often lot owners would perform this type of business transaction if they did not wish heirs to have access to the lot.

Researchers are advised to consult the Lot Deeds: Returned series for deeds returned to the cemetery without reselling the lot. A few of these deeds reference the Transfer Records series, which contains many other instances of lots that were reconveyed to Green-Wood Cemetery, though most of these files date later than the documents in this series, and typically deeds were not returned during the later conveyance process.

The folder names contain the lot number, name(s) on the deed(s) to the lot, and date range, indicating the time the lot was purchased to when it was reconveyed.