Citing deeds obtained from County Clerk website

By LisaGorrell on Sun, 12/12/2021 - 16:29

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I have been finding that some county clerks are putting their digitized deed records online. This is wonderful, especially when the years covered continue past what FamilySearch has.

I was able to access the various deed index images to find the deeds I want and then was able to call up the volume and page of each. For example, Erath County, Texas images can be found here: https://tyler.co.erath.tx.us/web/historicalIndex/HISTORICAL_INDEX336S1. Once found, the deed can be added to a shopping cart. Once paid, the deed images are available for a pdf download.

My question is do I reference this URL in a citation? There is no way to pinpoint the exact URL for any of the images. The images are part of search/retrieval database and the URL does not change as each volume is accessed.

Submitted byEEon Sun, 12/12/2021 - 19:45

Hello, Lisa. The basic rule is: We cite what we use. So, yes, we cite the website also, in Layer 2, just as we would a major provider. As you say, we can't provide an exact URL for the document. However, we can cite the website and the URL through which the deed can be ordered, then explain.

Submitted byMichael Haiton Tue, 12/14/2021 - 22:27

If I understand correctly, the URL is for the index. So I believe citing the URL for the source of the deed itself would not be accurate.

The online request/payment/delivery system would just be a 21st-century form of writing the clerk a letter and requesting a photocopy, the way we did it years ago, right? So I believe citing the Clerk & Recorder's Office itself, with the main URL for the Clerk & Recorder's Web site would be more appropriate.