am very excited to have the opportunity to share some of the most
historically significant documents ever recorded in Essex County.
We refer to them as the "Native American Deeds Collection".
They link us to the days when the Native American Indians traveled
and lived on this land. We are very fortunate to have this collection
of ancient land transfers which are the only "evidence"
we have of the interaction between two conflicting cultures in
the 17th Century. These records document that every town in Essex
County has a Native American heritage. This project presents each
deed town by town, using fascimilies of "as recorded"
deeds and printed text. It is a fascinating story about property
rights, but simultaneously, it brings the Massachusetts Bay Colony
and its most politically influential county into focus and describes
how the first American nation was replaced by another.
-excert from a letter
from Register of Deeds, John L. O'Brien