Do you use FamilySearch’s new full-text search feature? If so, you may have noticed that not all records can be accessed from home. From past experience, I knew that most Indiana deeds are restricted to viewing at an affiliate library or a Family History Center. That limitation prompted a quick trip to the Seneca Free Library, one of FamilySearch’s affiliate libraries.
During that visit, I uncovered several valuable documents connected to my third great-grandfather, Nelson G. Crawford. Among them was an 1868 court case in which Martha Crawford petitioned for the partition of his land. This record not only named Nelson’s heirs but also revealed the married surnames of two daughters and even documented a grandson—details that add both clarity and richness to the Crawford family story.
CIRCUIT COURT . 10 Day TERM , 1863
page 225
Martha Crawford
vs
Mary Crawford et al
Come the parties by their attorneys and
also come
the commissioners herein and are sworn in
Open Court to faithfully and impartially discharge
the duties of their trusts in making partition of the lands
of which Nelson G Crawford died seized among the heirs
of said decedent and said commissioners afterwards submit
and file their report duly executed and acknowledge the
execution thereof in open Court and the court examine
and compare the same and being satisfied that the
same has been regular do approve and confirm the same and order
that the same be spread of record on the order Book of this Court and
said report reads as follows to wit
State of Indiana Warren Circuit Court
Warren County April Term 1868
Martha Crawford
vS Partition
James H Crawford et al
To the Hon John M Cowan Judge of said Court
The undersigned who were appointed commissioners
at the present term to make partition of the lands
lying and being in Warren County Indiana of which
Nelson G Crawford deed seized towit : The North West
quarter of section Eight ( 8 ) 160 acres also : The East half
of the North East quarter of section Seven ( 7 ) 80 acres
and also 32 acres of land in said County in
Section Eight and being the north East quarter
of the South West quarter of said section except
Eight ( 8 ) acres of land out of the South East Corner
and cut off from said 40 acre tract by the road
leading from Williamsport to the old town of
West Lebanon in said County of Warren and
known as the Danville roods the said 8 acres
cut off all lying on the South side of said Road and
the said 32 acres all lying on the north side of said
rood all of said three tracts 160 acres 80 acres &
32 acres lying & being in township ( 21 ) twenty one
North of Range Eight ( 8 ) west among the widow and heirs
at law of said decedent the said plaintiff and
defendants to wit Martha Crawford widow and his
children James H Crawford Marion Crawford Mary E. Briggs
Sarah A Woodard Celia C Crawford & the heirs of William
Crawford who was a son of Nelson G Crawford
Deceased to wit : Mary E Crawford said Williams Widow
& William C Crawford said Williams son & Grandsonpage 196
6 Day
April 25 1868
ORDER BOOK OF THE WARRENCrawford & since intermaried with Harrison Woodward
who is now deceased & Celia C Crawford Mary
E Crawford Widow of William C Crawford a son of
said decedent who died in 1860 and as his grand
Children William C Crawford who was a son of William
C Crawford sr deceased
On motion it is also proven to the Court that said
Nelson G Crawford died seized of the following lands at
the time of his death in Warren County , Indiana to wit
the North West quarter of section Eight 160 acres the East
half of the North East quarter of section seven 80 acres
and also the following described land towit :
32 acres of land lying and being in Warren
County Indiana and in said section eight
Township twenty one Range eight west and
being the North East quarter of the South West quarter
of said section except eight acres of land out of
the South East corner and cut off from said 40
acres tract by the road leading from Williamsport
to the old town of West Lebanon in said County
and known as the Danville Road the said 8 acres
cut off all lying on the South side of said Road
& the said 32 acres all lying on the North side of
said Road all of said three tracts of land lying &
being in township ( 21 ) Twenty one North of Range
eight west
And the Court further find that by the Last Will & Testam
ent of said decedent that among other
things & he devised to the said Martha Crawford his widow
One third of all said Real Estate in fee simple and
also the life estate in and to the remaining two
thirds of said real estate the Court therefore find that
said Martha Crawford widow is entitled to the one third
of said lands in fee simple and also a life estate in
& to the remaining two thirds of said lands
And the Court further find that James H Crawford
Marion Crawford Mary E Briggs Sarah A Woodard & Celia
C Crawford are each entitled to the equal undivided
One Sixth of two thirds of said land in fee simple subj
ect to the widows life estate in and to said land
And the Court further find that Mary E Crawford widow
of the said William C Crawford Sr Deceased and William
C Crawford Jr are each entitled to the equal undivided
one half of one sixth of two thirds of said lands in fee
simple subject to the widow Martha Crawfords life estate
in and to said lands
The Court therefore Order Adjudge & decree thatpage 197
CIRCUIT COURT . April
TERM , 1868partition be made of said lands and by assigning
and setting over to Martha Crawford Widow the one third
of said lands
And that the one sixth of two
thirds be set off and ass
igned to the aforesaid heirs to wit James H Crawford Marion
Crawford Mary E Briggs Sarah Woodward & Celia C
Crawford charged with the life estate of Martha Crawford aforesaid
And that the one half of one sixth of two thirds of said
lands be assigned & set off to each of the aforesaid
heirs to wit : Mary E Crawford
& William C Crawford subject
to the life estate of said Martha Crawford
And the court on motion appoint Zebulon Foster
Anthony Swisher & Isaiah Sharp Commissioners to
make partition in accordance with this decree
And the Court order a certified copy of decree to issue
and that the commissioners report at this term
Finding this 1868 partition record reinforced for me the value of making that extra trip to an affiliate library. While full-text search is an incredible tool for discovery, access restrictions can still limit what we can view from home. By taking advantage of onsite resources, I was able to uncover not only the names of Nelson G. Crawford’s heirs but also key details that help connect the generations. It’s a reminder that persistence—and sometimes a short drive—can yield the kind of documentation that turns a family story into a well-supported genealogy.