Have you tried FamilySearch’s Full-Text Search yet? I’ve found this tool invaluable—not only for locating records, but also for generating usable transcriptions of old photocopies tucked away in my files.
This week’s Monday’s Diggings takes me back to another Broils deed from that collection. Knowing that FamilySearch could likely provide a transcription, I set out to locate the document using full-text search. However, rather than guessing how the computer might have interpreted the surname Broils, I decided to take a different approach.
Instead of searching by name, I pulled two clearly legible phrases directly from the deed and used them as my search terms:
“thirty acres”
“beginning at a hickory”
After limiting the results to Randolph County, North Carolina, and narrowing the timeframe to the 1700s, the search returned just five results. The very first one matched my photocopy exactly—confirming the record and providing the full transcription you’ll find below.
Following the transcription, I’ve also included a Deed Mapper plot of the land, which helps bring this grant into clearer focus on the landscape it once occupied.
No. 34
State of North Carolina
To all to whome these presents Shall Come Greeting
Know ye that we for & in Consideration of the Sum of Ten pounds for
every Hundred Acres hereby Granted paid into our Treasurey by
Fredrick Broiles have Given & Granted & by these presents do give &
Grant unto the Sd Fredrick Broils & Tract of Land Containing one
hundred & thirty acres lying in the County of Randolph
on Caraway Watters Begining at a Hickory & Runing East
five Chains to a post Oak then north five Chains to a post oak
Bounded by Shepherds then East forty chains to a Black Oak
in Callors Line then North Twenty Eight Chains & a half to a
Post Oak Bush then West forty five Chains to a stake in
the old Line then South to the Begining on Said Line as
by the plat hereunto annexed Doth appear Together with all
Woods Watters Mines & Minreal Hereditements & appurtenances
to the Sd Land Belonging or in any wise appurtaining
To Hold to the Sd Fredrick Broiles his Heirs & assigns forever
Yielding & praying to us Such Sums of money or otherwise as
our General assembley from time to time may Direct provided
Always that the Sd Fredrick Broiles Shall Cause this grant
to be Registered in the Registers office of our sd county of
Randolph Within the time limited by Law Otherwise the Same
Shall be said & of no affect In Testimony whereof we
have caused these our letters to be made pattent & our
Great Seal to be hereunto affixed Witness Richard Dobbes
Spaight Esqr our Governer Captain Genereal & Commander
in Chief at Newbern the 24th Day of June in the 7th year
of our Independance & in the year of our Lord one Thousand
Seven Hundred & ninety three
By his Exectr Comd
I Glassgow Surety
Richd Dobbs SpaightRegistered the 18th Day of Decr 1794
North Carolina, Randolph County. Record of Deeds, 1779-1963. Film #7517673. Fredrick Broils, 27 Nov 1793; Vol. 1: No. 34; 104 of 564, digitized images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 19 January 2026.
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FTS is a game-changer. Sadly for me, I have to do it all when I’m on my breaks at work as pretty much none of the record sets are available to me outside an Affiliate Library or FamilySearch Centre.
On the up side, I found some amazing guardianship records via FTS that help greatly with my Beake research – they’re in Latin, but still…
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