Books published by Heritage Books

Denice (Dennis) Darling (born 1640 in England) came to Mendon, Massachusetts around 1677. This work covers seven generations and contains more than 1300 names. Typical entries include name, place and date of birth, and date of death. Marriage information is supplied when known.

These abstracts contain information from deeds, leases, releases, mortgages and other agreements that reveal family relationships.The abstracts are presented in the original order that they were entered in the deed books. The deed book page number is indicated. In addition to family relationships, these abstracts contain hundreds of names of witnesses and neighbors. A full name index is included.

During the Revolution, various states enacted laws that allowed for the confiscation and sale of land which was held by known loyalists. In New York, following the 1779 Act of Attainder, the estates of fifty-nine individuals were confiscated. Four of those on the list were Roger Morris, Esq. (late member of the Council for the Colony of New York) and his wife, Mary Morris; and, Beverly Robinson and his wife, Susannah Robinson. As heirs of Frederick Philipse, his daughters, Mary Morris and Susannah Robinson, held approximately two-thirds of the Philipse Highland Patent. Their brother, Philip Philipse, held the other third. At the time of the 1779 act, there were several hundred farmers leasing land in the Highland Patent from the Robinson and Morris families. Most of the confiscated property was sold to the tenant farmers. This book gives an excellent view of the people living in two-thirds of the Philipse Highland Patent, which was located in the southern part of Dutchess County (present-day Putnam County), New York.This revised edition has been produced to correct a flaw in the first publication. The Concklin maps for lot # 7 of Robinson were placed too far south relative to the USGS bases map. The northern portion of lot #7 actually belongs in what is now Dutchess County and was part of once disputed land in what was called the Beekman Gore. This edition properly places the Concklin maps for lot # 7 where they belong. The name index has been corrected as well to reflect this change to the property placement.A brief historical background precedes a table of property transactions and maps of property which was confiscated by the New York legislature during the Revolutionary War. The table contains information about each property transaction, including parties involved, the date, the amount of the transaction, farms and/or bodies of water on the property, adjacent neighbors, and occupier (if other than the purchaser). The beautifully detailed maps allow researchers to easily find properties relative to today's features. Indices to full-names and places add to the value of this work.

Despite Cato West's high political profile and record trail, his personal history and family details are often poorly documented. This book provides a brief summary of documentation on his parents and paternal grandparents, but focuses upon Cato West, his brother, his wives, his children, his grandchildren, and, in some instances, his great-grandchildren. During her research, the author discovered extensive documentary evidence, some of which contradicted published and posted assertions about Cato West's birthplace, birth date, parents, siblings, wives, and children. This work presents the facts that emerged from this research.Only six of Cato West's fifteen children (by two wives) left descendants beyond grandchildren, but correlating the existing documentation made it possible to present a fuller portrait of each of the fifteen: William (b. 1782), Martha Elizabeth (b. 1782-84), Mary (b. 1784-86), Thomas (b. by 1787), Elizabeth "Betsy" (b. about 1789), Charles (b. 1791-93), Susan (b. by 1792), Ann (b. about 1794), John Smith (b. after 1797), Richard Claiborne (b. by 1804), Benjamin Franklin (b. 1805), Martha Elizabeth (b. 1812), Mary Louisa (b. about 1814), Cato, Jr. (b. about 1816), and William (b. 1819). Providing these fuller genealogies for each child serves to nail down their identities and stem the confusion that heretofore has plagued Cato West researchers.An index to full-names and places adds to the value of this work.

Mr. Hall has abstracted the earliest of the land records (the patents) and grouped this information by owners, identifying each tract by hundred. The level of detail clearly separates his work from abstracts of rent rolls and land records making it more useful for those without easy access to the Maryland State Archives. As he did so successfully in Early Landowners of Maryland, Volume One: Anne Arundel County, Hall has once again greatly enhanced the value of this work by identifying patentees and other persons named in the patent document and by defining the relationships or involvement of such persons. This includes relatives, former tract owners, persons transported, persons completing service, surveyors, public officials, contributors of rights to acreage, trades, and occasionally, employers. He also includes helpful information such as personal relationships, disputes, and even an occasional reference to a burial site. Hall has identified virtually all the Prince George's County patentees along with others who owned the land or warrant or acted as owner. In addition, he includes references to tract location by river, creek or branch. In nearly all cases he identifies neighbors and their tracts and, using data gleaned from other records such as probate, judicial proceedings, church and marriage records, he has identified and included many grants not included in the rent rolls. Several maps showing hundreds and land tracts of Prince George's County and a separate surname index and tract index add to the value of this work.