Guide to the Collection of Orange County Rancho Title Abstracts MS.R.080

Processed by Andre Ambrus
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2003
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu


Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Collection of Orange County rancho title abstracts
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.080
Physical Description: 0.4 Linear Feet (1 box) and 1 digitized object
Date (inclusive): 1887-1891
Physical Location: University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives. Irvine, California 92623-9557.
Abstract: This collection comprises 3 bound, handwritten title abstracts, prepared by the Abstract and Title Insurance Company of Los Angeles, containing transcriptions of documents, dating back as early as 1868. The transcriptions are from original documents such as deeds, leases, tax assessments, and court cases with accompanying hand-drawn maps for properties that were part of Rancho Boca de la Playa and Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana presently part of Orange County, California. The fourth document is an unbound typescript copy of an 1887 title abstract for a property formerly known as the Colima Tract on the Rancho Santa Gertrudis, and was prepared by the firm of Pendleton and Williams.
Language of Material: English .

Access

Collection open for research.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.

Preferred Citation

Collection of Orange County rancho title abstracts. MS-R080. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Acquisition Information

Acquired, 2000.

Processing Information

Processed by Andre Ambrus, 2002.

Background on Title Insurance Companies

The Abstract and Title Insurance Company of Los Angeles, founded in 1886, was the first corporation in the City of Los Angeles to issue certificates of titles and abstracts. The Company filled a need for a reliable institution that would provide titles and abstracts for the new landowners attracted to California by the economic boom. In 1893, prompted by a temporary collapse of the real-estate market the company merged with its only local competitor, the Los Angeles Abstract Company (founded in 1887), to create the Title Insurance and Trust Company which was incorporated the same year.
No information is available regarding Pendleton and Williams, Examiners of Titles and Searchers of Records.

Scope and Content of Collection

This collection comprises 3 bound, handwritten title abstracts, prepared by the Abstract and Title Insurance Company of Los Angeles, containing transcriptions of documents, dating back as early as 1868. The transcriptions are from original documents such as deeds, leases, tax assessments, and court cases with accompanying hand-drawn maps for properties that were part of Rancho Boca de la Playa and Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana presently part of Orange County, California. The fourth document is an unbound typescript copy of an 1887 title abstract for a property formerly known as the Colima Tract on the Rancho Santa Gertrudis, and was prepared by the firm of Pendleton and Williams.

Related Material

Related materials can be found in the Forster-Del Valle Family Correspondence MS-R48, Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries.

box 1, folder 1-3

Abstract and Title Insurance Company of Los Angeles title abstracts

box 1, folder 1

Rancho Boca de la Playa 1879-1887

Scope and Contents note

Document includes mortgage documents, minutes of probate court proceedings, 3 hand drawn maps, patents, and deeds assessments for such historic California personages as Emigdio Vejar, Pablo Pryor, and Marcos Forster (son of prominent landowner John Forster).
box 1, folder 2-4

Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana 1868-1891

Scope and Contents note

Document includes 4 hand-drawn maps, minutes of probate court proceedings, deeds, mortgage records, tax assessments and certificates.
box 1, folder 5

Remaining interest of Henry Watson in the Smythe Tract 1869-1887

Scope and Contents note

Document includes a hand-drawn map of Smythe Tract along with a number of deeds, mortgages and assessments.
box 1, folder 1-3

Pendleton and Williams, Examiners of Titles and Searchers of Records. Title abstracts of the Colima Tract of Rancho Santa Gertrudis 1871-1887

Scope and Contents note

Mimeographed document detailing a title search for the Colima Tract property with its concluding 5 years searched and certified by Pendleton and Williams. Document includes works by a number of early California title examiners, such as Judson (who offered the first California land title) Gillette and Gibson, Hazzard and many others.