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.