It’s so very cool when you come across evidence of your ancestor from hundreds of years ago. I finally got around to searching through on-line deed books (familysearch.org) for my 5th great-grandfather, Peter Billow. Peter lived in York county in the late 1700s, before moving to Cumberland County (later Perry County) in the early 1810s.
Below is the first page of the deal he made on 12 April 1785 with Michael Ebert to purchase property from Michael in York town. [1] Peter is a carpenter, an occupation he was consistently engaged in, based on deeds and census information.
I found a few other deeds involving him. With census information, I’m in the lucky position of having two independent sources of his having lived in York town and when he moved to Hellam, also in York county (he moved there by 1793). In reviewing the deeds, I can see the varying spellings of his last name – Billow, Billo, Bilo, Bilow, Bielow – increasing my confidence that I have the right person when I see a slightly odd spelling in other sources.
While the deed books are not digitally indexed, there are indexes that are available within the deed books that can be browsed in the digitized microfilm. The indexes tend to be at the end of the deed books. Searching through the indices, I made note of other family names that I might want to pursue at a later date.
I still have homework to do, reading the deed information for Peter in detail. And, I think I’ll pull a map of old York town to see exactly where he lived for at least a few years.
[1] York County Deeds 1749-1859, Film # 008035121, Deed Book 2H, p. 501, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ : accessed 17 February 2020)