What is a partition?

• When two or more persons held real estate as co-tenants and they wanted to divide that property among them, a petition for partition (i.e. division) was requested. The court or an impartial panel of men directed by the court divided the land in an equitable fashion and the separate parts were taken by each co-tenant. Sometimes, however, the land could not be divided in an equitable fashion without damaging the property or its value and the court would order that the land be sold and the money received be divided among the co- tenants.

• The majority of partitions took place when property was left to heirs in a joint tenancy as a probate settlement. There are a few partitions which do not seem to have anything to do with heirs.

• The genealogical value of partition records lies in the fact that these records usually contained, besides the description of the land (and frequently a hand-drawn map), the name of the deceased, the names of the widow and heirs, and the specific relationships of the heirs along with their places of residence. Sometimes the date of death of the deceased was given. Since many of these early partition records predate birth and death records, they can be of tremendous importance in genealogical research.

• Generally, petition for partition was filed within a few years after the death of the deceased, but not always. Sometimes it was not filed for as long as thirty or forty years.

Where are Partition Records located?

• Partition Records are found in separate books in the Common Pleas (CP) Court. They begin in 1812. The actual books are on the second floor of the Clerk of Court's Office (in the Archives) and you must use the staircase inside that office to reach them.

• The Fairfield County District Library (FCDL) has the Partition Records for 1812 through 1900 on microfilm.

How are the Partition Records used?

• There is no general index for Partition Records. Each of the books in the CP Court has an index, arranged alphabetically by the surname of the person seeking the partition, but not by the name of the deceased. Each roll of microfilm in the FCDL has an index which contains the name of the deceased.

• The Fairfield County Chapter has abstracted the Partition Records for 1812-1940. Each volume has a complete surname index. These abstracts are available at the FCDL and Volumes I (1812-1850) and II (1851-1900) are for sale by the Chapter.

• Note: In the actual records there are two Partition Books #1. In the microfilm index we used Partition Book #1 (1812 - 1831) which has a red spine. It is a partial transcribed copy of the original Book #1 (1812 - 1832). The remainder was transcribed into Book #1A (1831 - 1832). The two transcribed volumes contain indexes which include both the "old" and "new" page numbers.

How do you get copies?

• Copies are .50˘ per page. You need to be aware that each partition record consists of multiple pages and some may contain 10 pages or more.

• Copies can be made from the microfilm at the FCDL. The cost is .25˘ per printout page. It may not be possible to get an actual record page on one printout page. It may take several printout pages to produce a copy of one actual page.