21 B.U. L. Rev. 281 (1941)
Beginnings of the Recording System in Massachusetts, The; Haskins, George L.

handle is hein.journals/bulr21 and id is 285 raw text is: THE BEGINNINGS OF THE RECORDING SYSTEM IN MASSACHUSETTS GEORGE L. HASKINS* The recording of deeds, mortgages, leases and instruments of sale has become in the course of years a significant auxiliary to the law of real and personal property. As a means of providing security to the buyer, or the creditor, it has become an essential part of much business trans- acted in writing. Yet its history, for which the sources lie chiefly in statute and decision, remains to be written; its origins, which are primarily American and antedate the earliest English registration acts, have never been systematically explored.' Over thirty years ago Professor Beale wrote a short but suggestive paper on the early history of recording in this country;2 but the article has been noticeably neglected and since then the subject has received scant attention.8 As an important chapter in American legal history, certain aspects of the subject merit reexamination, others, further consideration and study. With the general history of the recording system in the United States, its extension, and the interpretation of recording acts, we are not here *A.B., Harvard, 1935. Henry Fellow, Merton College, Oxford University, 1935- 1936. Member, The Society of Fellows, Harvard, 1936 to date. Lowell Lecturer, Lowell Institute of Boston, 1939. Lecturer in history and sociology, Harvard, 1938-1939. Special Student, Harvard Law School, 1939 to date. Author: The Statute of York and the Interest of the Commons (1935); Petitions of Repre- sentatives in Parliament, 53 English Historical Review (1938) ; Francis Accur- sius, 54 Law Quarterly Review (1938) ; The King's High Court of Parliament, 24 History (1940) ; also other articles, notes and reviews in English and American legal and historical journals. 'Misapprehensions on the matter are responsible for curious statements in judges' opinions and in law review articles. Thus, A. G. Reeves, Progress in Land Title Transfer, 8 Columbia Law Review (1908), 441: The prevalent American method of recording all instruments of conveyance, mortgages and other liens, in such manner as to make them constructive notice to subject purchasers . . . and to give priority of right to priority of record in favor of him who has taken title without notice of outstanding claims, may be said to have begun in Anglo-Saxon law with the statute of enrollment of deeds of bargain and sale, in 1535. This, as will appear, is not close to the truth. The chief way in which England has affected American recording statutes directly seems to have been through the statute of fraudulent conveyances; cf. J. Hanna, The Extension of Public Recordation, 31 Columbia Law Review (1931), 620. 'J. H. Beale, The Origin of the System of Recording Deeds in America, 19 Green Bag (1907), 335-339. 'But see the survey of the subject in New York, S. G. Nissenson, The Develop- ment of a New York Land Registration System, 20 New York History (1939), 16-42, 161-188. The problem is adverted to by R. B. Morris, Studies in the History of American Law (New York, 1930), pp. 69-73, but there is little advance on Beale. On the other hand, see the important remarks by J. Goebel, Jr., King's Law and Local Custom in Seventeenth Century New England, 31 Columbia Law Review (1931), 446-447.

Purchase Short-Term Access to HeinOnline

Prices starting as low as $29.95

Already a Subscriber?

What Is HeinOnline?

Learn More About the Law Journal Library (pdf)

We also offer annual subscriptions to universities, colleges, law firms, organizations, and other institutions. To request a quote please visit http://home.heinonline.org/subscriptions/request-a-quote/

Please note: the content in the Law Journal Library is constantly changing and some content has restrictions as required per the license. Therefore, please review the available content via the following link to ensure the material you wish to access is included in the database. For a complete list of content included in the Law Journal Library, please view http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/CSV.csv?index=journals&collection=journals