Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation records Descriptive Summary Repository: Georgia Historical Society Creator: Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation. Title: Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation records Dates: 1922-1998 Extent: 166.07 cubic feet (157 boxes, 2 oversize folders, 1 card index file cabinet) Identification: MS 1599 Biographical/Historical Note Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation was founded in 1925 in Richmond, Virginia. The company opened its first branch in Atlanta, Georgia in 1937. In 1943, Lawyers Title purchased the Atlanta Title and Trust Company and became the only title insurance company in the state. The company soon opened branch offices in several other Georgia cities including Savannah and Augusta. The Savannah office was opened in 1952 and closed in 1998, at which time some its files and a property index of title histories were donated to the Georgia Historical Society. In March 2009, the Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company purchased Lawyers Title Insurance and closed the Augusta, Georgia, office. Upon the closure of the Augusta office, the old Savannah Office name index and order books were donated to the Georgia Historical Society. Scope and Content Note The Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation records, 1939 to 1979, consists of title insurance policy files primarily for Savannah and Chatham County, but also include Camden County, Bryan County, Bulloch County, Effingham County, Emanuel County, Evans County, Glynn County, Jeff Davis County, Liberty County, McIntosh County, Tattnall County and other Georgia locations. Also included in the collection is a map book for the city of Savannah, order books, index lists, and property and name index cards. The insurance policy files contain the original policies along with accompanying material such as correspondence and in some cases land plats. The records are divided into four series: Individual Policies, Master Policies, Urban Renewal Projects, and Atlanta Title and Trust Company. Title insurance protects the insured against loss due to previously unreported land title defects, such as forgeries, claims by missing heirs, recording errors, etc. These are not insurance policies on properties, they are insurance policies on the titles of the properties. The policies may include preliminary reports on the property, such as blueprints, annotations on the condition of the property, or other building attributes. The policies often list the owner(s) of the property for which there is title insurance. Urban Renewal Project files are title insurance records on properties acquired by the mayor and aldermen of Savannah for the purpose of creating public housing projects. Currently, there is no index to individual properties, though the records are open for research. Atlanta Title and Trust Company records, 1922 to 1923, are for select Savannah properties and often include the title searches, blueprints of properties, and other information regarding the property or owner. To access policies for property in the City of Savannah, researchers must first locate the property in the Lot and Block Atlas of Savannah, Georgia (published by Dolph Map Co., November 1949) or in the name indexes (if the property owner's name is known). The map book is arranged by ward and only covers Savannah. If there is a handwritten number on a particular property in the map book, there is a policy for it (if there is no number, there is no policy). Note the handwritten number on the property in the map book and go to the property index cards. The index cards are arranged in numerical order corresponding to the map pages. Locate the correct numerical section of the cards and find the card corresponding to the handwritten number on the property map. Note the title insurance policy number on the card and consult the inventory to determine in which box the policy is stored.
To access policies for property in areas outside of the City of Savannah, researchers must use the name index. The name index is more comprehensive than the property index. It is arranged alphabetically by surname and covers properties in Chatham County (including Savannah) and many other surrounding counties. Note the title insurance policy number on the card and consult the inventory to determine in which box the policy is stored. The policy files and indexes are arranged in the original order of the creator and largely stored in their original housing. Index Terms Atlanta Title and Trust Company (Atlanta, Ga.) Bryan County (Ga.) Bulloch County (Ga.) Camden County (Ga.) Chatham County (Ga.) Effingham County (Ga.) Emanuel County (Ga.) Evans County (Ga.) Glynn County (Ga.) Insurance policies--georgia. Insurance policies. Jeff Davis County (Ga.) Land titles--georgia. Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation (Savannah, Ga.) Liberty County (Ga.) McIntosh County (Ga.) Plats (maps) Real property--georgia. Tattnall County (Ga.) Title Companies--Georgia. Administrative Information Custodial History Records and property index was acquired from the creator on the day the Savannah office closed, 10 June 1998; Savannah office name index and order books acquired the day the Augusta office closed, March 2009. Preferred Citation [item identification], Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation records, MS 1599, Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia. Acquisition Information Gift of Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation, 1998 and 2009. Restrictions Access restrictions The collection is open for research. Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Separated Material 1 box of rolled maps were separated from the donation in 1998 and cataloged with the Georgia Historical Society collection of maps, MS 1361-MP. Sponsorship Encoding funded by a 2008 Archives-Basic Projects grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Container List Individual Policies 1 AG 3074 - AG 12298 2 AG 12309 - AG 20039 3 AG 20143 - AG 35000 4 AG 35001 - AG 38947 5 AG 39030 - AG 43120 6 AG 43121 - AG 53398 7 AG 53481 - AG 60693 8 AG 60726 - AG 66022
9 AG 66027 - AG 69988 10 AG 70023 - AG 73924 11 AG 73931 - AG 77727 12 AG 77738 - AG 80609 13 AG 80638 - AG 84173 14 AG 84250 - AG 88314 15 AG 88319 - AG 94553 16 AG 94567 - AG 98667 17 T155-701 -- T155-880 18 T155-881 -- T156-071 20 T156-072 -- T156-200; T157-155; T166-936 -- T166-995 T166-996 -- T167-184 21 T167-185 -- T167-368
22 T167-369 -- T167-434; T181-051 -- T181-177 23 T181-178 -- T181-533; T346-307 -- T737-674 24 V472-371 -- V472-566 25 V472-567 -- V472-700; V624-268 -- V625-242 26 V625-243 -- V625-405 27 V625-406 -- V625-589 28 V625-590 -- V625-700; V645-301 -- V645-375 29 V645-376 -- V659-639 30 V659-640 -- V670-179 31 W27-001 -- W27-259 32 W27-260 -- W27-477 33 W27-478 -- W27-500; W69-802 -- W70-031
34 W70-032 -- W70-215 35 W70-216 -- W70-300; W140-184 -- W140-185; W183-401 -- W183-538 36 W183-539 -- W183-761 37 W183-762 -- W183-900; W228-701 -- W228-785 38 W228-786 -- W228-900 39 W229-001 -- W229-200 40 W317-601 -- W317-700; W329-126 -- W329-224; W344-201 -- W344-208 41 W344-209 -- W344-400; W471-501 -- W471-550 42 W471-551 -- W471-815 43 W471-816 -- W472-000; W497-601 -- W497-690 44 W497-691 -- W497-951 45 W497-952 -- W497-999; W498-001 -- W498-099; W553-601 -- W553-690
46 W553-691 -- W553-900; W647-801 -- W647-860 47 W647-861 -- W647-900; W657-501 -- W657-700; W706-801 -- W706-830 48 W706-831 -- W706-999; W707-000 -- W707-075 49 W707-076 -- W707-300; W722-051 50 X107-101 -- X107-289 51 X107-290 -- X117-803 52 X117-804 -- X117-874 53 X117-875 -- X118-063 54 X118-064 -- X179-031 55 X179-033 -- X179-035; X242-301 -- X242-471 56 X242-472 -- X242-689 57 X242-690 -- X242-800; X256-401 -- X256-472
58 X256-473 -- X256-678 59 X256-679 -- X256-875 60 X256-876 -- X323-985 61 X323-986 -- X324-149 62 X324-150 -- X616-437 63 X616-438 -- X616-624 64 X616-626 -- X789-917 65 X789-918 -- X790-122 66 X790-123 -- X790-348 67 X790-349 -- X990-544 68 X990-545 -- X990-700 69 Y118-593; Y264-401 -- Y309-220
70 Y309-222 -- Y309-395 71 Y309-396 -- Y317-300 72 Y317-302 -- Y317-397; Y320-501 -- Y320-580 73 Y320-581 -- Y437-745 74 Y437-746 -- Y440-145 75 Y440-146 -- Y440-330 76 Y440-332 -- Y440-399; Y448-701 -- Y448-825 77 Y448-826 -- Y449-000 78 Y612-801 -- Y612-954 79 Y612-956 -- Y616-973 80 Y616-974 -- Y621-138 81 Y621-141 -- Y621-400; Y628-601 -- Y628-630
82 Y628-631 -- Y628-858 83 Y628-859 -- Y748-285 84 Y748-286 -- Y752-792 85 Y752-793 -- Y752-892; Y939-626 -- Y939-906 86 Y939-907 -- Y939-970 87 Y939-971 -- Y939-982; Y940-000 -- Y940-199 88 Z124-601 -- Z124-771 89 Z124-772 -- Z124-800; Z163-501 --Z163-691 90 Z163-692 -- Z168-346 91 Z168-247 -- Z172-774 92 Z172-775 -- Z172-990 93 Z172-991 -- Z427-444
94 Z427-445 -- Z428-623 95 Z525-710 -- Z603-204 96 Z603-206 -- Z615-111 97 Z615-112 -- Z866-347 98 Z866-349 -- Z874-381 99 Z874-382 -- Z880-484 100 Z880-485 -- Z885-388 101 Z885-390 -- Z892-182 102 Z892-183 -- Z898-182 103 Z898-358 -- Z898-400 S Policies 103 S 97100
S 302740 S 873208 S 873210 S 873224 S 873256 Policies From Other Offices 103 1-008,535-B - 584922 1-011,614-B - T584058 1-021, 899-B - S 565422 1-039,269-B - P 917816 1-045,193-F - P 185113 1-047,675-B - P 920130 1-054,990-B - N 2-4988 1-063,212-B - N 219690 1-077,757-B - K 240927 1-086,542-F - J 186952 1-098,956-B - H 672119 1-125,365-F - 82-00-783726 5-006,070-B - N 803230 6-006,129-B 104 Z898-401 -- Z898-450; Z965-201 -- Z965-300; Z966-801 -- Z966-884 105 Z966-885 -- Z966-900; Z968-051 -- Z968-200
106 15755 -- 49193; 52342 -- 90085 107 90086 -- 107846 108 107864 -- 132785 109 132803 -- 147595 110 147596 -- 149930 111 149931 -- 174390 112 174391 -- 176650 113 176651 -- 217521 114 217530 -- 227925; 240313 -- 243880 115 243885 -- 315112 116 315113 -- 374976 117 375001 -- 458555
118 458655 -- 468313; 531669 -- 620419; 736201 -- 736211 119 751501 -- 756170 120 756171 -- 878601 121 878602 -- 884130 122 884131 -- 886580 123 886581 -- 888700; 888801 -- 888875 124 888876 -- 891875 125 891876 -- 892150 126 892151 -- 892200 Master Policies (MP) 127 P116-566 -- S693-097 128 S880-996 -- T737-617
129 T737-649 -- V350-624 130 V472-215 -- W183-446 131 W183-565 -- W553-885 132 W706-834 -- X242-394 133 X242-492 -- X616-625 134 X616-782 -- X790-130 135 Y617-052 -- Y621-367 136 Y628-696 -- Y748-385 137 Y748-394 -- Z615-096 138 Z866-269 -- Z880-532 Series 3: Urban Renewal Projects 139 140 141 142 143
144 Series 4: Atlanta Title and Trust Company : 145 NE 31st St. and Paulson St. 803 E. 33rd St. 1127 E. 33rd St. 725 E. 35th St. 601 W. 37th St. 520 E. 39th St. NW Corner of 40th and Paulson Sts. 604 E. 40th St. 530 E. 41st St. 1110 E. 42nd St. 123 W. 44th St. 313 W. 44th St. 36 E. 45th St. 1206 E. 49th St. 117 E. 54th St. 118 E. 55th St. 821 E. Anderson St. 823 E. Anderson St. 2602 Barnard St. Atlanta Title and Trust Company NE 31st St. and Paulson St. 803 E. 33rd St. 1127 E. 33rd St. 725 E. 35th St. 601 W. 37th St. 520 E. 39th St. NW Corner of 40th and Paulson Sts. 604 E. 40th St. 530 E. 41st St. 1110 E. 42nd St. 123 W. 44th St. 313 W. 44th St. 36 E. 45th St. 1206 E. 49th St. 117 E. 54th St. 118 E. 55th St. 821 E. Anderson St. 823 E. Anderson St. 2602 Barnard St. NE 31st St. and Paulson St. 803 E. 33rd St. 1127 E. 33rd St. 725 E. 35th St. 601 W. 37th St. 520 E. 39th St. NW Corner or 40th and Paulson Sts. 604 E. 40th St. 530 E. 41st St. 1110 E. 42nd St. 123 W. 44th St. 313 W. 44th St. 36 E. 45th St. 1206 E. 49th St. 117 E. 54th St. 118 E. 55th St. 821 E. Anderson St. 823 E. Anderson St. 2602 Barnard St.
146 Atlanta Title and Trust Company 213 E. Bolton St. 606 Drayton St. [100 E. Duffy St. see 1102 Ott St.] 517-519 E. Duffy St. 1010-1012 E. Henry St. 635 Maupas Ave. 914 Maupas Ave. 1102 Ott St. and 100 E. Duffy St. SW corner Park Ave. and Ott St. 775 E. Park Ave. 213 E. Bolton St. 606 Drayton St. 100 E. Duffy St. see 1102 Ott St. 517-519 E. Duffy St. 1010-1012 E. Henry St. 635 Maupas Ave. 914 Maupas Ave. 1102 Ott St. and 100 E. Duffy St. SW Corner Park Ave. and Ott St. 775 E. Park Ave. Series 5: Order Books and Index List OS 1 Order book, 1952-1962 OS 2 Order book, 1962-1969 147 Order Books 1969-1972 1972-1976 1976-1983 1983-1992 Index Lists 1992-1998 Open cases no policies issued, 1995-1996
148 Order book, 1969-1986 Name Index 149 A-Buzby 150 B & V X-ray-Dukes 151 Dulaney-Hancock 152 Hand-Kenreich 153 Kein-Meguior 154 Miller-Punzel 155 Purcell-Shaver 156 Shaw-Ur 157 Urban Builders of Savannah-Z