Local business thrives on recorded history

Title company founded in 1887 By Giles Morris - Daily News Staff Oneida County Title & Abstract Inc. held its first board meeting in 1888 and since that time no other business has been so tied to the county’s documented history. Officially incorporated on Dec. 21, 1887 as Oneida County Land and Abstract, today the business, run by husband and wife team Jeanne and Marte Smith, relies on a vault of property deed listings that contain approximately 668,000 documents spanning the entire history of the county. “Whoever have been the principals of this business have had a relationship with the courthouse, the register of deeds, the assessor, and the community since the very beginning,” said Marte Smith. The title business is intricately complicated in its details, but essentially involves assuring land purchaser, sellers, and... [read full story]