Anita, it is searches like the one you described that make this industry so interesting.  Abstracts arent' just dry and uninteresting accounts of who owned a piece of real estate.  They are living histories of the people who lived there.  They are stories of families who have passed a home to children and grandchildren; stories of marriages and divorces; stories of landmarks and historical events; and sometimes, stories of people who bury their family in a cemetery in the back yard and who have to cross county lines to use the commode.  Regardless of the story, the potential for human error or undiscovered events in that history is real.  Any attorney who would advise a client NOT to pay for an owner's policy for $800 on a six figure purchase transaction should be flogged.  Okay, I'll step away from the soapbox.