We found  a number of real estate documents in the metal box in our basement. None of the described real property is still owned by the family, but they're valuable documents nonetheless.

My husband Bill's paternal grandmother, Catherine Quinn Hickey, was one of eleven children born to Thomas and Roseanne Quinn between 1861 and 1882 in Dakota County, Minnesota. My research to determine what happened to Catherine's siblings -- and whether or not they had descendants -- took months. One quit-claim deed could have shortened that search considerably.

This is a summary of what I'd discovered previously about Catherine's brother Frank Quinn, without benefit of the items in the box: Born in 1879, Frank worked as a barber and for a time operated a barbershop in Minneapolis with a partner, “Gebo and Quinn."  I found no evidence Frank ever married or had children.  His death certificate showed he died 22 March 1933, at about age 53, of acute alcoholism. The Minneapolis Star reported Frank’s body had been found in a boxcar at Main Street and E. Hennepin Ave. The Dakota County Tribune announced his funeral and burial at All Saints Church in Lakeville and added, “Mr. Quinn was a former resident of this community and has many relatives here.”

An abstract of title found in our metal box disclosed that Frank had purchased Lot 29 of Twin Lakes Addition of Brooklyn Center, MN, in 1914. After his death, the property passed to his surviving siblings. They signed a quit-claim deed, dated 3 May 1933, assigning their interest in the property to Patrick Hickey and Catherine Quinn Hickey.

Someone, perhaps a county or title company employee, entered comments in pencil on the deed to define the signers' relationship to Frank. Signing the document were Josephine Quinn (sister), George Quinn and Mary Quinn (brother and wife), James Quinn (son of James Quinn, deceased brother), Rose M. Fisher and Thomas A. Fisher (sister and her husband), and Mary Scott and William Scott (sister and her husband).

Oh, the effort I'd expended in 2010 to find Quinn sisters Josephine, Rose and Mary (and their married names), as well as their brother George! The notary public in front of whom the Fishers and Scotts signed the deed was located in Ronan, Montana. How many hours I'd spent to track them there, without the deed which was in our basement the whole time!

I haven't confirmed what happened to the Twin Lakes property. Bill recalls that his father considered it worthless, and the lot may have been forfeited for unpaid real estate taxes.