"The Key to the Family Deed Chest: How to Decipher and Study Old Documents: Being a Guide to the Reading of Ancient Manuscripts" by Emma Elizabeth Thoyts was and is a short but useful tool for anyone who finds themselves needing to make sense of old documents. She found that you often didn't need a lawyer or professional if you had a little help in understanding technical jargon. Due to the nature of these records, her work is just as useful today as it was when she first wrote it.