I asked my father in law many times while he was alive if he had any old family papers. He did find one box which contained a receipt book for payment of land rent for 20 years from 1862 to 1882.
After his death we were cleaning out an old cupboard which he kept locked and found papers that date back to 1790.
These papers cover land sales and purchases and even a marriage contract (1790). The file was 3 inches thick! Keep asking!
Angel Research and Genealogical Services 
That’s good news & great advice!
It’s amazing what you find, after a loved one died. We had a dispute over our bisnonna’s maiden names. After my Mom died, I found which name went to which family, written on a small slip of a paper note!
I too came into possession of 1700s – 1800s documents … some “historical” some “hysterical” (tall tales). Now I want to learn Italian to be able to read them! My father was first generation US born & though he spoke 2 dialects, he didn’t want teaching us. So, I also advise teaching your kids your “old country” language, it may come in handy some day,
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