Property records are the superheroes of genealogy

Over at Archives.com, I have a bunch of examples of the powers of deeds, mortgages, and similar documents that can seem intimidating but are widely available and easy to use. Since I wrote it up, I attended an ancestral certificate ceremony where several of the awardees used deeds to prove their ancestors' residence in the county at an early date.

As for intimidating, once you have a basic idea of how the clerk's or recorder's office works, they are wonderful places to work: the office folks don't hover, let you go about your business, but can offer help if needed.