The only definite answer to your question is a search back to the government entry.  When I started in the title business in 1972, we issued abstracts of title and title insurance.  An abstract was a complete history of the property back to government entry and was posted with continuations.  So that if you had the abstract in hand, you could do a limited search back to the last continuation date.  Abstracting, as now known, is nothing more than a property search.  The customer usually defines what items you need to show and how far back you must go to show it.  The use of a universal exception was always considered to be insufficient by those in the trade. It basically says that if something exists, we won't insure against it.  It defeats the whole idea of insuring a title, since it does not protect an insured.  This is not title underwriting, it is credit underwriting.  It is the main reason for the outlandish number of title claims, because the searches are limited and do not adequately reflect the condition of title.  The statute of limitations was sixty years for recorded instruments and is now forty years.  However, if a matter is noted in a deed within the forty year period, the statute extends an additional forty years from that document date.  If you are searching for a period of time less than that you are susceptible to a claim. 

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