Nancy O'Malley,
I'm currently using the Deedmapper software and find it more than
satisfactory for my current Thesis needs
(http://www.ultranet.com/~deeds/index.shtml).  I'm reconstructing
seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century land patents for Gloucester County,
Virginia.  The program is useful in initially reconstructing the patents and
then I plan on digitizing them into ARCView.  I don't know your specific
needs beyond what you described in your email, but I know that it will
perform those functions.  This specific program does not translate directly
into GIS software packages, but it is relatively inexpensive and allows for
easy editing of the patents.  The website also has an exchange area to
contact others interested in your projects and has access to the work of
others -- beats reinventing the wheel.

Dave Brown