Straw Man Deeds

While working through deeds I found in Nebraska, I found 3 transactions:

• Henry sold land to his son Elisha
• Elisha bought land from a neighbor
• Elisha sold both parcels of land to the neighbor

So, the net effect is that Henry sold land to the neighbor.  After a bit of reading, I conclude that this was a straw man transaction...but why?  These transactions occurred over several days and would have required 3 registration fees, so it must have seemed like a good idea.  I wonder what they were trying to achieve...