Whenever any person shall present to the county commission his petition in writing, duly verified, stating that he is the owner of one or more pieces of real estate in said county which formerly belonged to said county, and which was sold by the county commission to the petitioner, or to a person under whom the petitioner claims title, and which real estate was never conveyed by deed, or which was conveyed by deed and the deed has been lost or destroyed, the county commission, after being satisfied of the truth of the allegations of his petition, and after advising with the prosecuting attorney, shall make an order appointing three ex officio commissioners to execute a deed to such person, and shall direct said ex officio commissioners to execute and acknowledge such deed, and such ex officio commissioners shall thereupon execute a deed conveying said real estate to the petitioner, which deed shall have the same force and effect as if said deed had been executed by the ex officio commissioner or commissioners originally appointed for that purpose by the county governing board. Each ex officio commissioner shall be entitled for his services to a fee of one dollar, to be paid by the petitioner.