Did the Homestead Act settlers use the GLO map acreage and field notes to define the boundaries of their parcels when acquiring a set of government lots? Would they measure from the north line of, say, a north township boundary, going south to the quarter corner to find a monument, then trace back north 20 chains to mark the south boundary? Or would they use a calculated amount from the GLO plat's listed acreages and travel south from the north line, stopping at that precalculated number of chains? Assuming they are the first settler in their section with nobody to the south.?ÿ
That's a good question.?ÿ They probably did anything they could.?ÿ But I don't think access to any notes was common early on.?ÿ My bet is the first entrymen relied upon the bounds more than anything, at least until some sort of authority (County surveyor) became available.
I've seen cases around gov't. lots where it's apparent that line trees, witness corners and references were held as corners.?ÿ This was probably due to the lack of notes, or the understanding thereof.?ÿ Some fella has an inkling where his corner should be; walks down in the woods and finds a blazed tree and uses it to build fencing or improvements.?ÿ The fact that it was a line tree some three chains distant from the real corner wouldn't come to light until his grandson had the place actually surveyed some sixty years later.?ÿ Acreage seems to me it probably fell low on the dignity of calls, even back then.?ÿ ?ÿ
My wife's family owns some gov lots that run 50+ acres because a correction line is their north boundary. The GLO notes say that there were posts and mounds at the lot corners along section lines. I would expect the same for fractional sections.
Most settlers would know to look for the post and mound. If a tree was at the actual corner they might have been uncertain about the corner vs line or bearing trees.
Within the section the lines were probably somewhat uncertain until county surveyors were established.
I've read that in some areas settlement occurred ahead of the GLO surveys, and it was the general understanding among the settlers that equitable adjustments to the claims would be made when the surveys were done.
That same idea might have applied to subdividing the section, as the GLO marked no interior corners.
Of course knowing human nature I suspect there were some heated discussions about what was equitable.
My wife's family owns some gov lots that run 50+ acres because a correction line is their north boundary. The GLO notes say that there were posts and mounds at the lot corners along section lines. I would expect the same for fractional sections.
Most settlers would know to look for the post and mound. If a tree was at the actual corner they might have been uncertain about the corner vs line or bearing trees.
Within the section the lines were probably somewhat uncertain until county surveyors were established.
I've read that in some areas settlement occurred ahead of the GLO surveys, and it was the general understanding among the settlers that equitable adjustments to the claims would be made when the surveys were done.
That same idea might have applied to subdividing the section, as the GLO marked no interior corners.
Of course knowing human nature I suspect there were some heated discussions about what was equitable.
In California the GLO Notes almost always mention settlers, lumber mills, cultivated fields, houses, all manner of evidence of settlement.
We have late 19th century private surveyor notes where they simply ran out the 20 chain squares on the ground without regard to whether the section was long or short.
I have seen the situation where the Section in mountainous terrain was 300 feet short.?ÿ It appears from the fences that the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter was laid out first in full 20 chain measure.?ÿ A modern subdivision of the section would result in considerable discrepencies from the old fences.
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Or would they use a calculated amount from the GLO plat's listed acreages and travel south from the north line, stopping at that precalculated number of chains? Assuming they are the first settler in their section with nobody to the south.?ÿ
I believe that is one of the reasons Justice Cooley wrote the Judicial Functions of surveyors.?ÿ Jp
