Have a project to create a small tract from a larger, yet small, tract to add it to another small tract. What started out as nominally 40 acres by being a quarter of a quarter section in PLSSia, has been sliced into 14 tracts. All directions are cardinal. I was certain who the surveyor had to be who created the descriptions.
Today was spent digging through all of the deeds from when it was still the full quarter-quarter up to the most recent transfer of ownership of all 14 tracts. That's what we have to do many times to sort out the chicken/egg, junior/senior scenario. Also dug thru the huge folder of surveys for that political township until finding three surveys that created most of the 14 tracts. The north line and south line both total to the same number, something like 1314.2 feet. Likewise, the east line and west line both total to the same number, something like 1231.4 feet. Included on the surveys is a nice sketch indicating the internal angle of the east line to the north line is something like 89 degrees 41 minutes. There it is. Everything you could possibly want to know as long as you don't try to argue with the highly unlikely dual measurements. There were 5/8" bars set at most of the tract corners so I'm certain we will find everything still in place exactly as shown on the old hand-drawn surveys. This surveyor went to the big boundary survey in the sky in 1997 so this is all the information available.
Two or three years ago I ran into an entire quarter that was similarly "subdivided" into mostly 2 1/2 acre tracts in the '60s. The two exterior lines (S & E) with roads were apparently measured. The opposing lines bore the same bearing and distance as their mirrored counterpart. Like you, I had to call BS. But all of old man Holcomb's (the long gone county surveyor that created the mess) pins were still there.
Although there were copies of the unrecorded plat still floating around, most of the lots had been sold with aliquot descriptions. This created some boundaries that were in contest with some of the originally set corners.
My survey reflected all the found corners with some blurb about the parcel being "also known as Lot 17 of Spring Creek Estates, an unrecorded plat by Lester Holcomb.." . I felt that covered my responsibility in the affair. The title examiner liked it too.