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Another unusual deed call.

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Strictly Surveying

Last Post by Harold 1 year ago

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Harold

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Ok, fellow surveyors. Here is another little "thinker" on a couple of deed calls that I need advice with.

Attachment : image.png

I can't figure out how to make the image bigger, but it says in part....

"Beginning 43-5/33 poles East and 25.64 poles North of the S.W. corner of Section....."

Further in the deed, the scrivener resorted to feet for the unit of measure. He was probably following an older deed to the POB, and then continued the description using feet. Oh, well.

OK, so a pole is a rod which is 25 links which is 1/4 of a Gunter's Chain and measures 16-1/2 feet. It takes four poles (rods) to make one Gunter's Chain of 66 feet or 100 links. A two-pole chain is one half of a Gunter's Chain, or 50 links, or 33 feet. There's that number.

How/why can you break up a pole into 33 parts? This deed was written in the early 1920's, so around here, rods, poles, and chains were common units of measure.

1/33 of 16.5 feet equals 0.50 feet, or 1/2 of a foot. What were they actually using to measure with? If they were using a Gunter's Chain, the sub-units of measure would be in poles (rods) and links. I have run into cases where a two-pole chain was used without differentiating between a two-pole chain and a four-pole chain, and I have found a piece of land that was four times bigger on paper as it was on the ground! Oh, well, again.

Back to the above: first, they used a fraction - 43 and 5/33 poles.

The next call, they used a decimal unit - 25.64 poles. Could they have measured in feet and converted to poles? Do they make a "pole" with 100 marks on it? One mark = 0.165 feet. (Hold that thought.)

5/33 pole is only 0.15 feet - kinda small. Compare to a full Gunter's Chain link of 0.66 feet. One quarter of a link is 0.165 feet (refer to the above thought!), so maybe they estimated a quarter of a link if they were using a Gunter's Chain? Most of the deeds I have read go to the nearest link, and I have seen a few that went to 1/2 a link. Is there a relationship in that there are 33 links = 1/2 chain in this measurement? Could it be that the 5 in the fraction means 5 links if they were using a two-pole chain measuring 33 feet long with 50 links? I have questions on HOW DID THEY DO THAT? Units of length and area measurement using chains and acres back during those times were intentionally designed to work well together. We have lost a lot of knowledge regarding old systems of measurement and the methods and procedures used in the field. It is a fascinating endeavor to study the history of measurements.

Here is what I have come up with:

((5/33)(16.5)=2.5 feet) plus ((43)(16.5)=709.5 feet) = 712.00 feet.

25.64 poles X 16.5 = 423.06 feet.

Y'all weigh in with your thoughts on this. Thanks in advance!

Posted : August 21, 2025 8:45 pm

MightyMoe

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Math looks correct. I tend to calc the hypotenuse and see if the distance is anywhere rational when I locate the reference point to the POB on the ground, the distance being more weighted than a calc for bearing. The unicorn will be one that fits. Good luck; be sure and track down all the adjoining parcels to the parent.

Posted : August 22, 2025 7:50 am

stacy-carroll

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One of the weirdest I've seen in a deed was (Paraphrasing) "Beginning at J.S.'s mailbox, thence South 70 average steps to the common man, Thence West 70 average steps to the common man...." And so forth back to the POB. Luckily the possession closely matched the deed once rotated a few degrees.

I've also seen mixed units in a description. To me that's a sure sign the attorney compiled plats from different time frames. Almost always there is a missing call or two and no rotation to match bearing basis. Fun times

Me. "What's the difference?"
T.C. Carroll "It's the difference between right and wrong!"

Posted : August 22, 2025 10:47 am

BStrand

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Posted by: @stacy-carroll

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Luckily the possession closely matched the deed once rotated a few degrees.

You must be a "common man". 🤣

Posted : August 22, 2025 11:28 am

peter-lothian

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Went to a seminar some years ago on the subject of chains. There were a number of different "non-standard" chains used in the past. It is entirely possible that someone built a chain with links that were 0.5' long, with 33 links making up a pole.

Posted : August 25, 2025 11:36 am

MightyMoe

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Posted by: @peter-lothian

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Went to a seminar some years ago on the subject of chains. There were a number of different "non-standard" chains used in the past. It is entirely possible that someone built a chain with links that were 0.5' long, with 33 links making up a pole.

As I understand it there are variances for poles and rods. 16.5' per rod is a suggestion in some places. Makes life interesting.

Posted : August 25, 2025 11:56 am

peter-lothian

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Posted by: @mightymoe

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Posted by: @peter-lothian

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Went to a seminar some years ago on the subject of chains. There were a number of different "non-standard" chains used in the past. It is entirely possible that someone built a chain with links that were 0.5' long, with 33 links making up a pole.

As I understand it there are variances for poles and rods. 16.5' per rod is a suggestion in some places. Makes life interesting.

Yes, some areas that were settled by Scots utilized a rod length of 18'. New Hampshire and Maine are two states with Scots concentrated in settling some towns. The question shows up on the state-specific exam on occasion.

Posted : August 25, 2025 1:31 pm

bill-c

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@peter-lothian https://umaine.edu/svt/wp-content/uploads/sites/105/2012/11/RodNotRod.pdf

Posted : August 25, 2025 5:02 pm

john-putnam

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Well of course, it is intrinsic knowledge that a Scot's rod is longer than average.

Posted : August 25, 2025 5:32 pm

Harold

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Here are two more I have run across:

1. Nomenclature confusion: “Run thence North 15 degrees, 45 feet, and 37 inches West for a distance of……” Everybody knows that a ‘ mark is feet and the “ mark is inches.

2. Strange units of measure: “run North for 210 feet and three trenches……..”. What is a “trench”? I figured “inch,” but who knows? The desktop description was not on the ground, but it is now, and with a new description.

Posted : August 28, 2025 9:55 am