Looking at east Texas field notes, late 1860s, and I keep seeing calls for "in Flag", "post in Flag brake" and "cor. in Flag break".
I realize that having attended the surveying program in Tyler I should probably know that one. But I'm clueless what that means.
Possible flagstone, but not sure what the meaning is when used in context with break/brake.
> Looking at east Texas field notes, late 1860s, and I keep seeing calls for "in Flag", "post in Flag brake" and "cor. in Flag break".
In Central Texas, the term "brake" invariably refers to vegetation and brakes come in two varieties, cedar and cane. I wonder if "flag" is a local usage for cane.
Edit: How about this wetland species known as Sweetflag:
White Iris is often called Texas Flag.
Holy crap that is a blast from the past...1995 Geology field camp. Spent a couple weeks fumbling around the Deadwood/Lead area mapping some of the these formations.
> Looking at east Texas field notes, late 1860s, and I keep seeing calls for "in Flag", "post in Flag brake" and "cor. in Flag break".
>
> I realize that having attended the surveying program in Tyler I should probably know that one. But I'm clueless what that means.
Growing up in East Texas, being in a thicket was called a brake like a switch cane brake or a cedar brake. I never heard of a thorn brake, but I'm sure they used it. Must be West East Texas because there isn't a lot of flag stone over here. 🙂
Original Field Notes
I pulled the original field notes and it looks like it is possible that the draftsman might have misinterpreted the original field notes:
Here is the working sketch. The point is question is the northernmost northwest corner of the John Lane Survey, same being the southernmost southwest corner of the Daniel Minor survey.
Original Field Notes
> I pulled the original field notes and it looks like it is possible that the draftsman might have misinterpreted the original field notes:
"Flag brake" looks like a fair transcription to me. The first character isn't a "T" or an "L" and is followed by an unmistakeable "lag". [Edit: It definitely is a capital "F". Compare it to the "F" in Flores on the same document]
If you examine where the corner falls on either the Railroad Commission or GLO GIS, does it appear to fall in an area with marshy spots or with some other topographic feature that would be associated with a change in vegetation? The "Post in a Flag brake, no witness" should be a clue to vegetative cover.
Per the GLO GIS, both corners in Flag break fell along Hitts Creek, so Flag as a local name for a wetland plant would make sense.
Original Field Notes
That makes some sense now. The corner falls in what is now an impounded lake. Probably lowlands at the time with enough water to support a cane brake.
Original Field Notes
> That makes some sense now. The corner falls in what is now an impounded lake. Probably lowlands at the time with enough water to support a cane brake.
If you look at the corner South of the NW corner, you'll see that it falls outside the lake along the creek bottom.
Original Field Notes
It is the same of the character in the last line which seems to be someone's first name.
Original Field Notes
Cattails have also been referred as Flags
Original Field Notes
> It is the same of the character in the last line which seems to be someone's first name.
Yes, the name is "Felix", so it is obviously a capital "F".
Original Field Notes
What was Felix Unger doing in Texas in the 19th Century?
Original Field Notes
> What was Felix Unger doing in Texas in the 19th Century?
probably being VERY TIDY and driving someone crazy....
Winner Winner!
There we go. I knew someone from east Texas would know.
A quick google search reveals:
Botanical name:
Typha latifolia.
The root of Typha latifolia, Linné.
Nat. Ord.—Typhaceae.
COMMON NAMES: Cattail, Cattail flag, Cattail rush, Reed mace.
Samuel D. Gibbs
The eszet in some of the writing got me to wondering if the surveyor was German. It doesn't look like he was. After reading some of Kent's comments, I opened an ancestry.com account a couple of months ago and have been compiling family trees on surveyors I run across. The documents that turn up can really help understand what was going on at the time the survey was done.
Samuel D. Gibbs
Samuel D. Gibbs was born on November 8, 1814, in Virginia. He was married on April 19, 1855, in Smith County, Texas. He died on June 11, 1874, in Tyler, Texas, at the age of 59, and was buried there.
1860
In 1860, Saml D. Gibbs was 46 years old and lived in Tyler, Texas.
His occupation in different census reports includes lawyer and judge. Someone with a similar name owned a saddle shop in Tyler but I did not determine if it was the same guy.
He had a handful of kids.
Original Field Notes
Yes he would have had a hissy over Simone not dotting the I on his name.
