Occupation and usage of a piece of property can be, at times, be far more important than the deeded description. I know it takes a lot for some of us to deviate from the recorded words, but sometimes you just have to..Picture in your mind, if you will, a 1962 warranty deed conveyance that reads:
"One-half acre off the southeast corner of the Southeast Quarter of Section 23...."
I immediately pictured a 147.58' by 147.58' rectangular tract sitting on the corner. A quick look on Google Earth abruptly changed my mind about how to go about determining the boundary of this property:
See what I mean?
paden cash, post: 357453, member: 20 wrote: Occupation and usage of a piece of property can be, at times, be far more important than the deeded description. I know it takes a lot for some of us to deviate from the recorded words, but sometimes you just have to..Picture in your mind, if you will, a 1962 warranty deed conveyance that reads:
"One-half acre off the southeast corner of the Southeast Quarter of Section 23...."
I immediately pictured a 147.58' by 147.58' rectangular tract sitting on the corner. A quick look on Google Earth abruptly changed my mind about how to go about determining the boundary of this property:
See what I mean?
Nice one Paden!
Isn't Oklahoma where the GLO Patented "diagonal" å?s of å?s? Or was it the SWå? of the SWå? kinda things?
You guys do a lot of things "different" down there...
:whistle:
It would be interesting to see how many different configurations would be derived from surveyors without the "map".
FL/GA PLS., post: 357461, member: 379 wrote: It would be interesting to see how many different configurations would be derived from surveyors without the "map".
test
Heck, everyone knows an acre is 210 x 210, right?
I once had a 2 1/2 acre tract in the northwest corner of the southwest quarter. I decided to follow the fences of the well-filled cemetery first to see how close that was to the deeded area. It definitely was not a square.
Sometimes the deeded area didn't count what was in the road easement despite the deed clearly suggesting section lines were borders.
Loyal, post: 357455, member: 228 wrote: Nice one Paden!
Isn't Oklahoma where the GLO Patented "diagonal" å?s of å?s? Or was it the SWå? of the SWå? kinda things?
You guys do a lot of things "different" down there...
:whistle:
Never heard of diagonal quartering...interesting though. It would eliminate the need for "quarter" corners, but we'd all still argue about where the center of section should be located!
Holy Cow, post: 357475, member: 50 wrote: Heck, everyone knows an acre is 210 x 210, right?
I once had a 2 1/2 acre tract in the northwest corner of the southwest quarter. I decided to follow the fences of the well-filled cemetery first to see how close that was to the deeded area. It definitely was not a square.
Sometimes the deeded area didn't count what was in the road easement despite the deed clearly suggesting section lines were borders.
Take a look at the results of the survey of Gray Cemetery. (Survey Plat)
It was in the news back in 2009:
GRAVEL HILL ÛÓ GRAVEL HILL - In the Gravel Hill community in rural White County, a barbedwire fence marks the western border of Gray Cemetery, where area residents have buried their dead more than 120 years.
On the other side of the fence, overlooking a pond and several acres of pasture, is the home of Carthel Hodges, whose father bought the property surrounding the cemetery in the mid-1990s.
The cemeteryÛªs managers say the fence has been there for decades. Hodges, who had the property surveyed, contends the true property line actually lies about 30 feet to the east.
Two months ago, Hodges started work on a new fence, putting up posts, digging holes near some of the graves and leaving muddy tire tracks across several other graves. If completed, it appears that the fence would have run across at least 10 graves. Two dozen others would be separated from the rest of the cemetery.
Hodges told White County sheriffÛªs deputies he planned to create a new cemetery called Northstar Cemetery. Deputies told him to stop work on the project until he had clear legal authority to build on the property.
In a brief phone interview, Hodges insisted that the property is his. He said he had given the cemeteryÛªs managers fair warning before starting work on the fence.
ÛÏThey keep burying people on my side, and they knew that from Day One,Û Hodges said.
Robin Covington, chairman of the Gravel Hill Cemetery Board, which manages Gray Cemetery and the neighboring Quattlebaum Cemetery, said he didnÛªt know anything about HodgesÛª claim until the damage to the graves was discovered. He said the board has hired an attorney and is exploring its legal options.
The property at issue has ÛÏbeen part of the cemetery with the agreement of everybody thatÛªs owned that property beforeÛ Hodges, Covington said. ÛÏNobody else had a problem with it until now, for the past 100 and whatever years.Û
Along a gravel road about 15 miles west of Searcy, the cemetery includes more than 300 graves and covers just under 2 acres.
Although John and Rilla Carson Gray officially donated the first acre for the cemetery in 1907, markings on tombstones indicate that people have been buried there since at least as early as the late 1800s.
According to a survey by the White County Historical Society, one of the oldest tombstones with a legible inscription belongs to Joseph Williams, who died in 1883 at age 3. Dozens of other graves are marked with only rough stones.
In the area Hodges attempted to fence off, the dates of death on the tombstones range from July 10, 1914 to May 30, 2009. HodgesÛª father, Carthel Sr., who died last December, was buried at the edge of the area, near the gate to HodgesÛª property.
Among the others who are buried in the disputed area are CovingtonÛªs grandparents, great-grandparents and an aunt and uncle who died when they were infants. The tire tracks Hodges left went across the grandparentsÛª graves, leaving the grandmotherÛªs foot marker buried in mud.
ÛÏIt upset me, like it did a lot of other people,Û Covington said.
Lynn Foster, a professor at the University of Arkansas at Little RockÛªs William H. Bowen School of Law, said itÛªs common for surveyors to reach different conclusions about the boundary between pieces of property. If a fence has been in place for many years, courts will generally recognize that as the boundary, despite what a survey shows.
ÛÏPeople are all the time buying property and having it surveyed and discovering that the line was not where they thought it was,Û Foster said. ÛÏIf the line has actually been there for a long time in the past, theyÛªre going to have a hard time getting that line moved.Û
Tensions over the cemetery have simmered for years. For one thing, the Hodges family claims part of the road that borders the cemetery and leads to the familyÛªs gate as private property. During funerals, residents are not allowed to park along the familyÛªs part of the road.
On Sept. 19, Hodges began work on the fence.
Darrell Barnett, 72, of Sherwood told sheriffÛªs deputies he and his wife had gone to visit the cemetery that afternoon when he saw a boy in a tractor, its wheels buried to the axles in mud. Hodges was driving a backhoe, attempting to pull the tractor out of the mud.
ÛÏWe just sat there for a minute and looked at it,Û said Barnett, whose parents and grandparents are buried in the cemetery. ÛÏWe couldnÛªt believe our eyes.Û
Bonnie Kersey, 66, of Garner saw the damage two days later, when she went to visit the grave of her husband, Charles, who died in January. John and Rilla Carson Grayare KerseyÛªs great-grandparents.
Although the graves of her husband and great-grandparents are not in the disputed area, seeing the damage made her ÛÏsick,Û she said.
ÛÏIt was like an invasion,Û Kersey said.
At a meeting with Covington and a sheriffÛªs deputy five days after the damage was discovered, Hodges apologized but didnÛªt back down from his claim on the property, Covington said. The next week, about 100 residents showed up for a cemetery board meeting at the Gravel Hill Freewill Baptist Church, where Covington is pastor. The board voted to hire an attorney, then took up a collection among residents to pay for one. The sheriffÛªs office determined that, since the damage was not intentional, no crime had been committed.
During a visit to the cemetery last week, the post holes for the gate and the tire tracks had been covered with patches of sod, but a row of metal posts for HodgesÛª fence remained in place. Covington said heÛªs not sure what the boardÛªs next step will be.
ÛÏItÛªs probably going to have to go to court,Û he said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/17/2009 ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT GAZETTE
Print Headline: Property-line dispute rolls across cemetery
It went to court...the White County Circuit Court. Carthel J. Hodge, Jr. LOST.
He is appealing to the Arkansas Court of Appeals (CV-16-1052) and his Appellants' brief is due March 9, 2016.
DDSM:beer:
Some people are never satisfied.....................so long as they still have money to waste on attorneys.
Mr. Hodges sounds like a real stand up gentleman
Looks like a proper survey and explanation to the client could have avoided this.