interesting deed

Sadly, for over half of our school students today, it might as well be written in sanskrit. Surveyors will be among the last people on earth able to read such messages.

Holy Cow, post: 445520, member: 50 wrote: Sadly, for over half of our school students today, it might as well be written in sanskrit. Surveyors will be among the last people on earth able to read such messages.

Our town clerk saw a demo of software to digitize, in the sense of turn into Unicode text that can be properly indexed, Vermont land records. At present, it would be up to each town to hire the firm to digitize their records, if they have the budget for it. Supposedly the software can read this sort of handwriting.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure it can. :p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p

Usually I'll use 4 or 5 pages including my deed and make an alphabet of the scrivener's handwriting.

What I find interesting is that the deed recites "...Thomas Gaines of Ipswich in the County of Essex in New England..." In 1755 it should more properly have referred to "...Essex in Massachusetts Province..." as there was no New England government at that time. Rather odd.

The good thing about older deeds like this is that they almost tell a story about the forming of a parcel where today, descriptions are far too often reduced only to bearings and distances by someone who will never have the need to see the boundaries on the ground.

The good thing about many deeds today is that we have long since realized the advantage of clearly legible printing and use of white space over the squished together lines of longhand old deeds and filed notes were invariably recorded with.

First step for me with a document like this is discerning the words written, often letter by letter. The second step is to then interpret antiquated terms and context.

That handwriting is much easier to read than the GLO notes of the late 1800s in my PLSS world. I wonder why?

Peter Lothian - MA ME, post: 445535, member: 4512 wrote: What I find interesting is that the deed recites "...Thomas Gaines of Ipswich in the County of Essex in New England..." In 1755 it should more properly have referred to "...Essex in Massachusetts Province..." as there was no New England government at that time. Rather odd.

That is very cool.

I have no idea of procedures up there. But in Oklahoma it is common to have an "official" transcript of record that probably isn't the original document. Some have been made 30 or 40 years later as the county tried to standardize their records or even after a devastating fire that damaged records. One tell-tale clue in Oklahoma of a "transcription" is the squiggly circle with the word "seal" within. Down here that's a sure fire clue it is a transcribed document.

Jon Collins, post: 445550, member: 11135 wrote: That handwriting is much easier to read than the GLO notes of the late 1800s in my PLSS world. I wonder why?

I am sure the person at the courthouse or where ever the deed was filed at had better handwriting, was also sitting at desk, unlike the Surveyor who was doing his notes in the cold and rain next to the fire, writing with ash from the fire on any piece of paper he could find.

here's my favorite one to date. from 1886. i guess they had teenaged girls working in the county clerk's office around here in 1886.

btw- it's a party wall agreement in downtown austin. about 8 different lawyers wanted it removed as an exception to title. none of them had even tried to decipher it (you'd think at lawyer bill rates it'd be a golden goose.)

took me about 30 minutes to get through the two+ pages. i then took what i'd transcribed and compared it against known ownership at the time to try and attain a level of confidence. turns out lot numbers and owners matched up perfectly, and this party wall agreement falls smack dab in middle of the subject tract (though there's no party wall there any more).

Wow! That almost looks Arabic.

Scott Ellis, post: 445553, member: 7154 wrote: I am sure the person at the courthouse or where ever the deed was filed at had better handwriting, was also sitting at desk, unlike the Surveyor who was doing his notes in the cold and rain next to the fire, writing with ash from the fire on any piece of paper he could find.

You obviously don't understand the meaning of the term "Field Notes," in the context of the "Official Field Notes" found in the GLO/BLM Records.

Loyal

Loyal, post: 445572, member: 228 wrote: You obviously don't understand the meaning of the term "Field Notes," in the context of the "Official Field Notes" found in the GLO/BLM Records.

Loyal

Maybe it had more to do with the concept that some people have better handwriting than others...ya think?

Funny thing too, is that Texas statutes have a requirement for the surveyor to create "Field Notes" of his survey. I always had assumed that they did it in the office, but it sounds like Texas Standards are to do them in the field. Now if you tell them that the GLO and BLMsurveyors did their field notes in the office, they will think that PLSS surveying is even easier than they already think....

Tom Adams, post: 445574, member: 7285 wrote: Maybe it had more to do with the concept that some people have better handwriting than others...ya think?

Obsoletely!

My point [above] being that GLO/BLM "Field Notes" were NOT written in the FIELD (far from it).

PLSS Surveyors know that (or should anyway).

😉
Loyal

Loyal, post: 445579, member: 228 wrote: Obsoletely!

My point [above] being that GLO/BLM "Field Notes" were NOT written in the FIELD (far from it).

PLSS Surveyors know that (or should anyway).

😉
Loyal

See my addendum to my post above...

Loyal, post: 445579, member: 228 wrote: Obsoletely!

My point [above] being that GLO/BLM "Field Notes" were NOT written in the FIELD (far from it).

PLSS Surveyors know that (or should anyway).

😉
Loyal

I didn't know the PLSS manual also included how when and where to write the field notes. Does it also say what kind of pen to use and what color ink?

There are a surveyor's general field notes and then there are THE GOVERNMENT FIELD NOTES. Huge difference. Anyone attempting to use the manual must know the difference.

Tom Adams, post: 445574, member: 7285 wrote: Funny thing too, is that Texas statutes have a requirement for the surveyor to create "Field Notes" of his survey.

The real funny thing is; Field Notes in PLSSia and Field Notes in Texas are two completely different things:

• Field Notes in PLSSia are, well, notes from the fieldwork done for property surveyed.
• Field Notes in Texas are Legal Descriptions of the property surveyed.

It took me a long time to figure this out; surveying IS really tougher in Texas!

Dougie

Hack, post: 445530, member: 708 wrote: Usually I'll use 4 or 5 pages including my deed and make an alphabet of the scrivener's handwriting.

Excellent advice Hack. I do the same.