@dmyhill I am utterly confused as to what you have read into my reply.
A cap that has only LS # and name has as its sole purpose to identify who set it.?ÿ If I find a monument as described on a map depicting the original establishment of a corner at the location I would expect to find it per that map, I conclude that it is almost certainly the original - BUT, I cannot prove that it is not a later replacement by the same surveyor.?ÿ If I'm accepting it as properly marking the corner, who cares?
Could you prove with absolute certainty that it is original??ÿ No!?ÿ But again, who cares?
If I find a monument that is missing the cap described on the map but otherwise matches the description, am I going to assume that it is not the original and regard it with a lesser status??ÿ No.?ÿ Why would I??ÿ I would probably conclude that it is most likely the original.?ÿ Again, if it reasonably fits relative to other evidence around it, who cares?
The standard for locating boundaries is a preponderance of the evidence.?ÿ That means that if one is careless in their search for evidence, accepts or rejects monuments or other evidence without adequately thorough analysis, then one leaves the bar for another surveyor tipping the preponderance to a different location pretty low.?ÿ?ÿ
I strive to ensure that I find all the evidence that is reasonably available, and often some that might take a beyond reasonable effort to find/obtain so that it is unlikely that the preponderance of evidence would be tipped by evidence I missed and a later surveyor found.?ÿ I include a narrative to explain my use of the evidence and reasoning employed in my analysis.?ÿ When necessary, I research history, law, and even the customs of local surveyors and landowners of decades prior and include anything of consequence graphically, by notation or in my narrative.
I hope your reply was due to some misunderstanding of my previous statements, otherwise, given you statement of "I assure you that you are not practicing surveying like any PLS I have ever followed, worked for, employed, or known.", I would suggest that you find different surveyors to work and hang around with.