Starting this thread as a follow-on to the one below on field procedures.
We, the experienced mentors, somehow need to transfer what we know to our co-workers as best we can so that they can begin to do more of what needs done. It can be difficult to let go, but we need to do it or become grumpy old soloists content to educate no one to replace us someday.
The challenge on the research end of things is to teach the co-worker how, and to what extent, to dig through the available information. The following example applies to a nearby county for a survey involving the breakdown of a section in PLSSia to assist in severing a tract from a parent tract. Other nearby counties have similar resources, some more, some less, some in several different locations.
1-- Go to the Register of Deeds office to search the documents index to find the record transactions involving the subject section and relevant adjoiners. These run from the original Patent to most rececent filings all in one place.
2-- Pull the various deed, mortgage and miscellaneous books to view relevant documents. Make note of current owners so that you can be a bit more cordial when one approaches you in the field.
3--Compare the information for the parent tract and adjoiners for agreement or lack thereof.
4-- Note skips in the record caused by actions that are filed in the District Court records (Go to the District Court office as needed.)
5-- View maps prepared by the County Appraiser's Office showing the approximate location and ownership of each tract as currently recorded (Sometimes this takes a short trip to the Appraiser's Office for clarification.)
6-- While going through the indexes pay special attention to noting any surveys that may have been officially recorded there. (Maybe two to five percent of all recorded surveys available.)
7--If necessary, refer to the original plats of any towns, cemeteries, additions and subdivisions that may abut or somehow involve your survey of the subject tract.
8-- If necessary, refer to the original Government Plat of the subject township.
9-- If necessary, study any maps, school records or similar documents involving your project that happen to be on file in this office.
10-- Step next door to the County Surveyor's office.
11-- Search the indexes of each Record of Survey book for relevant surveys and learn as much as possible that MAY be needed later. (The other 95-98 percent of all publicly available surveys.)
12-- Search through both the file box of 'Old Section Corners' and the file box of 'Section Corners' indexed somewhat in order numerically by township to find references and monument descriptions.
13-- Search through the somewhat modern indexes of Land Survey Reference Reports providing section corner data. (Required to be filed by Statute.)
14-- Search through the mysterious drawer full of surveys from about 1800-1895 that are wrapped in a plastic bag.
15-- Search through any of the 80+ field books available as referred to by the County Surveyor in the older Record of Survey books.
16-- As needed, pull out the book of maps showing all county roads with index information.
17-- Pull out the County Road index book to identify where to search for the original road records.
18-- If you are lucky, what you need will be in the giant Book B of road records that is in that room.
19-- If you aren't lucky, you get to go to the County Clerk's office to get THE KEY to the dungeon in the basement with one very, very dim light bulb to find the ancient Commission Record book in which you will find the information you need relative to road dedication, surveying of the route, width, variations in width and date of acceptance. Then move on to the next road of interest and repeat as needed.
20-- If a railroad cuts through your section, pull the pertinent rolls from the proper drawer and search along the thirty feet or so of strip map until you find your area of interest. Frequently, these maps will include records of survey monuments found, distances thereto, and all sorts of reference data including bridge and culvert locations, and bearings and curve data.
21-- If a county bridge project is located along a key section line or other county road location, search through the drawers and bins of plans based on the two index booklets available.
22-- If a county road project is located similarly, search throgh the same drawers and bins based on the two index booklets available.
23-- If a State highway has ever run along or through your area of interest, search the hanging files based on the index booklets available.
24-- Study the official Government Field Notes book for all relevant section lines and corners.
25-- If needed, study through the county-wide FEMA flood maps on file.
26-- If needed, search through the various data sources listed above for elevation benchmark data.
If the project happens to involve a county line or county corner, move on to the adjoining counties to continue your search.
Why not just spend 200-250 and order a title report? I assume they must not have those in your work area? Around here its the best 200-250 your client will ever spend.
Sure, we still need to chase down the occassional unrecorded county map, highway map or railroad map but the title report and your subsequent ability to call the title officer and have them 'dig deeper' into the records is invaluable.
Research Procedures>Holy Smokes Holy Cow
That's a lot of work! Do you have to do that for each and every project? And what's the purpose of checking school records??
Dtp
> Why not just spend 200-250 and order a title report?
Chapter Three of Interpreting Land Records by Don Wilson is entitled: “Records Research: Title Search or Deed Search” and starts:
"Although often believed to be the same thing, title searching and boundary or deed searching are very different. For each, much of the search is done in the same places, many of the same records are reviewed, but the goals are very different.
The acceptable standards of the two types of searches are not alike, and the results of the searches are very different. True, in each close scrutiny is given to the description, but for different reasons. For a rule of thumb:
The title search is performed to determine what the parcel is, who owns it and what encumbers it; while the deed search is performed to find out where the parcel is, what its boundaries are, and how large it is"
> .. the deed search is performed to find out where the parcel is, what its boundaries are, and how large it is"
[sarcasm]does this include coordinates? [/sarcasm] :snarky:
Research Procedures>Holy Smokes Holy Cow
I may not need all of those things, but, sometimes even that isn't enough to tell me what I need to know to do the job correctly. My goal was to point out how difficult it is for someone new to walk into the courthouse and find all there is to find. There have been many, many times when I have used almost all of those resources and then went in search of others.
In my opinion, every surveyor (not technician) needs to know how to do the research in every jurisdiction in which they work. If they can't or won't, they need to contract with someone else to do it who is a fellow surveyor. Title company people DO NOT do nearly enough to meet our needs. First, you need to know about the adjoiners also. In PLSSia we frequently look at the history of the subdivision of properties throughout the section and when those subdivisions occurred. Sometimes we look into adjoining sections for help. The trick to being a good researcher is knowing just how far out to reach to get what you need to know.
Foggy, I mentioned the school records as an example of other resources available that one would normally never think of as a possible source of help for our purposes. One time I dug through the records of a little rural school and found the dimensions of the school lot. The record description was: One and one-half acres in the southwest corner of.................. Nothing said it was a square or a rectangle longer one way or the other. Another time, I encountered a very similar problem with a cemetery dedication. Finding the cemetery plans cleared up the true dimensions of a two and one-half acre tract.
Probate Court
Local History Books
Historical Societies
Old Timers
Good grief sounds like a job i'm currently working on. I have 47 hours of research as of now without setting a foot on the job site. 4 subdivisions from 1870 to 1890ish involved, ancient street r/w, old road/paving plans, bridge plans and of course a river that has eroded into the bank of the back side of a subdiv. I have a few surveys but that is it. As of right now on paper nothing fits. A good client of ours said do the job and I like a good challenge.
Currently working on the research for a 150 acre parcel that has NEVER ever been surveyed. Bounding descriptions with names of folks who have been dead for over 150 years.
Just starting to get references to which Proprietor's Lots (1769)are involved, and that's the ONLY place I'll find dimensions for my lot or the abutters, who are also being researched. I've been spun around with forclosures and probates to where I had to use the local historical foundations records to figure out who was related to who.
So far, 35 acres have been conveyed out, without the locus parcel having had any exceptions mentioned. So the 150 is down to 115; but we'll still have to traverse around the 150.
I'm at around 40 hours of research.......and counting...
I love this s- - t+o(
Well, I agree with all of that Cow.
Could you prioritize the steps for us?
Just kidding. They can all be of primary importance in solving a particular boundary.
It's a good read for new/young surveyor wannabees as to what they will face.
I think it indicates (feel free to disagree) that the math is a fundamental part of surveying but is the easiest to learn and the easiest to misuse.
I am as serious as cancer when I say that you have nothing to apply the math to until you have done the research.
Much of what one needs to know in the field
Much of what one needs to know in the field is what is in that research. It becomes second nature if you are the one who did the research. When something at first blush seems to be off by some amount, your brain scans back through all you read and viewed searching for possible reasons. BAM! Now I remember. Once upon a time the adjoining tract was split a bit differently than this one and what I've just found is the monument relvant to the adjoining tract, not mine. A quick check of the apparent difference in location leads to a new search area for the correct monument and BAM there it is.
> We, the experienced mentors, somehow need to transfer what we know to our co-workers as best we can so that they can begin to do more of what needs done. It can be difficult to let go, but we need to do it or become grumpy old soloists content to educate no one to replace us someday.
>
> The challenge on the research end of things is to teach the co-worker how, and to what extent, to dig through the available information.
Mr. Cow, that pretty much describes the present area of concern.
I think there should be a separate course on research in every surveyors' training program, but I'm not holding my breath. Failing that, experienced surveyors could write down what they know about it, and circulate their advice to the next generation.
Your original post, as it stands, would be a good brief introduction to research in the county in question. Of course more detail might be added for those who have little experience of research in general.
I think there should be a separate course on research in every surveyors' training program, but I'm not holding my breath.
That's a good point.
In fact every university which offers a degree in surveying also has a history department. Once you get past the basic course, the rest of the stuff is writing papers stating an opinion and presenting the research to back it up. Kind of like what I do today for a living as a surveyor. It was good preparation for me.
I am printing this off for future reference. Thank you! I thought I was proficient at research but have never had to go that deep. *Don't ever think you can't learn something*, even if your good at it!
It's true that historical research in general is good preparation for survey research. In fact it could be said that survey research is a specialized branch of historical research, with very specific objectives.
Practicing surveyors need to know two things about research--what information to look for, and where and how to find it. The information needed to run boundaries is not exactly the same in every locality, but it's similar, and students can get a good idea of what is needed through the general study of land surveying. Where and how to find that information is quite different from one place to another. That's what experienced surveyors need to write down.
Good partial list of where you might need to go to get the information needed.
There is no telling where you will find that little gem of information needed to solve a boundary. One thing is sure - it will be the last place you look for it.
You might not need all of those on every job. But when you need it, you need to know where to find it.
Research and older field techniques and equipment are two areas that many younger (and to some extent I include my old self in that group) surveyors often do not get enough exposure to. Not meant to belittle younger surveyors, as the lack of exposure falls on their mentors.