The primary goal of surveying a boundary described in a deed is to give effect to the intentions of the parties and to find the location of the boundary as they meant it or would have located it. To appropriately locate the boundary, the deed must be interpreted in light of the circumstances at the time it was written.
"In conclusion, upon this branch of the case we deem it proper to say, that in the construction of written instruments, we have never derived much aid from the technical rules of the books. The only rule of much value - one which is frequently shadowed forth, but seldom, if ever, expressly stated in the books - is to place ourselves as near as possible in the seats which were occupied by the parties at the time the instrument was; then, taking it by its four corners, read it." -Walsh v. Hill, 38 Cal. 481, 487 (1869)
This is great. I was recently involved in a minor argument with another surveyor over a section corner. And what we finally used to settle the disagreement was the occupation lines and improvements that were physically on the ground and verbal confirmation of a guy that had worked on the property 70 years ago. The "by the book" method to establish the section corner put it in a location about 120 feet away and that just plain didn't make any sense.
