Steve, I am so glad you enjoyed the book! I used it to teach in the week-long advanced land platting class at Samford University as part of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and it made all the difference in the world for them to understand how the surveyors worked and some of their techniques. We had a student who works in the surveying field and it was neat to hear him say "This works! This actually works!" Some of the best information is in the footnotes so I have flags all through the book to bookmark some of them! Mary -----Original Message----- From: Steve Broyles [mailto:steve.broyles@comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 7:01 PM To: DEED-MAPPER-USERS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: A book on Virginia surveying I've just finished reading a remarkable book, one that I thought was out of print but which turns out to be readily available (thanks Mary Bell!) It's called "Surveyors and Statesmen: Land Measuring in Colonial Virginia", by Sarah S. Hughes. This is an extremely detailed account (lots and lots of names and dates and places) of how the technology of surveying evolved in colonial Virginia, how the surveyors became men of standing and influence, the political struggles in which they were involved, and how their jobs changed as the colony was settled. I can't even begin to describe how much I learned from it! But a warning is in order. It's written like a doctoral thesis and is packed with so much information that it's a bit like my grandmother's fudge-- so rich that a bite lasts a long time! You can order the book from the Virginia Association of Surveyors, 8752 Landmark Road, Richmond VA 23228 Voice: (804) 262-1351 | Fax: (804) 262-0511 The price is $25 plus a few dollars for shipping. Steve Broyles ______________________________

Mary Are you aware of a similar book on Tennessee (Bledsoe County) or where I might "look" for information. Thanks John Stepp ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary McCampbell Bell" <m.m.bell@verizon.net> To: <DEED-MAPPER-USERS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 11:17 AM Subject: [DMU] RE: A book on Virginia surveying > Steve, > I am so glad you enjoyed the book! I used it to teach in the week-long > advanced land platting class at Samford University as part of the Institute > of Genealogy and Historical Research, and it made all the difference in the > world for them to understand how the surveyors worked and some of their > techniques. We had a student who works in the surveying field and it was > neat to hear him say "This works! This actually works!" > > Some of the best information is in the footnotes so I have flags all through > the book to bookmark some of them! > > Mary > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Steve Broyles [mailto:steve.broyles@comcast.net] > Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 7:01 PM > To: DEED-MAPPER-USERS-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: A book on Virginia surveying > > > I've just finished reading a remarkable book, one that I thought was out of > print but which turns out to be readily available (thanks Mary Bell!) > It's called "Surveyors and Statesmen: Land Measuring in Colonial Virginia", > by Sarah S. Hughes. > > This is an extremely detailed account (lots and lots of names and dates and > places) of how the technology of surveying evolved in colonial Virginia, how > the surveyors became men of standing and influence, the political struggles > in which they were involved, and how their jobs changed as the colony was > settled. I can't even begin to describe how much I learned from it! But a > warning is in order. It's written like a doctoral thesis and is packed with > so much information that it's a bit like my grandmother's fudge-- so rich > that a bite lasts a long time! > > You can order the book from the > > Virginia Association of Surveyors, > 8752 Landmark Road, Richmond VA 23228 > Voice: (804) 262-1351 | Fax: (804) 262-0511 > > The price is $25 plus a few dollars for shipping. > > Steve Broyles > > ______________________________ > > > ==== DEED-MAPPER-USERS Mailing List ==== > Send all messages and replies to <DEED-MAPPER-USERS-L@rootsweb.com>. > > ============================== > You can manage your RootsWeb-Review subscription from > http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ > >

I just talked to the nice lady at the Virginia Assn. of Surveyors to order my copy and she was shell-shocked. She said she has been doing nothing but taking orders for this book all week. Every time she hangs up the phone and tries to do something, it rings again with another order. Thanks, Mary, for telling us about this book and how to get our very own copy! And to the rest of you, if you ever have the opportunity to take one of Mary Bell's and Birdie Holsclaw's land platting workshops at a national conference or the weeklong advanced land class with them and Rick Sayre at Samford, go for it! You'll learn a whole lot about sorting out gnarly metes and bounds problems and come to truly enjoy platting. Pamela Boyer Porter, CGRS, CGL Memory Lane, Inc. Web Site: <www.MoMemoryLane.com> E-mail: <Pam@MoMemoryLane.com> ***************************************** Certified Genealogical Records Specialist (CGRS) and Certified Genealogical Lecturer (CGL) are service marks of the Board for Certification of GenealogistsR, used under license by board-certified associates who meet genealogical competency standards prescribed for those programs.