Well now - Stan, you have me wondering. 1851 census has my ggg grandfather Samuel Johns(t)on farming 5 acres he rented in Ballyleckey (townland), Ballinderry (village/township), Antrim (county), (Northern) Ireland. I assumed this was five acres as I know it. Could this mean however it was more like 8 or 9 acres as I think? I have the ordnance survey maps of about 1900 and tithe? parish? maps of around 1850 from PRONI. I don't remember them giving feet and i9nches etc and if on chains etc you are saying the chains varied too! In fact in 2005 I went past the land - it seemed more like two acres! But it was hard to tell, this is currently in little paddocks, and who knows if he had more than one or not. Dawn (Melbourne Australia) -----Original Message----- From: dur-nbl-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:dur-nbl-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Stanmapstone@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, 24 January 2007 9:30 AM To: DUR-NBL-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [DUR-NBL] Mensuration Copy Books In a message dated 23/01/2007 20:23:20 GMT Standard Time, neil@clueful.co.uk writes: Gunter's chain is a name I have never heard of. __________________________________________________________________ The Gunter's chain was used in the measuring of America. The twenty -two yard chain of the seventeenth century British genius Edmund Gunter has imprinted its dimensions on every parcel of land in the United States A statute acre is divided into 10 sq. chains, or 100,000 sq. links. Statutory values were enacted in England by acts of Edward I., Edward III, Henry VIII and George IV., and the Weights and Measures Act 1878 now defines it as containing 4840 sq. yds. In addition to this "statute " or " imperial acre," other " acres " are still, though rarely, used in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and certain English counties. The Scottish acre contains 6150-4 sq. yds.: the Irish acre is 7840 sq. yds.; in Wales, the land measures erw (4320 sq. yds.), slang (3240 sq. yds.) and paladr are called " acres "; the Leicestershire acre (23085 sq. yds.), Westmorland acre (6760 sq. yds.) and Cheshire acre (10,240 sq. yds.) are examples of local values Regards Stan Mapstone ==== DUR-NBL Mailing List ==== To Post a message to this list send it to, DUR-NBL-L@rootsweb.com ==== DUR-NBL Mailing List ==== List Web Page http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/durhamgenealogy/index.phtml ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DUR-NBL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.8/649 - Release Date: 23/01/2007 8:40 PM