Leslie, Thanks. This is very interesting. I wouldn't have thought to look to Roman/Dutch law for the answer. Steve -----Original Message----- From: dutch-colonies-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:dutch-colonies-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Leslie B. Potter Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 2:16 PM To: dutch-colonies@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [DUTCH-COLONIES] Land Record term Gentlemen: I finally found a moment to dragged out my books on Roman/Dutch law. I am inclined to suspect that the "free drop on both sides" has to do with a type of "Servitude" in Roman Dutch law, which deals specifically with handling water and run-off in an urban setting. (Please see Urban servitude # 5) However, I'll let you read all of the material on servitudes and judge for yourselves. So for what it is worth, this is what I found on "Servitudes" in R. W. Lee's An Introduction to Roman/Dutch Law page 164 to 169.