Tennesse Land Terminology These are some of the words found in old Tennessee land documents and other related records and histories. Most of the words listed below have a wider meaning than given here. It is important to remember that the meaning of some of these words have changed over the years. This work is an attempt to connect with the older meanings. --- Adverse Possession This is a legal term, not generally found in land documents. It is a method of acquisition of title to real property by possession for a statutory period under specified conditions. --- Assignee, Assee., Asnee., etc The person to whom the right or interest is transferred. Warrants and Certificates, were commonly assigned to others. Entrys and Surveys were occasionally assigned prior to the official granting of title -the land Grant. --- Bank Sloped land at the edge of a waterway. --- Barrens, Barrons, Barrans, Barrenz Grass lands with few trees. Often referred to as having “Scrubby Oaks” A major feature across parts of Middle Tennessee and into Kentucky. According to George R. Stewart, the pioneers, upon first seeing large areas without trees, mistakenly assumed that the land was poor or infertile, thereby calling the land barren. “The Barrens” of Warren and Coffee counties is actually the gentle divide between the watershed of the Cumberland and the Tennessee Rivers. An 1863 Yankee map refers to that area as “Good Grazing Country. . . Plenty of Water. --- Bearing Tree A blazed and marked tree. --- Beech Bottom Bottom land with beech trees. These bottoms of beech {and also oak}, were prized by the farmer for he could feed his wild hogs there, on the mast. --- Below Down river or down hill . --- Bend A curve in a river or stream. --- Block The word “black“ poorly written as in “40 poles to a Dogwood & a block, thence . . .” Also the other part, the tree name, like Oak, is omitted. --- Bluff High, steep bank or cliff. --- Bottom Also called bottom land. The lowest land next to a river. Very fertile but subject to floods - the “June tide”. Remember, that since the early 1800’s, the course of many rivers may have changed within a low wide bottom. Lib Chastain tells of an island mentioned in the her old original deed of the family farm. Now the island is now a peninsula connected to the river bank. --- Branch, Brance A creek or stream. --- Call or Calls A feature, landmark, or measurement called out in an entry or survey. An example of a call is: “40 poles to a Spanish Oak, thence west . . .” Occasionally, the calls in an entry will not match the actual later survey. --- {{{{ I really liked this one(smile)}}}} Chigger While not a survey term, surely the survey party was well acquainted with the chigger. If you are not familiar with this nasty little parasite and plan to explore abandoned farms and overgrown cemeteries in the South, then take Warning ! Ask your Tennessee friends on how to avoid these critters. Panty hose is said to have a deterrent effect. { Gentlemen, take heart. Even the U.S.M.C. will use them.} The chiggers bite. They will cause itching and leave you with quarter size pink polka dots on your legs. The polka dots are not permanent. Incidentally, they can transmit infectious diseases. A chigger is about the size of a pin head . Also, beware of ticks, they can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and can be deadly. Want to read more, go to this URL-Link And enjoy!!!!! http://www.tngenweb.org/tnland/terms.htm Connie *In Beautiful Western Kentucky* DNA Kincaid # 3350 Group A set 2 b DNA Knight #N38010 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Connie's Links-Lots of Links-Try Them www.angelfire.com/ky2/connie/Links.html ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (\o/) Grandmothers are earth angels. /_\ - Unknown~