Are you doing any more books? -----Original Message----- From: Walt Warnick [mailto:ashlie@erols.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 8:09 AM To: MDGARRET-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [MDGARRET] Military Lots and the evolution of boundaries Perhaps we can get a discussion going on this list about the evolution of property surveys and susbsequent land ownership in Garrett County. The 1787 Deakins survey laid out several thousand 50-acre lots, including land across much of what is now Garrett County. Deakins surveyed those lands westward of Fort Cumberland that had been owned at the time of the Revolution by the Maryland government loyal to King George III and by Loyalists. This land was seized by the new revolutionary government of Maryland, and Deakins was charged with surveying it into Lots so that it could be awarded as bounty to American veterans of trhe Revolutionary War. While this land included much of today's Garrett County, it did not include all of it. My guess is that the land that the Deakins survey did not cover was owned by citizens who had sided with the Americans in the War, and thus their titles were retained and were recognized. Deakins found over 300 settlers already living on the lands he was charged to survey. Most of these folks lived in what is today Allegany County, rather than what is today Garrett County. A very informative list of the heads of households found by the Deakins survey is presented on the following web site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~mdgarret/land/deakin_list.html These settlers were given a chance to buy the land on which they lived. I am writing today, however, about the other Lots--those which were not already occupied. Deakins laid out most, but not all, of these other Lots as perfect rectangles with two edges running due north and south, and two edges running due east and west. This suggests to me that for the bulk of the land, Deakins paid no regard to natural boundaries. My guess is that his survey party never actually set foot on a large number of the Lots. Really, the task of surveying all these Lots by a small team in the wilderness over just one year or so was an impossibility from outset. Rather, my guess is that the survey of the rectangualr Lots amounted to nothing more than grid lines drawn on a map. My question is, what became of these rectangular Lots? Did subsequent settlement of this land honor the boundaries defined by Deakins? Walt Warnick ==== MDGARRET Mailing List ==== Looking for your Garrett County ancestors? Make sure to visit us on the web at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~mdgarret/index.html