[email protected] asked: > Can anyone explain the deed descriptions for Lenawee County? ... > I will send for the film that contains the actual deed, but I am > curious about the decription recorded in the index. > Dick Rich First of all, understand that the word "town," as used Michigan land descriptions, refers to a "Congressional Township" -- a specific 6-mile x 6-mile geographic area. Congressional Townships are referenced with respect to a "Principal Meridian" and a "Baseline." The intersection of the Principal Meridian and the Baseline is called the "Point of Beginning." Most of the old Congressional Township boundaries are visible today as the centerlines of roads and streets. In Michigan, the Principal Meridian runs north-south just east of Jackson. The Baseline runs east-west and forms the northern boundary of several counties including Jackson, Washtenaw, and Wayne (it's also the centerline of Eight Mile road, aka "Baseline Road"). The POB is located in Meridian Baseline Historic State Park in Jackson County. See http://tinyurl.com/gze98 Most modern civil township boundaries follow the historic boundaries of the original Congressional Townships. "Town 7 S Range 5 E" is now Dover Township in Lenawee County. See http://tinyurl.com/oywnh For an excruciatingly detailed description of all this, see my "Towns and Townships" essay at http://tinyurl.com/rf4pq Neal McLain Brazoria, Texas Webmaster of the McLain Cemetery website http://tinyurl.com/rmegz