I was asked why, considering that our ancestors were every bit as intelligent as are we, there seem to be so many errors in deed descriptions of land. My answer was: deed problems are the usual, NOT the unusual and we still live with descriptive errors made LONG ago. There are many reasons that supplied error (none of which reflect lack of good sense) What with the two (or more) governments - colonial and that of the mother-country - granting land more than occasionally sight-unseen, the ever-presence of chicanery and "sharp" dealers, the lands being accurately surveyed only when those who were trained in that "art and mistery" were at hand, the near absence of accurate maps, the movements to and fro by streams, rivers and swamps (especially since clearing land forever changed drainage patterns), the creation of new roads on an almost weekly basis, the often nearly impenetrable thickets, swamps and great forests, and the lack of lawyers and government capable of cross-checking the works of all these folks NOT trained in the requirements of good title, all led to a mass of often honestly and innocently made errors. When compared to the problems of our early ancestors, we have a dream world in land titles and descriptions. Paul