In a message dated 4/23/01 4:46:00 PM, KDale60909@aol.com writes: << In the > colonies and early states, not only were the > positions of surveyor and chain carrier VERY > important ones by reason of the sacrosanct > nature of real estate in the view of our > ancestors, but also those positions were > often hired and paid for by the county or the > commonwealth/colony. In fact, oaths were > administered and reputations for honesty were > prerequisite for those offices. >> I hope the list will forgive my many posts tonight, but I've not read e-mail for many days. I'm on a research assignment in VA/MD/NC...I too was intrigued by the statement that chain carriers represented both buyer and seller. Makes good sense. I have never encountered a situation where the chain carrier was a hired position, however. My own experience has been that they were either sons or near neighbors of the party whose land was being surveyed. Also, surveys in my experience were usually reserved for the original patent, not upon resale to another party, but were of course used for division of estates. So, I am wondering where the notion of chain carriers for "buyer and seller" arose? Craig Kilby