PLOTTING GRANTS This can be very handy for identifying the precise location of land. It’s helpful in identifying the county the land was in, which likely changed over time. Plus, you can often pinpoint occupation of the land by looking at the surrounding patents and their surveys for description of the boundaries. Plotting the immediate neighbors is also very helpful. The neighbors are important because they are clues to spouses and to extended families. They also help identify taxing districts. Even if you’re working with a deed or lease, the land was originally acquired by patent, and backing up to that patent is usually helpful. Understanding Metes And Bounds This system was used in all the original colonies, plus Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas. “Metes” (measurements) and “Bounds” (boundaries) describe a tract in terms of neighbor’s boundaries, natural features, compass directions, and distances. Each boundary is defined as a distance and compass direction, resulting in a multi-sided figure. Compass directions have to be adjusted for the difference between true north and magnetic north - not all surveyors made the adjustment, which can result adjoining tracts not quite meeting. Magnetic north also moves over time, so you have to adjust for where it was at the time of the survey. Distances were measured using a chain of 100 links. Each link was 2/3 foot, so the length of a chain was 66 feet. 10 square chains was one acre. Commonly, increments of 1/4 chain – interchangeably called a pole, rod, or perch – were used for distances. Using Maps Old maps are not very useful for plotting because they lack detail, except for local maps used by surveyors and entry takers. Modern topographical maps are much more useful – though names of watercourses may have changed. USGS maps are available free on the internet – try www.topozone.com. DeLorme has a series of state topographical atlases which are very useful - $16.95 in any bookstore. Gazetteers are helpful for identifying old landmarks, and some knowledge of county formations is needed to identify precise locations. Spending Some Money If you are really detail-oriented, DeedMapper is a software program for drawing old patents and deeds and placing them onto topographical maps. $99 from Direct Line Software – order from http://www.ultranet.com/~deeds/order.htm Edwin's note: If anyone has bought this directline software, let me know what you think of it. Is it user friendly or very complicated? I don't want to buy it if I can't use it. I know very little of computer applications.