Roaring Brook Consultants, Inc.

Engineering a Better Future

CURRENT NEWS AND TIMELY TIPS

What does the surveyor do?

When we provide a proposal for a survey we are often asked about the cost and what we intend to do. Quite often when I say that my first step is to research the deeds of the parcel to be surveyed and the abutting parcels, I'm asked why? The simple answer is because the rules say that I will. The complete answer is that in many cases the information revealed in researching the deeds of the abutting parcels will provide useful information in locating the property line on the face of the earth.

A deed transfers title to a parcel, and the description in the deed provides the description of parcel that was transferred. The following is typical of many deed descriptions in this region:
"....bounded on the south by the road leading from the Baptist Meeting House to Round Pond, bounded on the east and north by Jacob Smith and on the west by this grantor...being known as the sheep pasture"
Based only on this description I wouldn't be able to place this parcel on the face of the earth.   The road and abutting land owners are monuments but more information is needed to perform the survey.  This same description may have been copied verbatim in 4 consecutive transfers, so this grantor really refers to Harold Smith who first sold this parcel in June of 1875 to his son from the corner of his farm. Now which Meeting House is referenced and where is Round Pond. These features are not on the current maps of the area. The 1872 atlas for the town does show these features. Round Pond is now called Kettle pond and the Baptist Meeting House was located at the corner of Main Street and Pond Road, which is the road the property is located on.

I now know what road the parcel is on, but where is it! The town's tax map gives some guidance, and although they are not always correct, they do give a starting point. Researching the deeds of the abutting parcels I can confirm that they came from Jacob Smith and Harold Smith, but no dimensions or directions are given for any of the common property lines. Now what? Follow the deed chain for each of the parcels back in time. In 1861 an abstract of the will of Jonathon Smith was filed showing that both Jacob and Harold were bequeathed land by the will of Jonathon in equal shares.

The probate records for Jonathon Smith show that the land was partitioned by the court at the request of the heirs and a description for each parcel and a plan of the partition is on file in the probate office. The "sheep pasture" is described by metes and bounds and is said to be surrounded by a stonewall and was given in it's entirety to Harold Smith.

There is a stonewall surrounding the parcel and the dimensions are reasonably close to those given in the description on file at the probate office. We do the field measurements, monument the corners as needed and prepare the plan for the parcel. Why do we research the abutting parcels? Because without that information we could not complete the survey of the parcel. The above illustration shows some of the various sources we need to examine in fitting together the puzzle of where is this piece of land. In addition to the above, the county records are often consulted for layouts and discontinuance of old county roads, in some cases the State of Maine archives are consulted for ancient plans and I have found plans in the superior court records when there had been a boundary dispute. Another source of information that can be helpful are the headstones in old family graveyards. When land is passed intestate (no will) an abstract is not filed in the registry of deeds listing the heirs. If the land passed in this way to a married daughter of the deceased it may be next to impossible to track down the father from the record, unless some kind soul included the specific reference in the deed. I have run across references such as:
     "....land I inherited from my father."
Great! I know she inherited it from her father, but who was he?? Her married name is Mary Jacobson. If you find her headstone in the Smith family graveyard, you at least have a starting point. The headstone may even tell you who her father was.
     "Loving daughter of Harold Smith"

The list of information sources is endless. Each survey has it's own unique circumstances which will dictate which sources will need to be investigated.