Looking at the 1853 General Land Office township plat for Township 33 North, Range 3 East and zeroing in on Section 6, we see that it is extra long in both the North-South direction and the East-West direction. The excessive extra length in the North-South direction is a result of an extra long measure used when marking off the Fifth Principal Meridian. The North line of the township is a Standard Parallel, or correction line, placed so as to arrest the propagation of error to prevent it being carried further to the North.
The Southeast quarter looks okay, being an expected 40 chains (2640 feet) North-South by 40 chains (2640 feet) East-West.
The Northeast quarter, although extra long and divided into 8 lots, has Lots 1 through 7 of regular size, being 20 chains (1320 feet) North-South by 40 chains (2640 feet) East-West. No real problem there.
The Southwest quarter is extra long in the East-West direction, but Lots 1 and 2 are of regular size, 40 chains (2640 feet) North-South by 20 chains (1320 feet) East-West, with Lot 3 being the excess. No real problem here either.
The Northwest quarter is where the problems will develop. Lots 1 through 7 are of regular dimension in the North-South direction (20 chains = 1320 feet), but are extra long in the East-West direction with the width decreasing from Lot 1 to Lot 8. Lot 8 is formed from the excess in both North-South and East-West directions. So far, this isn't really a problem.
Next, let's look at how the Northwest quarter was patented by the General Land Office.
Lot 1
East half - Robert A. Rich
West half - Jackson Webb
Lot 2
East half - Conrad C. Zeigler
West half - Jackson Webb
Lot 3
East half - Conrad C. Zeigler
West half - Henry Thurman
Lot 4
East half - Chester T. Taylor
West half - Henry Thurman
Lot 5
Henry Thurman
Lot 6
East half - Henry Thurman
West half - Conrad C. Zeigler
Lot 7
East half - Henry Thurman
West half - Conrad C. Zeigler
Lot 8
Sebastian Ziegler
Except for Lots 5 and 8, the Lots in the Northwest quarter of Section 6 were patented as half lots.
Looking at the list of patentees, we see that Conrad C. Zeigler acquired four of these half Lots. This is the same Conrad C. Zeigler who obtained a charter from the Missouri General Assembly in 1843 to incorporate the American Iron Mountain Company to mine iron and other minerals (Missouri Session Laws, 1842-1843, pages 213-218).
Fast-forward in time and we find that the tracts patented to Conrad C. Zeigler ended up in the hands of Big Muddy Coal and Iron Company. On November 25, 1908, Big Muddy Coal and Iron Company conveyed the surface rights to numerous tracts of land to the Murdock-Crumb Company, a West Virginia corporation (Iron County Deed Book 53, page 241). Included in the conveyance were the following tracts in the Northwest quarter of Section 6, T33N R3E:
- the East halves of Lots 2 and 3, 104.80 acres
- the West halves of Lots 6 and 7, 101.20 acres
Just as a check of the areas:
- the area shown on the township plat for Lot 2 is 105.23 acres and the area for Lot 3 is 104.33 acres;
105.23 + 104.33 = 209.56 and half of that is 104.78 acres
- the area shown on the township plat for Lot 6 is 101.65 acres and the area for Lot 7 is 100.75 acres
101.65 + 100.75 = 202.40 and half of that is 101.20 acres
This calculation, then, confirms that the Lots were split in half by area.
Having acquired these tracts of land, the Murdock-Crumb Company proceeded to subdivide them into smaller tracts. See Iron County Plat Book 3, pages 1 through 23, dated May 20, 1910 and filed for record on May 23, 1910. Section 6 in Township 33 North, Range 3 East is shown on page 9.
Here is where the problems begin. In the image above, the two tracts of land acquired by the Murdock-Crumb Company in the Northwest quarter of Section 6 are outlined in blue. For whatever reason, the subdividing surveyor did not divide the lots in half as patented and described in subsequent conveyances, but rather divided the lots of the Northwest quarter by extending northward the North-South line between Lots 1 and 2 of the Southwest quarter, making the "East half" only 40 acres and the "West half" all of the remainder. In Lots 6 and 7 this creates an overlap of the subdivided tracts into the east halves and in Lots 2 and 3 this creates orphan tracts not identified as part of the subdivision.
Does the mere act of platting an overage onto adjoining property, not owned by the subdivider, establish a bona fide right in subsequent grantees to that overage? A person cannot convey what he does not own, so it would appear that this plat creates a conflict, a subsequent color of title in the grantees, that cannot stand up to scrutiny.
And what happens to the orphan tracts? It would appear that these tracts still belong to the Murdock-Crumb Company. It's unlikely, however, that the Murdock-Crumb Company had any inkling that these orphan tracts existed and, therefore, likely made no provision for them. So, who owns them now?
And also, can this inconsistent subdivision of the Northwest quarter of the section affect any other part of the Northwest quarter not included in the tracts actually subdivided? I don't think it can. I don't think it has any bearing at all on Lots 1, 4, 5 and 8 of the Northwest quarter.
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original composition by Steven E. Weible
