Clair Victor Mann, Land Surveyor

Rolla Cemetery, Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri, USA

Latitude: N 37°56'18.3", Longitude: W 091°46'08.9" (NAD 1983)

Clair Victor Mann
born: 03 June 1884 in Marshall County, Kansas, USA
died: 30 November 1974 at Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri, USA

Missouri Professional Land Surveyor #22
Missouri Professional Engineer #707

Residence in 1918: Boulder, Boulder County, Colorado, USA
Occupation in 1918: Civil Engineering & State Inspector for The Apishapa Consolidated Irrigation Company
(source: World War I draft registration card)

Residence in 1930: Eighth Street, Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri, USA
Occupation in 1930: Civil Engineer for the Missouri School of Mines
(source: 1930 U. S. Federal Census)

Residence in 1940: Eighth Street, Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri, USA
Occupation in 1940: Professor at the Missouri School of Mines
(source: 1940 U. S. Federal Census)


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courtesy of Steven E. Weible

Odd Lots in Township 34 North, Range 6 West, Section 2, Missouri

Here is another interesting example of odd lots in the United States Public Land Survey System in Missouri.

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

This image comes from the "new" General Land Office (GLO) township plat for Township 34 North, Range 6 West of the Fifth Principal Meridian in Missouri.

It is dated November 30, 1861

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

and is signed by William Cuddy, Surveyor General for Missouri and Illinois

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

Upon first examination of Section 2, other than the section being long, there is really nothing that would attract our attention or lead us to believe that there might be something amiss. If you look closely, however, there are some details that are not consistent from Section 1 to Section 2 to Section 3. You will notice that Lots 1 through 6 in the Northwest quarter of Sections 2 are all shown as being 80.00 acres. You will also notice that there is no dimension on the west side of these lots.

Now, looking at Sections 1 and 3, you will notice that the lots in the Northwest quarter of these sections have acreages that are something other than 80.00 acres and the west sides of Lots 1 through 6 are all dimensioned as 20.00 chains. Doesn't that seem a little strange? Perhaps we should investigate further.

When we look for the "old" General Land Office township plat for Township 34 North, Rang 6 West, we find the following:

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

This township plat is dated January 1, 1822

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

and is signed by Elisha Sims for William H. Ashley, the contracted Deputy Surveyor

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

As we look at this "old" township plat, we see that there is additional information that was not included on the "new" township plat. Lots 1 through 6 of the Northwest quarter of Section 2 are here dimensioned so as to achieve an acreage of 80.00 acres.  Why?

Looking in the margin of this "old" township plat, we find an explanation:

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

Although Section 2 does not have a red letter "S", we are informed that there was a sale that occurred prior to the calculation of acreages in this section.

To find out more about the sequence of sales in the Northwest quarter of Section 2, we can search for patent information at www.glorecords.blm.gov. The results are as follows:

Lot 6            80.00 acres   William Thornton    1841 Jul 01
West 1/2 Lot 5   40.00 acres   Ephraim F. Bressie  1841 Dec 10
East 1/2 Lot 4   40.00 acres   Ephraim F. Bressie  1849 Apr 10
East 1/2 Lot 3   40.00 acres   Andrew J. Riley     1851 Nov 01
East 1/2 Lot 1   40.00 acres   John P. Riley       1854 Nov 15
East 1/2 Lot 2   40.00 acres   John P. Riley       1854 Nov 15
East 1/2 Lot 5   40.00 acres   Ephraim F. Bressie  1855 Jun 15
East 1/2 Lot 7   46.99 acres   John P. Riley       1856 Jan 03
West 1/2 Lot 7   45.97 acres   Josiah Welch        1856 Jan 03
West 1/2 Lot 3   40.00 acres   John P. Riley       1856 Oct 10
West 1/2 Lot 1   40.00 acres   William Riley       1857 Apr 15
West 1/2 Lot 2   40.00 acres   Andrew J. Riley     1857 Apr 15
West 1/2 Lot 4   40.00 acres   Andrew J. Riley     1857 Apr 15

From this information we see that Lot 6 was patented for 80 acres and the West 1/2 of Lot 5 was patented for 40 acres in 1841, before the acreages were calculated in the Surveyor General's office in 1847. As a result, the acreages in the Northwest quarter of Section 2 were not calculated as they were in Sections 1 and 3, but rather were calculated to conform to the previous sales.

You will also notice that all of the Northwest quarter of Section 2 was patented by April 1857, which precedes the production of the "new" township plat in 1861.


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original composition by Steven E. Weible

Samuel Lester Asbury, Land Surveyor

Masonic Cemetery, Farmington, Saint Francois County, Missouri, USA

Latitude: N 37°46'31.4", Longitude: W 090°25'16.8" (NAD 1983)

Samuel Lester Asbury
born: 09 November 1838 in Benton County, Mississippi, USA
died: 14 August 1914 at Farmington, Saint Francois County, Missouri, USA

member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South

Elected Saint Francois County Surveyor, 1872
(Saint Francois County, Missouri, Deed Book O, page 637)

Elected Saint Francois County Surveyor, 1892
(Saint Francois County, Missouri, Bonds & Commissions Book 1, page 35)

Elected Saint Francois County Surveyor, 1900
(Saint Francois County, Missouri, Bonds & Commissions Book 1, page 70)

served as City Clerk for the City of Farmington, Saint Francois County, Missouri, USA


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courtesy of Steven E. Weible

Cemetery in Bennett Spring State Park, Laclede County, Missouri

There is a small family cemetery located in a remote area of Bennett Spring State Park in Laclede County, Missouri.  More specifically, it is located in the southwest part of Lot 3 of the Northeast quarter of Section 6 in Township 34 North, Range 17 West of the Fifth Principal Meridian.  The geographic location is Latitude: N37°42'06.0", Longitude: W092°50'36.4" (NAD 1983) as measured with a handheld GPS unit. The cemetery first appears in the records of the Laclede County, Missouri, Recorder of Deeds as a reservation in a Deed of Trust filed for record in Deed Book I, page 386, dated June 20, 1889.

The graves are arranged in two rows oriented North-South with headstones facing West and footstones to the East.

Following are the inscriptions on the headstones as transcribed on October 10, 2008:

- Eastern row, beginning at the North end and proceeding South:

Robert Jr.

son of 

R. & E. M. Murrell

Feb. 26, 1907

Emma M.

Dau. of

T. P. & M. E.

Lowdermilk

Born

Nov. 16, 1880

Died

Feb. 25, 1907

Gone to a better land

To My Husband

T. P. Lowdermilk

Born

Aug. 21, 1852

Died

Nov. 27, 1907

May he rest in peace.

To Our Mother

M. E. Lowdermilk

Born

Mar. 9, 1855

Died

Nov. 25, 1933

may she rest in peace.

- Next row West, beginning at the North end and proceeding South:

In Memory of

Ellefare

wife of

Dr. W. A. Jenkins

Born

Jan 17, 1872

Died

April 25, 1894

Thomas Jenkins

PVT 8 MO CAV

FEB 10 1839   OCT 26 1915

[military marker]

Nancy Jenkins

Born

Oct 26, 1819

Died

July 2, 1880

William L.

son of

W A & Ella

Jenkins

Born

Nov. 1, 1890

Died

Jul. 17, 1891

Nancy E.

Jenkins

Born

June 4, 1880

Died

Aug. 24 1880

Susan E.

Jenkins

Born

Jan. 1, 1871

Died

Mar. 26, 1889

We will meet again

Rebecca

wife of

Thomas Jenkins

Born

----- 12, 1853

Died

Apr. 1, 1889

We will meet again

The row continues south with 3 unmarked set rocks with elongated depressions to the east. The first two rocks appear to have accompanying foot rocks.


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courtesy of Steven E. Weible

Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Station Site and Right-of-way at McKittrick, Missouri

The railroad station site and right-of-way at McKittrick, Montgomery County, Missouri, were acquired by the Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Railway Company in March 1892. The instrument of conveyance was filed on September 30, 1893 and recorded in Montgomery County Deed Book 36 at page 202. Historical records indicate that the Montgomery County courthouse burned on April 12, 1901, destroying many county records, including the record of this conveyance. The following text is transcribed from the original document now in the possession of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Division of State Parks. The original document is a standard form with particular information handwritten in blank spaces of the form. In this transcription the handwritten text is indicated by blue italics.
============================================================

     Know all Men by these Presents, That Sterling Price and Sally C. Price, his wife and Jacob Karl Jr. and Clara Karl, his wife, of the County of Montgomery, in the State of Missouri, have this day, for and in consideration of the sum of one Dollar to the said Sterling Price and Sally C. Price, his wife, and Jacob Karl Jr. and Clara Karl, his wife, in hand paid by the MISSOURI, KANSAS AND EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, a corporation created, organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Missouri, Granted, Bargained and Sold, and by these presents do Grant, Bargain and Sell unto the said Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Railway Company, its successors and assigns, the following described tracts or parcels of land situate in the County of Montgomery in the State of Missouri, that is to say:

     A strip, belt or piece of land one hundred (100) feet in width, comprising all that portion of the land of said grantors in the South half of Section twenty-three (23) in Township forty-six (46) north of range five (5) west, being all that part of said South half of said Section which lies north of Loutre Slough and east of Loutre Creek which is included between two lines running parallel with, one line being fifty (50) feet distant north, and the other line being fifty (50) feet distant south, from the center line of the above named company's railroad, as said center line is located, surveyed and staked out over and across said above described tract of land, and also an additional strip of land one hundred feet wide along and adjacent to said above described strip of land on the north side thereof, and another additional strip of land fifty (50) feet wide along and adjacent to said first above described strip of land on the south side thereof, said additional strips extending from station stake 540 on the east to station stake 553 on the west.

     TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the premises hereby conveyed, with all the rights, privileges and appurtenances thereto belonging or in anywise appertaining, unto the said Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Railway Company, its successors and assigns, forever. for the purposes of a depot station grounds and right of way for said company, this deed to be void unless depot located and established on said strips of land.

     The said Sterling Price, Sally C. Price, Jacob Karl Jr. and Clara Karl hereby covenant to and with the said Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Railway Company, its successors and assigns, for themselves and their heirs, executors and administrators, to Warrant and Defend the title to the premises hereby conveyed against the claim of every person whatsoever. for the purposes aforesaid.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereto subscribed our names, and affixed our seals, this 4th day of March 1892.

     WITNESS:
A. A. Krause
J. L. Hall

                    Sterling Price (SEAL)
                    Sallie C. Price (SEAL)
                    Jacob Karl Jr (SEAL)
                    Clara Karl (SEAL)

------------------------------------------------------------------

     STATE OF MISSOURI    }
     County of Montgomery }  SS.     On this 22 day of March A.D. 1892
before me personally appeared Sterling Price and Sallie C. Price his wife and Jacob Karl Jr. Clara to me known to be the persons described in and who executed the foregoing instrument and acknowledged that they executed the same as their free act and deed.

     WITNESS MY HAND in Loutre Township the day and year first above written.
     My term of office expires ___________________ 189_

                                                              Henry Kalemann
                                                              Justice of the Peace

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warranty Deed.

335

====================

FROM

Sterling Price & wf

and Jacob Karl Jr. & wf

TO

The Missouri, Kansas and

Eastern Railway,

Company.

====================

STATE OF MISSOURI   }      

COUNTY OF Montgomery } SS.

I, R H Williams

Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Ex-

Officio Recorder of said County, do

hereby certify that the within instru-

ment of writing was, on the 30

day of Sept A. D. 1893 at

5 o'clock P minutes __  M., duly

filed for Record in this office, and is

Recorded in the Records of this office

in Book 36 at page 202

WITNESS my hand and

official seal of said Court the

day and year aforesaid

R H Williams

Clerk and Ex-Officio Recorder.

-------------------------------
Transcribed by Steven E. Weible

William John Kramer, Land Surveyor

St. Francois Memorial Park, Bonne Terre, St. Francois County, Missouri, USA

Latitude: N 37°53'38.3", Longitude: W 090°30'50.0" (NAD 1983)

William John Kramer
born: 17 December 1921 at Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
died: 12 April 2007 at Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Missouri Professional Land Surveyor #1250

United States Navy veteran

member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Park Hills, Missouri

at time of death was a resident of Lake Timberline, Bonne Terre, St. Francois County, Missouri, USA


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courtesy of Steven E. Weible

Odd Lots in Township 34 North, Range 6 West, Section 6, Missouri

The following is an example of odd lots in the United States Public Land Survey System in Missouri. For background discussion on odd lots in Missouri, please, refer to the article entitled, "See New Plat?" on this blog at See New Plat? or in the September 2011 issue of Missouri Surveyor magazine at See New Plat?

Section 6, Township 34 North, Range 6 West, 5th Principal Meridian, Missouri

The following image is from the township plat dated 1861, the "new" plat.

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

An examination of Section 6 of this township reveals that the lots in the northwest quarter of the section are shown as being 80.00 acres, but the lot corners along the north-south centerline do not coincide with the corners of lots in the northeast quarter of the section. This would imply that the north-south lot dimensions of lots in the northwest quarter are something other than 20.00 chains. What these lot distances are, however, is not indicated on this "new" plat.  So, how will we solve this mystery? If this township was surveyed during the time that William Rector was Surveyor General for Missouri, there should be an "old" township plat that may have additional information.  So, let’s look to see if there is an “old” General Land Office (GLO) township plat for this township.


To look for the "old" GLO township plat, we'll go to the Missouri Land Survey Index:  https://apps.mda.mo.gov/molandsurveyindex/



Selecting "GLO Plats and Notes" from the menu bar brings us to the "GLO Search" page:
              
If we enter the township and range and select "GLO PLATS" for the Type, we get the following search results:
We see from the results that there are two GLO township plats available.  One dated 1822 and one dated 1861.  We already have the 1861 plat, so the 1822 plat is the one that we are looking for, since it falls within the 1815 - 1824 time period in which William Rector was Surveyor General for Missouri.

When we open the image of the “old” township plat, the words “See New Plat” are scrawled in pencil across the middle of the township.  I’m speculating that this was not added by the Surveyor General’s office, but more likely by someone in the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  I do not believe this note was added to indicate that the plat was void, but, rather, to draw attention to the fact that a new copy had been prepared.  When a township plat was voided, a note to that effect was stated on the plat by the Surveyor General’s office and reference was made to a corrected plat.

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

This “old” township plat for T34N R6W is dated January 1, 1822

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

and is signed by Elisha Sims for Wm H. Ashley

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

Looking at Section 6, we find that the protracted distances have been included on this "old" township plat.  Mystery solved.

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

Looking closer, we notice something peculiar about Lot 2 of the Northwest Quarter of Section 6. There is a red letter "S" in the east half:

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

A note in the margin of the “old” township plat provides an explanation:

image courtesy of the Missouri State Land Survey

Now, for further diligence, let’s look for GLO patents to see if there are any time sequence considerations:


Bureau of Land Management website:  www.glorecords.blm.gov



Click on “Search Documents” and enter search criteria on the search page:



Search Results:




If we weed through the results, the information for the northwest quarter of Section 6 is as follows:

Location          Patentee          Date of Patent

East 1/2 Lot 2  David Reddick  1848 Sep 01
East 1/2 Lot 3  Thomas Welch  1854 Nov 15
West 1/2 Lot 3  Ransom Reddick  1854 Nov 15
East 1/2 Lot 1  Ransom Reddick  1856 Jan 03
East 1/2 Lot 4  Ransom Reddick  1856 Jan 03
West 1/2 Lot 2  James Herod  1856 Oct 10
West 1/2 Lot 4  Ransom Reddick  1856 Oct 10
East 1/2 Lot 5  John E. Inman  1856 Oct 10
East 1/2 Lot 6  John E. Inman  1856 Oct 10
West 1/2 Lot 5  John E. Inman  1857 Mar 10
West 1/2 Lot 6  John E. Inman  1857 Mar 10
West 1/2 Lot 1  James W. Herod  1857 Apr 15

Now, notice that the first patent issued in the northwest quarter was the East half of Lot 2, as previously indicated. (The difference in the patent issue date of September 1, 1848 and the previously mentioned September 1847 date of protraction on the plat represents the time lag between purchase of the land and the issuance of the patent.) Also notice that the last patent issued in the northwest quarter was dated April 15, 1857.  That means that all of the northwest quarter of Section 6 was sold before the "new" plat of 1861 was prepared.  The pressing question, then, is "which plat will control: the one that existed at the time the land was sold or the later newer one?" It is my contention that the plat in effect at the time the patent was issued is the plat that will control. In this particular case, that's the "old" township plat for all of the northwest quarter of Section 6.

For years the only township plat that had been recognized as valid and made available to Missouri Surveyors was the "new" township plat. Both "old" and "new" township plats have since been scanned, first in grayscale and later in color, and are all now readily available through the Missouri Land Survey Index. Professional Land Surveyors in Missouri need to realize that they need to be looking for these "old" township plats that have additional information that was not copied over to the "new" township plat.



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original composition by Steven E. Weible