Daily AncestorEasement
An easement is a right to use someone else's land for a limited purpose, such as a road across it, a path to water or a mill race.
An easement gives a use, not ownership. The land that carries the burden is the servient tenement, and the land that benefits is the dominant tenement. A common example is a right of way to cross a neighbor's field to reach a road.
Other easements include a water-course, a gateway, laying a sewer or putting up power lines. An easement attached to a tract passes with that tract when it is sold.
As seen in a recordDeed in a county deed book, 1800s
reserving to Jno. Hart, his heirs and assigns, a right of way two rods wide across said tract to the public road
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Easement." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/easement. Last checked 2026-10-12.