Daily AncestorLink
A link is a surveyor's measure of 7.92 inches, one hundredth of a 66-foot chain, seen in deeds and field notes as "chains and links."
A surveyor's chain had 100 links, so a link is 0.66 foot or 7.92 inches, and 25 links make a rod. Distances were written in chains and links, like a decimal: 12 chains 50 links is 12.5 chains.
Multiply chains by 66 to get feet. Measurements in links are a sign the land was surveyed with a chain, as in federal land surveys and many older metes and bounds deeds.
As seen in a recordMetes and bounds description in a deed, 1800s
thence N 45 W 12 chains 50 links to a stake
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Link." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/link. Last checked 2026-10-10.