Daily AncestorMetes and bounds
Metes and bounds is a way of describing land by distances, directions and landmarks around its edge, used in the original colonies and eastern states.
A metes and bounds description walks the boundary of a tract: beginning at a marked tree, then a compass bearing and a distance in poles or chains, to a stone or a neighbor's line, and so on back to the start.
The system was used in the Thirteen Colonies and in states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont and Texas. Plotting these calls can place an ancestor's land on a modern map and identify neighbors.
As seen in a recordDeed recorded in a county deed book, 1800s
Beginning at a red oak on the creek bank, thence N 45 E 120 poles to a stone, thence...
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Daily Ancestor. "Metes and bounds." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/metes-and-bounds. Last checked 2026-10-01.