Daily AncestorSurvey
A survey is the measuring and description of a piece of land by a surveyor, recorded with its boundaries and acreage before title was granted.
A survey fixes where a tract lies and how big it is. In colonial and eastern states surveys described boundaries by metes and bounds; in the federal public land states the government laid out townships, ranges and sections first.
Survey plats and field notes may show neighbors, streams and other landmarks.
As seen in a recordCounty surveyor book, 1700s
Surveyed for Wm. Ross 200 acres on the waters of Elk Creek, beginning at a white oak.
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Survey." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/survey. Last checked 2026-10-01.