and John Stith about the boundaries of their lands, the General Court ordered that twelve men from among the oldest and best informed inhabitants of the community in which the plaintiff and defendant lived, should be summoned, and then proceed, with the coöperation of a competent surveyor, to lay off the lines of Mr. Place’s plantation according to the terms of his patent. The jury in this case were sworn in by the nearest magistrate, but there was present no representative of either party. Occasionally this body had the aid of two surveyors. In some instances, the jury was dispensed with and the points in dispute were referred by the court to several surveyors for a settlement, which was to be final.[1]
It might have been supposed that the numerous controversies resulting from incorrect computations in laying off plats would have led any one who proposed to sue out a patent to insist upon a careful performance of the work, since so much depended upon precision. Doubtless in the large majority of cases this was done, the defects in the measurements being due to causes not always avoidable or removable on the part of the surveyors, however conscientious or painstaking. The greater number of these men must have clearly recognized that their professional reputation must rest upon a strict regard for accuracy, and were, therefore, doubtless anxious to attain it whenever their services were engaged. There were others who were wholly indifferent as to the manner in which their duty was performed. These drew many of their plats without having first used a surveying instrument,[2] setting
- ↑ Records of the General Court, pp. 56, 103, 118. Other cases of disputed surveys will be found in Ibid., pp. 70, 104, 109, 163, 174, 190. Controversies of this kind were frequently settled by arbitrators who had been appointed by the County Court. See Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1656-1666, p. 227.
- ↑ “Or ever coming on the land, only they gave the description by some natural bounds and were sure to allow large measure that so the persons for whom they surveyed might enjoy larger tracts of land than they were to pay quit-rent for.” Hartwell, Chilton, and Blair’s Present State of Virginia, 1697, p. 15.
