The Importance of Thomas Freeman's Surveys In the Mississippi Territory.

Major Thomas Freeman was the third Surveyor of Public Lands south of the State of Tennessee, responsible for surveying more than 300 townships in the Mississippi and Alabama Territories. Prior to this, he surveyed Indian boundary lines, laid out the City of Washington, and led an expedition similar to the Lewis and Clark expedition, among other things. For the territorial surveys, Freeman used correction lines run at 24 mile intervals to provide a framework that allowed subdivision of townships to begin several hundred miles from the Initial Point. Sections in the townships that close on these correction lines typically have north and south sides that substantially vary from the cardinal direction and standard distance, with areas commonly found to be less than half of the standard 640 acres. Freeman also postponed meandering rivers and streams, estimating the area of tile fractional sections. In addition, he selectively surveyed townships, in whole and in part. Some entire townships were left unsurveyed, while more than 20 townships were only partially surveyed. These are some of the topics examined in this research that will be of interest to practicing surveyors and students of history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]