Note 89 — {156} LETTER XIII

In Virginia and Kentucky the state made no surveys before disposing of its lands. The settlers or speculators sought out a tract, made a survey, generally marking it by “blazing” the trees, and had it recorded in the state land-office. Areas of all shapes and sizes were patented, and unpatented strips of irregular shape lay between. Moreover, there was no limit to the number of patents that could be taken out on the same piece of land, the land-office concerning itself not at all with controversies over titles, merely guaranteeing an entry if no previous title was valid. The original claim to hundreds of thousands of acres in Kentucky was never settled, the land being eventually held under possession titles.—Ed.