Boundary surveying on Monhegan includes a lot of the same logistics as most island jobs, such as ferry schedules, housing if the job requires overnight stay and equipment transportation, as the ferries to Monhegan are only passenger ferries. Adding to Monhegan’s charm in the summer months are the always over interested tourists who feel compelled to stop in the midst of their day hike to ask you what you’re doing. Any number of witty or rude comebacks are employed at this point, which will either keep them moving along or draw them into a conversation that eats up valuable daylight.
Many of the property descriptions still being used today to convey parcels on Monhegan are the same as those the original proprietors created many years ago. With the creation of these parcels the original proprietors had the foresight to create corners that would stand the test of time. A unique, rewarding and sometimes frustrating aspect when conducting a boundary survey on Monhegan is the hunting and searching for the record monuments — often letters or combinations of letters carved in the ledge. These letters were often 3-4 inches long and chiseled into prominent ledge faces one-half to three-quarters of an inch deep. As any surveyor will attest, we are trained to follow in the footsteps of the original surveyor. This principle is well embedded in our surveying rules, statutes and case law. These footsteps of the original “surveyor” on Monhegan are interesting when you realize these original “surveyors” were most likely mariners by trade. Their priorities are shown in how they partitioned their land.
The First Letters (1807)
The three proprietors who created the first major land division on Monhegan in 1807 were Thomas Horn, Josiah Sterling (Starling in later deeds) and Henry Trefethren. These three men were all related by marriage. Josiah Sterling and Thomas Horn had married Henry Trefethren’s sisters and all three couples lived on the island at the time of the division. Prior to the 1807 divisions the entire island was owned by Henry Trefethren (senior) and the division appears to have been an equitable distribution of the entire island among his three children’s families.
The original divisions divided the entire island into five large lots with the lot lines transecting the island east to west, shore to shore. All the deeds of this original division were dated June 18, 1807, and recorded sequentially in the registry. The descriptions of these large lots were very vague with limited math to try to reconstruct the parcels. However, they did mark their divisions by chiseling their respective initials (TH, HT and IS) in pairs in the ledge at the end of the lines on their respective sides. An example would be where Thomas Horn and Henry Trefethren shared a common line: at the end of each line on a prominent spot on the ledge near the ocean they would chisel TH — HT.
The Second Division (1843-1845)
The second major land division took place between 1843-1845 and were the divisions of the five original proprietor lots. Around 1843 Isaac Smith split up and distributed a majority of the Josiah Sterling lot. Between 1844-1845 Hayden Kingsbury, Benjamin F. Brown and Richards Stevens divided up a majority of the Thomas Horn property. These descriptions would call for the Starling line and wall where appropriate and also had extensive references to letters carved in stone hubs and ledge outcroppings for corners.
A majority of these subsequent conveyances were to extended family on the island and while the intent, shape and size of these lots at the time of their creation was most likely clear to all parties involved, their respective deed descriptions did not convey such a clear picture. It is not uncommon for deeds created in this time period to not close with any type of accuracy. Also the use of letters during this time period loses any sense of consistency or systematic use. This unorganized use of letters along with the close proximity of some of the deeds to each other using the same letters quickly adds confusion and ambiguity to what, at the time, probably seemed like clear intent. I have spent many hours with deed sketches of an area trying to compile and piece together the called-for letters in deeds trying to make sense of what these fisherman and farmers were thinking. (At the same time I can’t get away from the thought of these same men sitting around a fish house table with a few cocktails, dividing up the land and laughing as they assign letters to the corners.)
All surveyors know the rewarding feeling of finding a long-lost record monument and knowing your research and hard work are going to pay off. Never is that feeling more rewarding when being literally watched over by a client, wondering what the heck he’s paying for as you dig around the beach and overturn rocks. I was retained to complete a boundary re-tracement survey of a fish house lot. The record monument needed to recreate this area of the shore frontage was an “L” carved in the ledge during the 1843 divisions. At first observation of the shore frontage in the area where the “L” should be, it was obvious there was no visible ledge that I had become accustomed to finding the letters in. There were medium to large rocks that had likely come from the neighboring beach. Much as a farmer de-rocks a field, fisherman had de-rocked the neighboring beach to land their skiffs and deposited the rocks here. Knowing what had to be done, I started digging, overturning and flipping rocks to get to the natural ledge face. After a time, this commotion gained the curious eye of my client, who had been watching and wanted an explanation. I explained there was an “L” carved in the ledge in 1843 and tried to explain the importance of it being a record monument and its recovery being crucial to the completion of his project. He listened and appreciated the importance of its recovery. He then joined in the excavation process with enthusiasm as if looking for buried treasure. We continued digging and after a time with the client positioned literally over my shoulder, we flipped a larger sized rock over and there was the “L” as clear and defined as the day it was put there. At that moment it was clear he shared the same rewarding feeling and sense of accomplishment I felt as a surveyor.
While I have only found a small portion of the letters which make up Monhegan’s colorful land transaction history, each new job brings with it the opportunity to use the letters already found to re-create the next deed and go off on another search for the letters of Monhegan.
Michael Falla, P.L.S., is a professional land surveyor based in Clinton, Maine.