© Frederick Smoot, 2000

This personal project is intended to place some early surveys that were made along Barren Fork River and Hickory Creek in Warren County. These particular surveys are found in Plat and Survey books held by the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville. They are available on TSLA Record Group 50 microfilms.

The were three primary steps to obtaining a land grant: entry, survey, and grant.

1. First there would be an entry, a preliminary survey of sorts. This entry would be recorded in entry books. No plat would accompany an entry. (An entry alternatively could be called a location.)

2. Then there would be a full survey and at that point, the surveyor would record the survey (his certificate of survey) and draw a plat of the surveyed tract. Now we would assume that there would have been a map of the various plats within the district compiled to show the relationship of those plats. Unfortunately, we have not seen any Surveyors' Districts plat maps. Note that all survey did not become grants. We occasionally see more than one survey for the same tract.

3. The grant would be issued by the state if all requirements were met. If the basis of the grant was a Military Warrant, then the time between the survey and the grant could be short, but if moneys were due, the time between the survey and the grant could be a long time indeed. All moneys due would need to have been paid before the state would issue perfect title to the tract.

The grant does not generally show the plat so in deciding which way to approach this project, I decided to use the Plat and Surveys Books of Tennessee’s 3rd Surveyors’ District. The surveys in these books are not in chronological order and some are of poor quality, and some are missing. The surveys are not numbered so I listed them by TSLA book number and by page number. Therefore, the number 34-129 is book 34, page 129. That book is found on TSLA RG 50 microfilm 35. Below is a complete list of the 3rd Plat and Survey Books as found on RG 50 microfilms.

 RG 50    TSLA     ORIGINAL   NOTES ROLL #   BOOK #   BOOK #   35      34       1         No separate index.   35      35       4         Separate index at front of book.   35      36                 Appears incomplete. No page numbers or index.   35      37                 Separate index at front of book. Only 91 Pages.   36      38       2         No separate index. First four pages missing.   36      39       3         Separate index at front of book.   37      40                 Separate index at front of book. 

The Plat Map. Click Here

Below is a complete list (index) of the applicants for survey for the plats shown on the reconstructed map.

3rd District

34-93, Polly Black
34-235, Wm Blacklidge
35-8, Andrew Blair
34-329, Geo Boddie
34-37, David Brown
35-5, Wm Brown
34-47, Joseph Colville
35-145, John Cowen
35-124, Jno Cowen
34-71, Wm Cowen
35-153, John Gordon
34-14, Godfrey Isabel
34-82, John McLane
34-48, Redmond McMahon
34-22, John Millender
34-302, John Mitchell
34-213, William Mitchell
34-35, Wm Priest
39-324, School Land
35-9, Jesse Robinson
35-129, Charles Sullivan
34-31, William C. Smartt
35-125, William Smartt
34-43, William C. Smartt
34-27, John Tilly
34-337, Thomas Vaughn
34-12, Thomas Wilcher
34-13, Thomas Wilcher
34-25, Thomas Wilcher
34-34, Thomas Wilcher
34-46, William Williams
35-151, Jno A. Wilson
38-156, Jno Wilson

2nd District:
No. 1234, Heirs of Moses Davis