Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:55:33 -0400
From: "James Gill" <jimvgill(a)windstream.net>
Subject: [DMU] organizational techniques
To: "Deed Mapper" DEED-MAPPER-USERS(a)rootsweb.com
I am a new user of DeedMapper and I'm wondering if some of you who have
added hundreds of deeds to a map have some organizational techniques you
would be willing to share.
Do you put original surveys/grants on one map and then deeds on another map?
Do you have some way of remembering/cataloging reference points that might
help match one deed to another, like named corners, property lines,
geographical features etc?
Jim Gill (working in southeast Bracken County, Ky.)
Reply:
I use two files, one with every deed but another with only the project I'm working on,
in this case original grants. I found that using the file with all deeds became too
unwieldy as the file grew rapidly because tracts changed hands. The plot view became way
too cluttered.
I'm working in Elbert and Hart Cos. of NE Georgia. Fortunately there are good records
of original plats and a searchable data base available on CD. Putting them together is
another issue, as you note. I've found several things to be very helpful. (1) Using
the annotation feature in the plot view I put the names of adjoining landowners inside the
tract along the adjoining line. This is particularly helpful when there are multiple
plats with the same adjoining landowners. You can see at a glance which ones might work.
Putting them inside instead of outside reduces clutter in the plot view, and you can turn
off the annotations display when you need to, say to view corners or lines. (2) DM 4 has
a notes function and that is helpful to make cross refs to other deeds, owners or any
adjustment you made to the deed, say, to get it to close properly. (4) You might find it
helpful to organize deeds around water courses. (5) Display as much as you can in the
table view as this helps in using the "find" search function. (6) Come up with
a standard way to enter DM info; for example, in the "Re" line of the deed
template you might put the steam name first rather than acreage. With one click at the top
of the column in the table view you can find all the deeds you've entered on that
watercourse.
Hope this helps.
Barry Clark
Fredericksburg, VA
(Elbert & Hart Cos, GA)
