One of the most interesting research problems I did as an ad valorem appraiser was the location of a church constructed about 1880. Going north from the old highway, which was a street in 1880 are three lots along Third Street. While field checking improvements in the area for the assessment roll I see a vacant lot on the old highway, the 1880 church next and a house built about 1870 on the north lot. Then looked at maps, assessor's parcel numbers and building description. The home had transferred several times over the one hundred year period, each time using a legal description of the middle lot. The church was assessed on the north lot. So had to research back to the original patent prior to the town being subdivided in 1875. Found all the original deeds which showed the church owning the two south lots and the house being described on the north lot--just like the physical locations. However the house was sold for delinquent taxes on that house in 1892--and the lot number was typed in error on the Treasurer's deed. So from then on deeds and tax bills had the wrong lot number on them for the house and the church. Maps were not created for the assessment roll until 1964 and nobody had paid any attention to physical versus maps until I started researching about 1979. After I dug out and made copies of 1880's tax rolls, Board of Supervisor's minutes, Treasurer's deeds and all succeeding deeds since the original federal patent a meeting was held with the attorney's for the church, county, property owners, county officials, both title companies in the area, etc, etc. All those affected agreed to work together and exchange deeds so every one would have the correct deed with the correct legal description for exactly what they owned. That was fun--researching 100 year old documents and then finally getting a hundred year old mistake corrected.
