Posting for

Friday, August 21, 1998

by: Bert Rush

brush@firstam.com

THE VALUE OF TITLE INSURANCE/FOLK TALES/DANIEL BOONE

On vacation this summer, while passing through the airport at Louisville, Kentucky, I picked up a copy of "The Life and Adventures of Daniel Boone," by Michael A. Lofaro. Funny how history often reminds us of the value of modern title insurance.

Boone, you'll remember, was among the first settlers to cross the Cumberland Gap and explore lands west (mainly Kentucky). By 1784, when he turned 50, articles and books were being written about him--and he became something of a legend.

But even legends have to make a living. After moving his family to Limestone, Kentucky, Boone worked as a surveyor and a sort of agent for wealthy clients who entrusted him with treasury warrants to purchase land. His job was to find good land, survey it, and guarantee his clients free and clear title. For his pay he was typically awarded half the land he surveyed.

The hazards of this work outweighed its rewards. Aside from the inconveniences of being set upon by hostile Indians, there were also risks from haphazard early survey methods and the fact that in some areas warrants were issued for more land than existed.

Conflicts and overlapping claims were inevitable--even for surveyors more competent than Boone. Here's a legal description for a survey that Boone prepared for himself on April 22, 1785, covering land on the Kentucky River:

According to Lofaro, Boone was also lax in pursuing the lengthy process of registering his claims--so he and his clients later faced problems with intervening claims, overlapping claims, and suits for ejectment. For Boone these problems were multiplied because he sold many of his unregistered or defectively surveyed lands to raise money for further speculation--exposing himself to future liabilities to buyers.

Once regarded as one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky, claiming ownership of 100,000 acres, Boone began to see lawsuits piling up against him. He became embittered, gained enemies, was called a liar and a "chimney corner" surveyor--one who sat by his chimney and set down property boundaries from memory, or from his imagination. Gradually, he sank into debt.

By 1798 Boone was essentially landless. That year, when a county was being named in his honor, sheriffs of Mason and Clark counties sold over 10,000 acres of his land for back taxes.

In 1799, months shy of his 65th birthday, Boone left Kentucky for Missouri--westward. The famous legend is that during this move, stopping at Cincinnati, Boone was asked why he was leaving Kentucky. "Too many people," he said. "Too crowded! too crowded! I want more elbow room." Sour grapes--the real reason was almost certainly Boone's bitter frustration over lawsuits and the uncertainty of land titles in the state he helped found.

Boone died in Missouri in 1820. In 1845, the people of Missouri responded to an appeal from the Kentucky legislature to move the remains of Boone and his wife, Rebecca, to Frankfort, Kentucky. A statue honoring Boone was erected there in 1880.

Questions, comment, argument? Just press the "reply" button and send your thoughts to LandSakes.

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Following Friday's posting Keith Pearson (Glendale/L.A.) writes:

I think Mr. Boone might have surveyed some property in Los Angeles County prior to his death.

Reply to Keith: Hey, nobody's perfeckt! I just noticed a typo in the Boone posting--it was the people of Missouri who responded to the request of the Kentucky legislature to move the Boones' remains to Kentucky.

Lillian Eyrich (New Orleans) writes:

So.....the moral of the story is: be a bad surveyor, mess up lots of titles, get sued, skip town ... and Kentucky will erect a statue in your honor and name a county after you? .... I know several surveyors who would qualify. To whom in Kentucky do I submit their names? Smile.

And, Rosemary Block (Santa Ana/Customer First) writes:

GREAT STORY and a real eye opener. Too often we forget the past and the difficulties that era held. It makes one aware how important our jobs and our Company is to land ownership. This bit of history will be shared with all Customer First participants. Daniel Boone's trials and tribulations should make all of us appreciate the modern means of todays industry (and remember don't leave information up to memory...jot it down and record it!!)