Biography/History:

The United States Congress passed the Swamplands Act on September 28, 1850. This act authorized states to sell swamplands or overflowed lands within their respective counties or districts. Swamplands needed drainage to make them more suitable for agriculture; overflowed lands needed embankments or levees to prevent flooding. The Mississippi legislature created the office of swamplands commissioner in 1875. This office was responsible for overseeing surveys and sales of swamplands or overflowed lands in the state. The Mississippi legislature created the office of state lands commissioner in 1892 (Mississippi Code, Annotated (1892) 73: 2558). The function of this office was to maintain state land records and oversee state land sales, including those of the office of swamplands commissioner. The office of state lands commissioner was abolished on January 1, 1980, and its duties were transferred to the secretary of state (Mississippi Code, 1972, Annotated (1991), sec. 7-11-2).

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of two complete and two partial volumes of official copies of field notes (1821-1822) of various deputy surveyors who worked under the direction of the surveyor general of United States lands south of Tennessee. Some of the original land surveys were made during the tenure of surveyor general Levin Wailes of Adams County, Mississippi. At least three of the volumes were copied under the supervision of state commissioner of swamplands John M. Smylie between 1878 and 1879. The identity of the individual who copied the field notes is unknown.

Each of the four volumes contains surveyor’s notes for specific areas of swampland and overflowed land, which were part of Hinds County by the 1870s, but originally located in the Choctaw District. Some of the tracts surveyed were located along the Big Black River. The notes provide physical descriptions of areas of land, which were measured in chains and links, and they indicate specific natural landmarks such as creeks and trees. Occasional dwellings are noted, including that of William Hay, one of the signers of the treaty of Doak’s Stand (1820) with the Choctaw Nation. In some cases, additional information on the specific tract or the original field notes volume is provided in the form of a footnote. The copyist retained the names of the original surveyor and chain carriers. In volumes two and four, the copyist listed the original volumes of field notes used in creating the copies.

The field notes have been assigned volume numbers according to specific ranges. The first volume covers Townships 3-7 North, Range 1 West, and includes an index. The second volume covers Townships 3-7 North, Range 2 West, and includes an index. The third volume covers Townships 3-8 North, Range 3 West, but is missing its index. The fourth volume covers Townships 3-7 North, Range 4 West, and includes an index; however, the last few pages of this volume are missing.

Series Identification:

1. Field Notes (Townships 3-7 North, Range 1 West). 1879. 1 bound volume.

   Box 1, volume [1]

2. Field Notes (Townships 3-7 North, Range 2 West). 1878. 1 bound volume.

   Box 1, volume [2]

3. Field Notes (Townships 3-8 North, Range 3 West). 1878. 1 bound volume.

   Box 1, volume [3]

4. Field Notes (Townships 3-7 North, Range 4 West). ca. 1878. 1 bound volume.

   Box 1, volume [4]

Box List:

• Box 1: field notes, ca. 1878-1879.