Boundary Determination and Retracement
Retracement is the art of re-establishing an original boundary from the record without creating a new one. The controlling principle is that the original survey controls - the retracement surveyor's job is to find and perpetuate the original corners and lines, not to correct them. A candidate must know how to weigh conflicting evidence: original government corners (especially those bearing the marks of the original surveyor) carry the highest weight; then evidence of the original survey's line (blazed trees, mound-and-pit corners, bearing trees); then collateral evidence such as occupation and improvements. Proportionate measurement is used to re-establish lost corners between found corners on the same line, but it is a last resort and never applies to an existent original corner. Single and double proportionate methods differ: single proportion applies along a line where both ends are found; double proportion locates a lost corner by intersecting two lines of proportion. Traps abound: examiners love to test whether a corner is "lost" versus "obliterated" (an obliterated corner's original location can be shown by evidence, and it is not proportioned), and whether a found monument is original or a later replacement. A found monument that does not match the record should not be summarily rejected - investigate before proportioning. Remember the hierarchy: original corner, obliterated corner, then proportionate position.
Rule of thumb: never proportion a corner you can find; proportion only between the nearest found original corners on the same line.
Worked example: corners A and B are found 500 feet apart, but the record distance is 510 feet; the lost corner C lies on the record at 300 feet from A. Proportion: 300/510 × 500 ≈ 294.1 feet from A.