1759 survey of Jacob’s farm, Clalands Contrivance, north of Hagerstown, Maryland. Note that the shape of the farm leaves it with 44 sides! Was the surveyor crazy or were there contiguous tracts that caused the irregular shape? Probably the latter. The little triangle sticking out on the bottom, for instance, was where the original survey overlapped with an “elder survey” or one done previous in time by a neighbor, so they had to lop off that 5 acres.  Jacob owned this farm from 1753 until his death in 1799. It was a grain farm and comprised over 500 acres. Courtesy Maryland State Archives where I downloaded this image for free along with images of several other parcels bought by Jacob in the 18th century. Sometimes the Internet can be wonderful! Enjoy, ask questions.