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Subdivided into:
(1) Correspondence, arranged alphabetically and then chronologically
(2) Legal descriptions, arranged alphabetically by last name
(3) Drawn plats and Surveys arranged alphabetically by county
(4) Survey field notebooks
(5) Invoices arranged alphabetically and then chronologically
Restrictions:
Access to Box 16 is restricted due to preservation concerns.
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
Ned Chesley and Lester G. Flanagan were business associates in a surveying business in Tallahassee, Florida. In addition, Chesley served as Leon County Surveyor for a period of 15 years, from 1928 until his death in 1944. At that time, Flanagan won election to the post of county surveyor and held the office until 1957. Chesley's wife, Ernestine Lee, and Flanagan continued the surveying business under the name of Chesley and Flanagan after Ned Chesley's death.
Summary:
The collection contains the records of Chesley and Flanagan, land surveyors, documenting their surveying business in Tallahassee and North Florida. It consists of correspondence, legal descriptions of property, survey plats, survey field notebooks, and invoices. The invoices show who used the surveying services and the charges for those services.
A few of the 1940s letters deal with the difficulties experienced on the home front during World War II, primarily manpower and fuel shortfalls. Other letters of this period deal with the renting out of a house in Port St. Joe by the Chesley family. The post-1940s correspondence deals with the business and personal aspects of Lester Flanagan's control of the surveying business.
The legal descriptions are undated. They include the names of property owners and a technical description of the property. Some descriptions relate to the drawn survey plats, which are line drawings that indicate the location, size, and shape of a property surveyed. Some plats include such information as the name of the property owner, the legal description, and the leader of the survey party. Some plats are in blueprint; some are ink on paper; some are ink on linen; and a few are pencil on scrap paper. The survey field notebooks contain the measurements and azimuths used in laying out the land to be surveyed. Some books contain pencil sketches of the property being surveyed. The bulk of this collection is the drawn survey plats.
Most of the land surveys are of areas in Gadsden, Leon, and Jefferson Counties and the cities of Madison, Havana, Lloyd, Miccosukee, Monticello, Quincy, and Tallahassee. Other North Florida counties included are Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty, Madison, and Taylor.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
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Associated Materials:
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Ownership/Custodial History:
The records were in the possession of the Dept. of Natural Resources. The Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board donated further Chesley and Flanagan material that had been obtained from the Florida Society of Professional Engineers.
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Chesley, Ernestine Lee. Chesley, Ned, 1891-1944 Flanagan, Lester G.
Surveying Public lands Surveyors Florida
Land surveys. aat Plats. aat Business records. aat
Calhoun County (Fla.) Florida Surveys Franklin County (Fla.) Gadsden County (Fla.) Gulf County (Fla.) Jackson County (Fla.) Jefferson County (Fla.) Leon County (Fla.) Liberty County (Fla.) Madison County (Fla.) Tallahassee (Fla.) Taylor County (Fla.) Wakulla County (Fla.)
Added Entries
Chesley, Ernestine Lee.
Chesley, Ned, 1891-1944
Flanagan, Lester G.
for detailed listing.