APG-L Archives

From: Langdon Hagen-Long <>
Subject: Re: [APG] fee semple
Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 11:34:13 -0800 (PST)
In-Reply-To: <p05111a00be24a032a590@[146.201.34.64]>

Jeff, Your understanding of fee simple ownership is correct. Fee *semple* is the result of spelling inconsistency. The deed was probably copied from an earlier deed, which is how owners of land were able to write legally binding documents, when they had no legal training. The names of the parties, the consideration, and possibly the adjoining owners, were often the only particulars to change when the earlier deed was copied.



Have you seen the original deed, which was created by the parties involved, or is it is the clerk's transcription? Is it the only time the word is spelled this way in this deed book? Is it the only misspelled word in the document? Earlier deeds for the same property might have many more spelling *errors*, but when corrections were made to update it, *semple* was simply overlooked. The clerks created transcripts, and did not make corrections in spelling. [at least not on purpose] If semple is underlined, it means the clerk noticed the misspelling. Chances are, the word was spelled this way in earlier deeds for this property. If you are trying to research this further, you might want to notice if there are many other misspellings in the those earlier deeds.



I don't know if you are interested in this deed in connection with people already identified, or if it is part of a research problem. If you still need to identify the parties, or previous parties, you might have a clue here: The spelling inconsistency can be accidental or deliberate. English speaking people aimed for consistency in spelling, and took pride in consistency. The Gaelic languages had very deliberate *variations* in spelling, which are not *inconsistencies* at all, but are based on very complex rules. The educated Gaelic-speaking people knew the rules, while the uneducated just knew spelling changed a lot, particularly in the use of vowels. Scots tend to add more letters to a word than the English, who have been simplifying spelling over the years. Scots took pride in the complexity of their language. The Scots in the South at least, seem to have taken particular pride in inserting vowel irregularities and extra letters into legal documents, sometimes spell!
ing one
word in four or more variations. Vowel changes, along with the extra letters, such as double letters and *e* on the end of words, are a good clue to the origin of the author. I believe this practice was used by Scots, as a symbol of pride in their origins, even after many generations had been in this country. At any rate, the Scots were creative spellers.



Langdon



Langdon Hagen-Long








Jeff Birdsley <> wrote:Does anyone know what the legal term 'fee semple' means? I believe
that in a deed, 'fee SIMPLE' means that the property may be passed on
to any specified person; it is not restricted to inheritance by
direct descendants. I am transcribing an 1856 Florida deed that
really appears to say "fee semple" in the following passage:

"To have and to hold unto him the said party of the second part all
the said lands tenements hereditaments together with all the rights
titles and interest in the same his heirs and assigns in fee semple
forever."

I have seen transcriptions of deeds from other states where the
transcriber apparently saw 'fee semple' as I have. Is this the same
term as 'fee simple', just often spelled 'semple' in centuries past?
Thanks for any help.

Jeff Birdsley
Tallahassee, FL


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• Re: [APG] fee semple by Langdon Hagen-Long <>