> One reason all old surveys are “off” is that True North had not been discovered. Old deeds are a few degrees off, which makes a difference if you are trying to connect several to a landmark. Most modern computer programs can correct this fault and adjust old surveys towards true North. And people who like math and aren’t lazy can do it themselves.   The surveyors, the clerks, and people who came along and copied plats no doubt made errors in transcription.

Also magnetic compasses were being used and magnetic north is always changing so that a property line once laid off could change by 10 degrees over the course of 200 years.
Another reason for surveys being off was that land tax was assessed by acre and if you short measured (using a pole longer than 16.5 feet) you could easily knock off 10% of your annual tax.  It got bad enough where Virginia passed a law where if a person knew someone else had deliberately short measured, he could get a reward for reporting it to the authorities.

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