§ 161. Description of premises. In the assessment of any lands in the
city for any purpose, it shall be sufficient to state the name of one of
the owners of such lands if the owner or owners or any of them be
residents of the city and known to the assessors; if the owner or owners
be unknown to the assessors or if they be nonresidents and the ownership
is unknown to the assessors, then the assessment may be designated
unknown, and there shall be stated the number of the lot and the block,
if subdivided into lots and blocks and so designated upon the city map
last adopted by the common council, or the number of the lot or farm
lot, if not so subdivided into blocks and lots and so designated, and
also the street and number of any building thereon; but if the land be
vacant or the building thereon be not numbered, then the name of the
street on which it fronts and a brief description of the premises shall
be given. In case no inhabited building be on the land and the residence
of the owner be unknown, such owner may be designated as unknown. No
assessment hereafter made in said city shall be held to be invalid
because the same may be made out in terms against owner or owners
unknown or the estate of a deceased person, naming such person, or the
executor, administrator, heirs or devisees of a deceased person, naming
such person, or any of them or against a company or a firm name, or
against a person in whom is the record title, though not the actual
title of the property, or for any cause arising through ignorance or
mistake as to the names of the owner or owners of the property assessed,
whether individually or a corporation, provided such property is
sufficiently described on the assessment-rolls to reasonably identify
and indicate to a person familiar with the same the particular property
which it was intended to assess. Every assessment-roll shall be
considered as referring to the last adopted map, unless it be otherwise
stated therein.