Question: What is Property?

Thomas Jefferson, upon writing the American Declaration of Independence, wrote "We hold theseJohn Locke, who was one of Jefferson's favorite political and philosophical authors. Here is the idea used by Jefferson, originally penned down by Locke: "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions: for men being all the workmanship of one omnipotent, and infinitely wise maker; all the servants of one sovereign master, sent into the world by his order, and about his business; they are his property, whose workmanship they are, made to last during his, not one another's pleasure: and being furnished with like faculties, sharing all in one community of nature, there cannot be supposed any such subordination among us, that may authorize us to destroy one another, as if we were made for one another's uses, as the inferior ranks of creatures are for ours." While it makes sense on a fundamental level that these rights are every man's just due, what baffles is how widely each of these rights are interpreted.
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." However, this was not what was originally drafted. Prior to editing, Jefferson had written "Property" instead of "happiness" in imitation of

Take property for example. Suppose there existed an apple tree, who owns it? Locke would say the rightful owner of the tree would be him who labored to produce it. According to Contract Theory in economics however, whoever owns the land the tree is planted on, owns the tree and the person who grew it is a trespasser and a vandal. On the other hand ever since biological patents, the owner of the genes, owns the tree. Or, perhaps, the tree belongs to the common domain and used by all but owned by none. Or is it possible that all things under creation are the possessions of God? Or are all things in a country owned by the state, who sometimes think their God? Maybe property doesn't exist, or "Property is Theft" as Pierre-Joseph Proudhon contradictorily sloganeered. Property might merely be low liquidity assets on a balance sheet! Perhaps proper ownership goes to him who paid for it. perhaps property is voted upon by democratic majorities. perhaps only a small minority of lords and knights should own property and everyone else should be serfs. Perhaps what counts as yours is whatever you can claim and defend. Perhaps property is whatever you "mark" as yours? Etc.

That is fourteen different ways to define and assign property …and we wonder why everyone else thinks that there view of property is just and yours is not! If we want to come to any conclusions about anything, we had better define what is life, liberty, health, happiness, and property?