Black v. Cord
Black v. Cord
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The material facts and circumstances of this case are these— John Cord, on the sixteenth of March 1815, executed, under his hand and seal, an instrument of writing in these words: “This obligation obliges me to give Henry Cord, or his heirs or assigns, the one moiety or half of fifty acres of land, being part of a tract of land called The Mistake, which my father, James Cord, bought of Nathan Horsey, and also the one moiety or half of a tract of land called Hickory Bottom, which my father, James Cord, purchased of Robert Davis. This instrument of writing to be binding on me, my heirs and assigns, for the true performance of the same. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this sixteenth day of March eighteen hundred and fifteen,” and died without issue, leaving his brother, Henry Cord, and other brothers and sisters, his heirs at law. A.gainst whom, his personal estate not being sufficient for the payment of his debts, a bill in chancery was filed by one of his creditors in behalf of himself and the other creditors, for the sale of the real estate of which he died seized, and a decree was passed accordingly, and the lands sold. Henry
In the further progress of the case an account was stated by the auditor, allowing to Henry Cord one half of the money «rising from the sale of the sixty acres of land mentioned in the instrument of writing, on which his claim is founded, which account was ratified by an order of the chancellor, and the trustee directed to apply the proceeds accordingly. And the case is brought before this court on an appeal from that order The due execution of the instrument by John Cord is sufficiently proved; and the further proof in the cause is, that Henry Cord had the possession and enjoyment of the whole sixty acres from that time; that it was much improved by his skilful and judicious mode of cultivation, and that John Cord frequently said he had given him one half of it; but there is no evidence of any consideration moving from Henry. He paid nothing for it, and it does not appear that he put any improvements upon the land. And its improved condition, arising from his skilful cultivation of it, was to his own advantage, having occupied the whole sixty acres, (with no pretence of claim to more than a moiety,) and enjoyed all the fruits of his own good management. It was a mere voluntary covenant or agreement, therefore, on the part of John Cord, and we can discover nothing in the record to entitle Henry Cord to a moiety of the proceeds of sale, which would not have entitled him to a decree for a specific performance of the agreement. If he was not entitled to the land itself, and could not have compelled a conveyance, he is
ORDER REVERSED,
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