Briggs v. Kemp
Briggs v. Kemp
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from a decree of the district court for Colfax county for the specific performance of a conveyance of lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, in block 7, in Groat’s addition to the city of Schuyler, Nebraska, to plaintiff.
It is next contended that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the findings and judgment. The record discloses that the plaintiff, Grace A. Briggs, was born at Hesperia, Michigan, on the 10th day of March, 1879. Her parents were Silas James and Medora James, husband and wife. Before the plaintiff was one year old her parents placed her in the home of William Case and his wife, Catherine, to board, her own mother being ill and unable to care for her. On June 24, 1880, her parents entered into a written contract with Case- and his wife by which Grace was legally adopted. The deed of adoption was introduced in evidence and is in the record. On the face of this contract Case and his wife took plaintiff into their home as their own daughter and heir at law, and her real parents wholly relinquished her to her foster father and mother, who received her with the understanding that, having no children of their own, Grace, at their death, should inherit all of their property; and in a petition to the probate court of Montcalm county, Michigan, Catherine Case swore that Grace was her adopted daughter and only heir at law. The evidence further shows that Mr. and Mrs. Case told their neighbors and friends, among whom was Mrs.. Blanche Kennedy, and her husband, who was a member of the Michigan state board of control, as late as 1892. that Grace was their heir and at their death should have all of their property. This was what plaintiff was led to believe, and these facts were well known to defendant Kemp.
The evidence shows that plaintiff married-Mr. Briggs and is now his wife. Mrs.’ Case, when she came to Schuyler, sold her house in Lakeside ánd. invested the proceeds in the lots in question in this case, taking title in her own name as Catherine Cáse. She died on the 12th day of July, 1912, .leaving a will by which she gave all of her property to her husband, defendant-K.emp,’ without making any provision for her foster daughter, the pláintiff. The defendant Kemp procured, the will to be probated and claimed title to the lots in question to the exclusion and in violation of the plaintiff’s rights under the adoption agreement. The evidence also shows that the defendant knew of plaintiff’s rights and often wrote to her in terms of affection calling her his dear daughter and asking for her advice. Defendant, instead of according her her rights in the premises, filed a petition in the county-court , of Colfax county after the death of his wife alleging that Cora Osborne, Mary Leland and the Schuyler National Bank were the only persons except himself who were interested in the estate of the deceased wife. He also instituted a search in the state' of Michigan for the articles .of plaintiff’s adoption, and told one Pierce, a lawyer at Belvidere in that state,, that if he could find the record of the adoption it would mean $800 to him. The testimony in this case is too voluminous. to be quoted at length,- but we conclude as. an independent finding that the evidence is amply sufficient to sustain the decree, of the trial court. Sharkey v. McDermott, 91 Mo. 647; Lacey v. Zeigler, 98 Neb. 380; Moline v. Carlson, 92 Neb. 419: Rine v. Rine, 100 Neb. 225.
After a careful review of the record we conclude that the judgment of the district court was right, and it is therefore
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Grace A. Briggs v. Henry M. Kemp
- Status
- Published