Urket v. Coryell
Urket v. Coryell
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
These two causes were tried together in the court below by the same jury, in each of which the same questions were raised by the counsel of the respective parties, and decided by the court. The plaintiffs here were the defendants below, where their counsel took no less than eleven bills of exception to the opinion of the court on points of evidence, all of which are assigned for error here, beside other errors founded on exceptions to the charge
The first exception to evidence was, to the admission of a paper purporting to be a receipt given by Francis Johnson, Receiver General of the Land Office, on the 25th of May 1792, to John Christ for £10 in Pennsylvania certificates, on account of 400 acres of land in the county of Northampton, granted to Christ by warrant dated the 3d of April 1792. Before it was offered to be read in evidence, proof was made showing that the receipt and name of Francis Johnson set to it as Receiver General were in the handwriting of his son, who did business in the office for his father, and occasionally signed the father’s name alone, without showfing that it was done by the son for the father. The objection to its being read in evidence was, that there was not sufficient proof made of its having been given and signed under the authority of the Receiver General, so as to entitle the plaintiff below to submit it as evidence to the jury. After so great a lapse of time, any slight evidence would have been sufficient to have justified the court in leaving it to the jury as a question of fact to be decided by them, whether it was a receipt given under the authority of the Receiver General of the Land Office or not. But the evidence given of its being so was strong, and, in the absence of all testimony tending to show the contrary, it became conclusive as it were.
The ground of the objection to the admission of the evidence in the second and third bills of exception, is the same. They will therefore be considered together. The evidence mentioned in the second bill as objected to and admitted, is a certificate under the seal of the Land Office, signed by Jos. Henderson, Deputy Secretary, in the following words and figures:
I do hereby certify that the within is a copy of old purchase voucher No. 9465, filed in the Land Office.
Attest, Jos. Henderson,
Dec. 6, 1838. Dy. Secretary.
The evidence mentioned in the third bill of exception, is a certificate in the following words and figures:
Pennsylvania, ss.
I do hereby certify that the above is a true copy from an old purchase blotter, No. 4.
Attest, Jos. Henderson,
Dec. 6, 1838, Harrisburg, Pa. Dy. Secretary.
These certificates were objected to, because, as the defendants alleged, they were not certified according to law, and also because there was no such office in Pennsylvania as the “ Land Office.”
The fourth bill of exception was to the admission of a deed from John Christ to Jacob Eyerly, dated the 26th of November 1792, conveying all interest, &c. in a warrant obtained from the Land Office of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, dated April 3d 1792, for 400 acres of land on the east side of the Lehigh, in Northampton county, near or adjoining lands of Joachim Wigman, and all his interest in any part or parcel of the land which might be obtained, located or surveyed in pursuance of the said warrant, with a covenant for further assurance of said land. This deed was offered in evidence after the warrant therein mentioned, and a survey made in pursuance of the same, had been given in evidence by the plaintiff to support his claim to the land in controversy; and was objected to by the counsel of the defendants because the grantor, as they said, had no interest to sell and convey at the time; and again, because it was not for the land described in the warrant or survey, nor for the land in dispute. There does not appear to be the least force in any of these objections. The grantor being the warrantee, or person to whom the warrant was granted, though nominally only, had undoubtedly the right, as well as the capacity, to convey the warrant and the land surveyed under it to the grantee, so as to invest the latter with the legal title, and more especially so as he was the purchaser of the warrant from the State, and therefore the equitable owner of it, as also of the land that had been or might thereafter be surveyed by virtue of it. And whether the deed was for the same land mentioned in the warrant, or included in the survey made in pursuance of it, or was not for the land in dispute, was a question of fact to be left to the jury; but even a misdescription of the land in the deed conveying the warrant would not, I apprehend, make it invalid, so as to render it inadmissible as .evidence, or destroy its efficacy in passing the right of the warrantee to the land actually held under the warrant.
The fifth bill of exception was to the admission of a deed from Betsy Rice to Jacob Eyerly, dated the 26th of November 1792, conveying all her interest and property in a warrant dated the 3d of April 1792, granted to her by the Commonwealth, for 400 acres “of land on the east side of the Lehigh, near or adjoining lands of Joachim Wigman, and also all her interest and property in and to any land to be obtained, located or held in pursuance of said warrant, with a covenant for further assurance of the same. Before this deed was offered in evidence, the warrant therein mentioned, and a survey of 402|- acres made in pursuance thereof, were given in evidence. The objections to this latter deed’s being given in evidence were the same with those made to the giving of the first deed in evidence, and therefore require no other or further answer than what has been given to the first.
The seventh bill of exception was to the rejection of a memorandum, which the defendant’s counsel offered to read in evidence, with the name of “G. Palmer” signed to it, and said to be all in his handwriting, except an entry in its margin. The two first witnesses, however, produced by the defendant for the purpose of proving it to be in the handwriting of G. Palmer, testified that they were acquainted with the handwriting of George Palmer, but they did not think it was his; but the third witness testified that he believed it was. It appeared that Palmer had been a deputy-surveyor, at one time, and the memorandum offered in evidence was alleged by the counsel of the defendants to have been made by him as such ; but it was not signed by him as sueh, nor did it appear whence it came, nor where it was made; so that there was no pretence for admitting it in evidence as an official paper; and upon no other ground could it possibly have been claimed to be admissible as evidence.
The eighth bill of exception was to the rejection of a book from the commissioners’ office of the county, containing returns made by deputy-surveyors to the commissioners of unseated lands for taxation, in which Mathias Hollenbaeh was set down as the
The ninth bill of exception was to the rejection of certain parts of the deposition of John Stoddart, taken under a rule of the court on behalf of the defendant. The parts rejected went to show that the land in dispute had been reputed and represented, for twenty or thirty years, to be the property of Thomas Dyer, from whom the defendants below derived their claim to it. That such was the representation of the neighbourhood, of which,' however, the witness had no knowledge himself. The witness .was never on the lands in dispute, never resided nearer to them than in Philadelphia ; nor was there a residence of any person nearer to them than from three to seven miles. It would be most extraordinary indeed, and lead to the most crying injustice, if the real owners of lands, whether seated or unseated, were permitted to be affected in their ownership of them by such evidence. It was therefore most rightly rejected.
The tenth bill of exception was to the rejection of a small part of the deposition of Pearson A. Reading, taken and offered as evidence on behalf of the defendants below. The witness had bought the lands in dispute of Henry Nixon and his wife; but previously to his doing so he consulted Lewis S. Coryell, the plaintiff below, in respect to it, who advised him to make the purchase, and if he did not like it afterwards, he, Coryell, would take it off his hands. The witness accordingly made the purchase, and, in consummation of it, obtained a deed of conveyance from Nixon and wife for the lands; but afterwards, when he discovered that Abbot, who defended in the court below as the landlord of Urket and Wasser, the defendants, claimed to have a title to the land, he told Coryell of it, and proposed selling and conveying the land to him at the same price he was to pay for it, as he did not wish to be involved in a lawsuit about if. Upon which Coryell agreed
The eleventh bill of exception was the rejection of the memorandum with the name of “ G. Palmer” set to it, that was mentioned above, in the seventh bill of exception which was offered by the counsel of the defendants, afterwards, a second time, and rejected by the court. It has been shown already that it was properly rejected by the court, when it was first offered; and as no evidence was given subsequently, changing its character or presenting it in any new light, nothing further need be said in respect to it, to show that it was still inadmissible.
The errors next in order are exceptions taken by the counsel for the defendants below, to answers given by the court, to six points submitted by them to the court for their direction thereon to the jury. The first point was, “ that if the lands in dispute were embraced in the articles of agreement of the 20th of February 1795, relative to the North American Land Company, the plaintiff could not recover.” On this point the court told the jury, 1st, £C that the only evidence that these lands were embraced in the articles of agreement is, that the parties to that agreement, in their schedule, state 4 72,000 acres of land in Northampton county,’ as belonging to 4 Morris, Nicholson and Greenleaf.’ This is a vague description, and cannot, without something more definite, be held to embrace the tracts which by the evidence were the separate property of Robert Morris.” 2d. 44 That there was no evidence of any subscription by any person to the articles of agreement of the North American Land Company; and as the titles were only held by the trustees for the benefit of the subscribers to the articles, and those who might thereafter become purchasers, owners or holders of shares in the company, and it not appearing that the object for which the trust was created ever existed, the title of
The 2d point submitted was; “ if Robert Morris, or those under whom he claimed, did not procure the surveys to be made and returned, the surveys made and,re turned would not enure to their benefit.” To which the court answered; “there is no evidence that the surveys were not properly made for the person who held the warrants. By the order of the Board of Property the warrants went into the hands of William Gray, a deputy-surveyor, and were executed and returned by George Palmer, another deputy-surveyor. There is no evidence that these surveys were made for any one else than Robert Morris ; nor is there any evidence of claim under these warrants by Dyer, until the issuing of the patents to his heirs on the 9th of March 4824. When Thomas Dyer entered his caveat, on the 5th of August 1795, he claimed adversely to the warrant of Betsy Rice; and until the granting of the patent as above stated, does not appear to have set up any claim to the tract. Under the evidence, the court instruct the jury that there is nothing in the case from which it can be inferred that these surveys were not made for the benefit of Robert Morris, who was the owner of the warrants at the time the surveys were made.” Neither can we perceive any evidence given in the cause to the jury, tending in the slightest degree to show that the surveys were not procured to be made by Robert Morris, and it would therefore have been error in the court below to have submitted such a question of fact to the jury, without some evidence given going to show that the surveys were not made for Robert Morris. It was shown clearly that he was the owner of the warrants at the time; but even in the absence of all testimony tending to prove for whom the surveys were made, the jury were, in law, bound to presume that they were made for Robert Morris, he being the owner of the warrants. ' But suppose the surveys had been shown to have been made at the instance and for the use of another person, who had no right to the warrants, they being still the property of Robert Morris, the latter most unquestionably might have adopted and claimed the benefit of them; so that this point of the defendant might well have been answered in favour of the plaintiff below, even had there been evidence showing that the surveys were at the instance and for the use of another person.
The third point was, “ That if those under whom the plaintiff claimed lay by from 1795 to 1838, without claiming or exercising any acts of ownership over the lands, and if Thomas Dyer and those who claimed under him during all that time claimed and
The fourth point of the defendants was ei That the patents given in evidence, under which the defendants claimed, were prim&faaie evidence of title, and would entitle the defendants to a verdict, unless the plaintiff had shown a better title.” To which the court answered “ that the point is correct, but then it remained to be ascertained, whether the plaintiff had not shown a better title. For if the person obtaining the patent be not entitled to it, he acquires no title thereby. He cannot recover the land unless entitled to the patent. Our inquiry therefore is, were the heirs of Thomas Dyer entitled to this patent ? If not, it cannot defeat the plaintiff’s right to recover. The plaintiff sets up a title prior to the patent, and is not to be affected by the recitals in it. It appears that Jacob Eyerly paid the purchase money to the State, and that Christ and Rice, the warrantees, conveyed to him. The deeds duly proved are a part of the plaintiff’s title. Nothing was done by Dyer or his heirs to authorize the issuing of the patents to them. One of the warrantees has testified before you that he gave no other deed than the one here given in evidence. The heirs of Thomas Dyer were then even the persons to whom the patents for these lands ought to have issued, and as against the elder title of the plaintiff, it cannot avail them to defeat his recovery.” We think the answer of the court to this fourth point of the defendants below perfectly correct, and that the facts given in evidence, and the reasoning of the court in regard to them, show conclusively that the heirs of Thomas Dyer, to whom the patents were issued, had no right whatever to claim them. The right now vested'in the plaintiff below, entitled whoever was invested with it at the time, to have had the patents; consequently, the plaintiff has the right to recover the land, in the same manner as if the patents had been issued to him, or any of those from or through whom he has derived his title.
The fifth point of the defendants was “ That if the jury believed that Thomas Dyer procured the survey to be made by George Palmer, D. S., for himself, in pursuance of an arrangement between Robert Morris, or Eyerly, and himself; then this is a circumstance, taken in connexion with the neglect of Morris to perfect his title, or to look after the land, from which the jury may infer that Dyer had title to the lands.”- To this the court replied “ that there is nothing in the case upon which this point can be raised. There is no evidence to sustain it.” In this reply the court were no doubt correct, for there does not appear to have been a single tittle of evidence given, tending to show that Thomas Dyer procured the survey to be made for himself, or indeed for anybody else, either under the Christ or the Rice warrant; and without some evidence tending to prove that it was so, it would have been
The sixth point was “ That the patents conveyed the legal title to these lands to the heirs of Thomas Dyer. That if William Abbot be a bona fide purchaser without notice, the plaintiff could not recover, even if otherwise entitled, without having tendered the costs of the patents with interest, and the amount of taxes paid by him with interest, before suit brought.” To this the court answered, “ If a man wrongfully obtain a patent, and, under claim of it, pay taxes, he cannot raise an equity in himself or his vendee, as against the real owner, to be reimbursed for the costs of patenting and taxes. If he have a right to the patent, he holds the land. The plaintiff was not bound to pay for a patent granted against his title in subversion of it, and even given in evidence to defeat it; nor for the taxes paid by the person claiming that patent. It was issued to his injury and in wrong; and neither the wrongdoer nor his vendee can recover from the person injured what they thus paid.” We perceive nothing incorrect in this answer of the court. The court in their answer speak of the patentee as a wrong-doer; that is, as having obtained the patents wrongfully, or without right; a fact which, according to the evidence, cannot be questioned. This being the case, it would be strange indeed if either he or his vendee could claim to be reimbursed money laid out in the performance of such a wrong, by the party against whom the wrong was committed; or, in other words, for attempting to defraud or cheat him out of his title to the land. Mr Abbot, the vendee, cannot be considered in the light of an innocent purchaser, for he was bound, at his peril, to know the imperfections of the title he purchased, and is entitled to no favour or protection that the patentees could not claim.
The remaining errors assigned are to the charge of the court; the first of which is an exception to what the court “ said respecting the effect of the proceedings before the board of property.” We however are unable to discover any error in what the court said relative to these proceedings. On the 11th of June 1792, Jacob Eyerly entered a caveat against Thomas Dyer and Thomas Wright’s obtaining patents for the land in dispute. Eyerly claimed the lands by virtue of the warrants in the names of Christ and Rice respectively; but under what rights Dyer and Wright claimed does not appear until the 5th of August 1795, when Dyer entered a caveat against the Betsy Rice warrant, claiming the land under an older warrant of 1784 in the name of John Carlisle. During the pendency, however, of the caveat entered by Eyerly, he, on the 11th of February 1793, sold and conveyed the Christ and Rice warrants, with the lands claimed under them, to Robert Morris, who, by letter dated April 19th 1793, after stating therein that he had purchased of Jacob Eyerly, Jun. the lands in contest between said Eyerly and Thomas Wright, (not Dyer, observe), as
The second error to the charge of the court is an exception to what the court “ said to the jury respecting the conveyance to the North American Land Company.” This part of the charge of the court has been referred to and shown to be correct in our notice of the defendants’ first point above; and therefore need not be considered again.
The third and last ground of error to the charge of the court is, that they took the whole case from the jury, and left nothing for them to decide. The facts upon which the plaintiff below founded his claim, appear to have been clearly and incontrovertibly established by the evidence adduced in support of them : no evidence whatever appears to have been given by the defendants tending to disprove them in any degree whatever. This being the case, we think that the court were justified in saying, as they did, to the jury, in the conclusion of their charge, that “ there did not
Judgment affirmed.
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- Urket against Coryell Wasser against Same
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