Trueheart v. Graham
Trueheart v. Graham
Opinion of the Court
This is an action of trespass to try title brought by appellant against appellees and others to recover a tract of 483.7 acres of land, a part of a 640-acre survey in Tyler county, patented by the state of Texas to John L. Sleight, assignee. Appellees answered in the court below by general demurrer and plea of not guilty, and by plea of limitation of 10 years as to 160 acres of said land. The land claimed under the plea of limitation was fully described in the plea. The trial in the court below with a jury resulted in a verdict and judgment in favor of appellees for the 160 acres claimed under their plea of limitation.
The record discloses the following facts: The land involved in the suit is a part of section No. 56, G. & B. Nav. Co., patented to John L. Sleight, assignee, in 1872. Appellant claims through regular chain of title under John L. Sleight. Some time in the year 1872, whether before or after the location of said survey No. 56, G. &. B. Nav. Co., is not shown, N. B. Rawls, who owned and resided upon a tract of land near the survey in question, entered into an agreement with Tom Gray to pre-empt the 160 acres of land in controversy. Under this agreement, Gray was to live upon the land the required length of time to secure title as a pre-emptor, and Rawls was to bear all expenses of the survey and procuring the issuance of title, and they were to own the land equally. In pursuance of this agreement, Rawls had the land surveyed, and Gray moved thereon and inclosed a small field which he put in cultivation. After remaining on the land about a year, Gray left, and sold his interest to Rawls. No one has lived on the land since Gray left, but the field put in cultivation by him and another small field of 6 or 8 acres on a different part of the 160 acres which was put in by Rawls was cultivated by him up to the time of his death, and since his death have been cultivated by appellees, who are his children and heirs at law. The 160-acre survey is within the boundaries of the G. & B. Nav. Co. survey No. 56. It was generally known as the Gray survey, and, after his purchase from Gray, Rawls rendered it for taxes, and paid taxes on it as the Gray 160-acre survey. After his death, it was rendered for taxes by appellees under the same description until about a year before this suit was filed, when it was rendered as a part of G. & B. Nav. Co. survey No. 56. Rawls made no effort to procure title from the state, but, after his purchase from Gray, he continuously claimed the land, and since his death his heirs, the appellees, have continuously claimed it. This claim to the land has been open and notorious and against all the world. There is evidence to justify the conclusion that at least one of the two fields on the land in controversy was cultivated by Rawls or persons holding under him each year for more than 30 years before this suit was brought. The undisputed evidence shows that one or the other of the fields before mentioned was cultivated each year from the years 1891 to 1902, inclusive, by Rawls or those holding under him. This suit was brought in 1908.
This disposes of the only questions raised by the assignments presented in appellant’s brief.
We are of opinion that the judgment of the court below should be affirmed, and it has been so ordered.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- TRUEHEART v. GRAHAM Et Al.
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- Published