Dickerson v. Brady

• Decision Date: 30 June 1857
• Citation: 23 Ga. 161
• Parties: William Dickerson et al., plaintiffs in error. vs. Thomas Brady, defendant in error.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

23 Ga. 161

William Dickerson et al., plaintiffs in error. vs. Thomas Brady, defendant in error.

Supreme Court of the State of Georgia

JUNE TERM, 1857.

Complaint, to recover land. In Taylor Superior Court. Tried before Judge Worrell, at April Term, 1857.

This was an action brought in the form, prescribed by Act of 1847, by Thomas Brady, against William Dickerson and Mary Battle, to recover lot of land No. 252, in the 12th dis-trict of originally Muscogee, now Taylor county.

The plaintiff offered in evidence, a copy grant from the State to one Thomas Broddy. Defendant objected to its admission, upon the ground that it was made or issued to Thomas Broddy, and the plaintiff's name was Thomas Brady. The Court overruled the objection, admitted the paper, and left it to the jury to say whether the grant was to plaintiff or not. Plaintiff further proved that defendant, Dickerson, was in possession of the premises at the commencement of this suit, and closed.

The jury found for defendant. Plaintiff moved for a new trial, on the ground that the verdict was contrary to law and the evidence, which the Court granted, and thereupon, defendant excepted.

REESE & Blandeord, for plaintiff in error.

Grice & Wallace, and MillER & Holsey, for defendant in error.

By the Court. —Lumpkin, J., delivering the opinion.

Was the Court right in granting a new trial? We think so, most decidedly. In all probability, Braddy was originally pronounced Bra-dy; and the family have dropped one d in spelling the name, to conform to the pronunciation. Brady is frequently now pronounced Brad-dy, especially by our Hibernian friends. It depends entirely upon how you divide the syllables, Brad-y or Bra-dy. This is too small a variance to deprive a man of valuable property. It would be legal robbery.

Sustain this verdict, and the consequences would be most appalling. A tract of land has been granted to plain John Smith, of whom between twelve and thirteen thousand were born, married, or had died, in a single city, in one year. The children, by the industry and economy of their father, have risen in the social scale, dropped the tad-pole\'s tail, and are hopping about as John, Robert, or Joe Smythe! They sue, as heirs at law, for the land granted to their father, and are turned out of Court because Smith and Smythe are not the same name! So of land deeded to Jonathan Jones, and the young Jonises sue, as his heirs at law. So of a conveyance to Tom Brown, and the plaintiffs claiming to be children, are called in the Court, Samuel, Joel, and Sallie, Broun, (Broon!) In the little town of Boston, there are 527 persons of the name of...