Hill v. Gay
| Decision Date | 24 May 1909 |
| Citation | 160 Ala. 273,49 So. 676 |
| Parties | HILL ET AL. v. GAY. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Jackson County; W. W. Haralson, Judge.
Action by Mike Hill and others against J. W. Gay. From a judgment for defendant, plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.
F. T Petty and J. H. Gregory, for appellants.
Virgil Bouldin, for appellee.
This is a statutory action of ejectment by the appellants against the appellee. The plaintiffs base their claim of title on the construction of the deed contended for, which deed is set out in the statement of the case, and dated March 9, 1860. The evidence shows that Orin Hill, the grantee in the deed, went into possession of the land in 1860. In 1867 he and his wife conveyed the property here sued for by warranty deed to Lewis & Snodgrass. They went into possession and inclosed the property and built upon it. Deeds were also shown from said Orin Hill, conveying to various parties various parts including the entire 40 acres originally conveyed to him; and it is admitted that the defendant, and those under whom he claims, have been in possession of the lot sued for since the deed of said Orin Hill to Lewis & Snodgrass in 1867.
The claim of the plaintiffs, who are the children of said Orin Hill, is that said deed conveyed only a life estate to said Orin Hill, with remainder to his children, and that this remainder could not be divided until his youngest child became of age. The oldest of said Orin Hill's children was born in 1856 or 1857, and the youngest in 1860, and they are all still living. Orin Hill died October 28, 1903, and this suit was commenced October 28, 1907. It will be seen that this deed is a regular deed, conveying, by apt and legal terms, a fee-simple estate in Orin Hill, except for the words (at the end of the granting clause, and before the description of the land conveyed) interlined, to wit "Till signed by said Hill's youngest living child," and the other words, written at the end of the deed, after the attestation clause and immediately over the signature, to wit: "Whereas, in consideration all title will be and is void, unless signed by said Hill's youngest living child." These expressions were evidently inserted after the deed was drawn up (the original deed being sent up for our inspection), and it is difficult to see just what was intended, and more difficult still to give them any legal significance.
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