Rich v. Braxton

• Decision Date: 06 May 1895
• Docket Number: No. 17,17
• Citation: Rich v. Braxton, 158 U.S. 375, 15 S.Ct. 1006, 39 L.Ed. 1022 (1895)
• Parties: RICH et al v. BRAXTON et ux
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

158 U.S. 375

15 S.Ct. 1006

39 L.Ed. 1022

RICH et al

v BRAXTON et ux.

No. 17.

May 6, 1895.

[Syllabus from pages 375-377 intentionally omitted] John F. Keator, John A. Hutchinson, and S. Morris Waln, for appellants.

J. H. Ferguson and W. Mollohan, for appellees.

Mr. Justice HARLAN delivered the opinion of the court.

The appellees, who were the plaintiffs below, are the children and heirs at law of Allen T. Caperton, who, the bill alleged, was seised and possessed at the time of his death of an estate in fee in various tracts of land in West Virginia which are fully described in the pleadings.

The appellants, who were defendants below, assert ownership of the same lands.

The object of the present suit—which was removed from one of the courts of West Virginia—was to obtain a decree annulling the deeds under which the defendants claim title. and thereby remove the cloud created by them on the title of the plaintiffs. By the final decree those deeds were set aside as inoperative, fraudulent, and void, and as clouds upon the plaintiff's title, 'so far as they, and each of them, overlap and include any of the lands of the said plaintiffs as laid down and shown upon the map filed with the papers of this cause, marked 'Map of the lands in the Suit of Caperton's Heirs v. Rich and others, Decree Map."

Attention will first be directed to the title asserted by the plaintiffs. They derive title from numerous patents and deeds, as follows:

1. A patent from the commonwealth of Virginia, dated March 25, 1795, to Robert Morris, for 153,900 acres of land in the county of Greenbrier; a deed from Robert Morris and wife, dated March 13, 1797, conveying to William Crammond several tracts, including the above tract of 153,900 acres; a deed from William Crammond and wife, dated October 28, 1814, to Thomas Astley, covering all the above lands conveyed by Morris and wife the William Crammond; a deed dated December 10, 1840, to Henry Crammond from Littleton Kirkpatrick and wife (the latter being the only heir at law of Thomas Astley), and Sarah Astley, the widow of Thomas Astley, embracing the lands covered by the deeds from Morris and wife and William Crammond; a deed by Henry Crammond to John Williams, dated December 21, 1842, conveying to the latter the tract of 153,900 acres.

2. A deed to Caperton by John Williams and wife, dated February 21, 1850, conveying to the grantee 77,104 acres of the tract of 153,900 acres named in the Morris patent. Caperton sold and conveyed a part of the land embraced by this deed, so that, at his death, he claimed to own only 41,171 1/2 acres of the above 77,104 acres.

3. A patent from the commonwealth of Virginia to Abner Cloud, assignee of Lewis Franklin, dated March 10, 1790, for 5,000 acres in Harrison county, on the waters of Gauley river. By a change in the lines of counties this tract was included in the county of Nicholas. It appears from the official records that these 5,000 acres were forfeited to that commonwealth in 1842 for the failure of the owner to enter them upon the books of the commissioner, and for nonpayment of taxes. That fact being regularly reported by the commissioners of delinquent and forfeited lands to the Nicholas county circuit superior court, they were ordered by that court to be sold in the manner and upon the terms prescribed by law; and they were sold, John Williams becoming the purchaser. The sale having been confirmed, a deed was made to Williams June 20, 1843, by the commissioner of delinquent and forfeited lands for Nicholas county. Subsequently, February 21, 1850, Williams and wife conveyed to Caperton the above 5,000 acres, as well as various other tracts that had been sold under the order of court by that officer and purchased by Williams.

4. A patent from the commonwealth of Virginia to A. C. and D. B. Layne, dated September 1, 1851, for 2,738 acres in what is now Webster county, W. Va. A. C. Layne and wife, by deed of March 18, 1856, conveyed their interest to Douglas B. Layne, who, with his wife, by deed of April 12, 1859, conveyed to Caperton.

5. Patents from the commonwealth of Virginia to Austin Hollister, one dated November 1, 1855, for 9,330 acres, and the other dated February 1, 1858, for 5,938 acres, both tracts being in Randolph county. By deed of February 12, 1859, Hollister and wife conveyed both of these tracts to Caperton.

It appears that in 1881 the children and heirs at law of Caperton—he having died in July, 1876—presented to the circuit court of Webster county, W. Va., a petition asking that they be allowed to redeem from forfeiture and sale the above tracts of 9,330, 5,938, 5,000, and 2,738 acres, as well as a tract of 500 acres, all assessed in the name of Caperton. The petition stated that there were no persons in condition to take the benefit of the forfeiture of those lands, or any part of them, under the provisions of section 3 of article 13 of the constitution of the state, and that they were entitled to redeem the same in the manner provided by the thirteenth section of the act of the legislature of West Virginia (Acts W. Va. 1872-73, p. 455, c. 134), providing for the sale of escheated, forfeited, and unappropriated lands for the benefit of the school fund.

The section of article 13 of the constitution of West Virginia to which reference was made in that petition is in these words:

'3. All title to lands in this state heretofore forfeited, or treated as forfeited, waste, and unappropriated, or escheated to the state of Virginia, or this state, or purchased by either of said states at sales made for the non-payment of taxes and become irredeemable, or hereafter forfeited, or treated as for- feited, or escheated to this state, or purchased by it and become irredeemable, not redeemed, released, or otherwise disposed of, vested and remaining in this state, shall be, and is hereby transferred to, and vested in any person (other than those for whose default the same may have been forfeited or returned delinquent, their heirs or devisees,) for so much thereof as such person has, or shall have had actual continuous possession of, under color or claim of title for ten years, and who, or those under whom he claims, h all have paid the state taxes thereon for any five years during such possession; if there be no such person then to any person (other than those for whose default the same may have been forfeited, or returned delinquent, their heirs or devisees,) for so much of said land as such person shall have title or claim to, regularly derived, mediately or immediately from, or under a grant from the commonwealth of Virginia, or this state, not forfeited, which but for the title forfeited would be valid, and who, or those under whom he claims has, or shall have paid all state taxes charged or chargeable thereon for five successive years, after the year 1865, or from the date of the grant, if it shall have issued since that year; or if there be no such person, as aforesaid, then to any person (other than those for whose default the same may have been forfeited, or returned delinquent, their heirs or devisees,) for so much of said lands as such person shall have had claim to and actual continuous possession of, under color of title for any five successive years after the year 1865, and have paid all state taxes charged or chargeable thereon for said period.'

The statute referred to was that of November 18, 1873, entitled 'An act to provide for the sale of escheated, forfeited, and unappropriated lands for the benefit of the school fund.'

By that statute the former owner of lands, the title to which was in the state by forfeiture or purchase, and which were ordered to be sold by the proper circuit court for the benefit of the school fund, was allowed, upon proof of title superior to that asserted by any other claimant, to receive the excess over the taxes charged and chargeable thereon with interest at 12 per cent.; such exhibition and proof of title being made within two years after sale under the order of court. The former owner, or any creditor of such owner having a lien on the land, was also permitted, at any time before sale, to pay into court, with its consent, all costs, taxes, and interest due the state, and obtain an order releasing all former taxes on the land and suspending the sale thereof; such payment, however, not to affect or impair the title to any portion of such lands transferred to and vested in any person in virtue of section 3 of article 13 of the state constitution. Acts W. Va. 1872-73, pp. 449, 454, 455.

The commissioner of school lands, whose duty it was to ascertain the quantity of land in his county subject to sale under the above statute (sections 1, 2), reported to the proper circuit court that the taxes and interest charged and chargeable against the tracts of 9,330, 5,938, 5,000, and 2,738 acres, claimed by the heirs at law of Caperton, amounted to $1,785.82; and against the tract of 500 acres the sum of $18.69. The prayer of the petition was granted. The final order of the court contained these provisions: 'The petitioners having exhibited to the court their title papers, showing that they have title to each of the five several tracts of land mentioned in their petition and amended petition aforesaid, regularly derived from the commonwealth of Virginia, and the court, being of opinion that the petitioners have a good and valid title to said lands, and it not appearing that there is any person in condition to take the benefit of the forfeiture thereof, doth consent and order that petitioners may redeem said lands from forfeiture. And thereupon petitioners, with the consent of the court, paid into court, to the hands of the said Duffy, commissioner of school lands, $1,804.51, being the amount of taxes and interest due on said lands at this date, and $4.50 costs of this proceeding. It is therefore adjudged, ordered, and decreed that said several tracts of 2,738, 5,000, 9,330, 5,938, and 500...