delivered the opinion of the court.
This case comes here on a writ of error from the Supreme Court of the Territory of Wisconsin, the premises in controversy w.ere formerly owned by one Peter Grignon, to whom they were confirmed by an act of Congress, passed 21st February, 1823, to be found in 3 Story’s Laws, 1877. He died in March following, intestate, indebted, and leaving two sons who are lessors of the plaintiff, one born, in 1803, the other in 1806. They conveyed one-third to Martin, the other lessor, in-1834. The lessors claim as heirs-at-law of Peter Grignon, and the conveyance from them to Martin.
. In 1824, letters qf administration on .the estate of Peter Grignon - were duly granted to Paul Grignon, the brother of the deceased, who gave bond for the performance of -the trust, according to law. In January, 1826, he presented his petition to the. County Court of Brown county, then.in the Territory of Michigan, praying for an *336 order from the court, to authorize him to dispose of the real estate of the said Peter, -which was granted, a license issued to the'administra- . tor to sell in March, 1826. A sale was accordingly made to Augustin Grignon, to whom a'deed was executed by the administrator in June, 1826, and duly recorded. The defendants claim title under this sale, by sundry mesne conveyances from the purchaser.
■ The law of Michigan is set forth in the statement of the case by the reporter.
In the County Court the following proceedings were had:
“, At a session of the County Court for the county of Brown, begun and held at the township of Green Bay, in the school-house, on Tuesday, the tenth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.
“ Present: the Hon. James Pórlier, chief justice, and John Lawe, Esq., associate justice. The court was opened by George Johnston, sheriff.
“The petition of Paul Grignon, administrator on the estate of Pierre Grignon, late of the county of Brown, (deceased,) was filed by his attorney, H. S. Baird, praying for an order from the court to authorize him to dispose of the real estate of said Pierre.
• “In consideration.of the facts alleged in said petition, and for divers other good and sufficient reasons, it is ordered that he be empowered as aforesaid.
“ Minutes read, corrected, and signed by order of the court.
Robert Irwin, Jun., Clerk.”
Territory of Michigan, )
Brown county, j ss‘
The United States of America, to Paul Grignon, administrator of Pierre Grignon,. deceased.
Be it known, to all whom it may concern, that at a term of the County Court of the county of Brown, continued and held at the township of Green Bay, in said county, on Tuesday, the tenth day of January,.in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, before the Hon. James Porlier, chief justice, and John Lawe, Esq., associate justice, Paul Grignon, administrator of all and singular the goods and chattels, rights and credits, lands and tenements of. Pierre Grignon, deceased, late of the county of Brown aforesaid, represents to this court, then and there in session, that the said Pierre died intestate, at Green Bay, in said county of Brown, on the fourth day of March, a. d. 1823; that at the time of his death, *337 the said Pierre was seised' in his demesne as of fee in and to the following tracts or lots of land, situated at Green Bay aforesaid, to wit:
Lot number three, on the east side of Fox river, bounded north by land claimed by the estate of Dometile Longevin, south by Augustin Grignon, and four-and-a-half arpens in front, and eighty arpens rear.
Also,-lot number five, on the same side of said river, bounded north by Augustin Grignon’s claim, and south by land claimed and occupied by John Lawe, Esq., being four acres and sixteen.feet wide, and extending back eighty acres.
Also, lot number three, in dispute between said deceased and George Johnston, on the west side of said Fox river;, lately occupied by said George Johnston, bounded north by Louis Grignon, and south by land of said deceased, being eight chains and.sixty-two links wide, and eighty arpens deep.
Also, lot number four, on the same side of .said river, bounded north by the last mentioned claim, and south by land claimed by John Lawe, Esq., being eight chains and fifty links wide, and extending back eighty arpens.
.And that it has been ascertained by the. petitioner that the goods and chattels belonging to the estate of ,the said deceased are insufficient to pay all the just debts which he owed at the time of his death, but that the estate will be insolvent; and therefore prays that leave may be granted him to dispose of the tracts and lots of land aforesaid.
Now, therefore, for the causes aforesaid, and for divers other good and sufficient reasons, the court thereunto moving, they do hereby authorize and empower you the said administrator, to dispose of all the right,- title, and interest of the -deceased in and to the above described tracts and -lots of land in such manner as will best serve the interest of all concerned in said estate, requiring of you a due observance of the statute in such cake made and provided.
Witness, James Porlier, chief justicé-of the Coumy Court of the county of Brown, at the township of Green Bay,, on the 28th of March, A. D. 1826.
Robert Irwin, Jun., Clerk B C.
At the trial numerous questions of evidence arose, and many instructions were asked of the court, to whose opinion the plaintiffs excepted; but we do not deem it necessary to notice them in detail, as in our opinion the whole merits of the controversy depend on one *338 single question, had the County Court of Brown county jurisdiction of the subject on which they acted ?
Jurisdiction has been thus defined by this court.
“The power, to hear and determine a cause is jurisdiction,; it is
coram judice-
whenever a case is presented which brings, this power into action; if the petitioner presents such a case ,in his petition, that on a demurrer the court would render a judgment in his favour, it is an undoubted case of jurisdiction; whether on an answer denying and putting in issue the allegations of the petition, the petitioner .makes out his case, is the exercise of jurisdiction, conferred by the filing a petition containing all the requisites, and in the manner required by law.”
This is the line which denotes jurisdiction and its exercise, in cases in. personam, where there- are adverse parties, the court must have power over the subject-matter and the parties; but on a proceeding to sell the real estate of an indebted intestate, there are no adversary-parties, the proceeding is in rem, the administrator represents the land, (11 S. and R. 432;) they are analogous to proceedings in the admiralty* where the only question of jurisdiction is the power of .the court over the thing, the subject-matter before them, without regard to the persons who may have an interest in it; all the world are parties. In .the Orphans’ Court, and all courts who have power to sell the estates of intestates, their action operates, on the estate, not on the heirs of the intestate, a purchaser claims not their title, but one paramount. 11 S. and R. 426. The estate passes to .him by operation of law., 11 S. and R. 428. The sale is a proceeding in. .rem, to -which .all claiming under the intestate are parties, (11 S. and R. 429,) which directs the title of the deceased. 11 S. and R. 430.
As the jurisdiction of such courts is irrespective of the parties in *339 interest, our inquiry in this case is whether the County Court of Brown county had power to act in the estate of Peter Grignon, on the petition of the administrator under the law of Michigan, providing, that where the goods and chattels of a decedent are not sufficient to answer his just debts; on representation theréof, and the same being made to. appear to the County Court where he dwelt, or where his real estate lies, it may license the executor of administrator to make sale of so mubh as will satisfy the debts ánd'legacies.
' No other requisites to tlié jurisdiction of the County Court are prescribed than the death of Grignon, the insufficiency of his personal estatuto pay his debts, and á representation thereof to the Bounty-Court where he dwelt or his real estate was situate, making these facts appear to the court. Their decision was the exerciseof jurisdiction,. which was conferred by the representation; for whenever that was before the court, they must hear and determine whether it was true or not; it was a subject on which there might be judicial action. The record of the County Court shows, that there was a petition representing some facts by the administrator, who prayed ah order of sale; that the court took those' facts which were alleged in the petition into consideration,, and for these ahd divers other good reasons ordered that he be empowered tó sell. It did then appear-to-the court that.there Were facts and reasons before them which brought their power into action, and that it was exercised by. granting the prayer 'of the petitioner, and the decree-of the court does not spécify the facts and- reasons, or' refer to the evidence on which they were made to appear to the judicial eye; they must have been', and the law presumes that they were such a's to justify their action.
The granting, the- license-to sell is an adjudication upon all the facts necessary to give, jurisdiction, and whether they existed or not is wholly immaterial, if no appeal -is taken; the rule is the same "whether the law gives an appeal or not; if none is given from the final decree, it is conclusive on all whom it concerns. The record is absolute verity, to contradict which there can be no averment or-evidence; .the court having power to make the decree, it can be impeached only by fraud in the party who obtains it,
“ To determine whether the offence charged in the indictment*be legally punishable or not, is among the most unquestionable of its (the Circuit Court) powers and duties; the decision of the question is the exercise of jurisdiction, whether the judgment be for or against the prisorer, it is equally binding and remains in full force until reversed.”
If the jurisdiction of the court jn a civil case .is not alleged in the “pleadings, the judgment is not a nullity, but though erroneous, is obligatory as one, (
..These principles have been applied by this court to-sales made under the decrees of Orphans’ Courts: .where they have power to judge of a matter of fact, “ they are not required to entgr on record the evidence on which they decided that. fact. And how can we now say but that the court had- satisfactory-evidence before it, that one of the heirs was of age ?" If it was so stated in terms on the face of the proceedings, and even if the j urisdiction of the coirrt depended ón that fact; it is by no means clear, that it would be permitted to contradict it, on a direct proceeding to reverse any order or decree made by the court. But to permit that fact to be drawn in question in this collateral way, is certainly not warranted by any principle of law.”
“ If the purchaser (under a decree- of the Orphans’ Court) was responsible for their mistakes in point of fact, after they had-adjudicated upon the facts, and acted upon' them, those sales would be snares for honest men.”
“ The purchaser is not bound to" look farther back than-the order of the 'court.' He is not. to see whether the court were mistaken in the facts of debts and children. The- decree of an Orphans’ Court in a casé within its jurisdiction is reversible only on appeal, and not *343 collaterally in another suit. A title under a license to the administrator to sell real estate, «is good against the heirs of the intestate, although the license was granted upon the certificate of the judge of probate, not warranted by the circumstance of the case.”
« The license was granted by a court having jurisdiction of the subject: if it was improvidently exercised, or in a manner not warranted by the evidence from the probate courts; yet it is not to be corrected at the expense of the purchaser, who had a right to rely upon tire order of the court, as an authority emanating from a court of competent jurisdiction.”
In that case the jurisdiction of the court was held to attach, « when the acceptor dies intestate, and any of the persons entitled to his estate is a minor, (
We do not deem .it necessary, now or hereafter, to retrace, the reasons or the authorities on which the decisions of this court in that, or the cases which preceded it, rested; they are founded on the oldest and most sacred principles of the common law. Time has consecrated them; the courts of the states have followed, and this court has never departed from them. They are rules of property, on which the repose of the country depends; titles acquired under the proceedings of courts of competent jurisdiction must be deemed inviolable in collateral action, or none can know what is his own; and there are no judicial sales around which greater sanctity ought to be placed, than those made of the estates of decedents, by order -of those courts to whom the laws of the states confide full jurisdiction over the subjects.
These sales are less expensive than when made on executions; more time is allowed to make them; the discretion of the court is exercised as to time, manner, and the terms of sale; whereas on sales *344 by a sheriff, all is by compulsion and no credit is allowed; he cannot offer one entire piece of properly for sale in parcels j the administrator can divide and sell as best subserves the interest of the heirs, and sell .only so much as the emergency of the case requires.
It has been contended by the plaintiff’s counsel, that the sale in the present case is not valid, because Peter’Grignon had not such an estate in the premises as could be sold under the order of the County Court, it being only an equitable one before the patent issued in 1829; . but the title became a legal one by its confirmation by the-act of Congress of. February, 1823, which was equivalent to a patent. • It was a higher evidence of title, as it was the direct grant of the fee which had been in the United States by the government itself, whereas the patent was only -the act of its ministerial, officers.
These views of this case decide it, without examining the excep- . tions to the admission of evidence, the ruling of the court on the instruction prayed, or their charge to the jury. So far as either were unfavourable to the plaintiff, they are. most fully sustained by the foregoing principles añ¿ cases; the County Court of Brown county had undoubted jurisdiction of'the subject; their proceedings are irreversible ; the title of the purchaser cannot be questioned; and the judgment’ of the court below must be affirmed with costs.
order. .
This' cause came on. tó -be heard on thé transcript of the record from the.Supreme Court of the Territory of- Wisconsin, and was argued by counsel. On Consideration whereof, It is now here ordered arid adjudged by this court, that the judgment of the said Supreme Court' of-the Territory of Wisconsin in this cause be, and the same is hereby affinried with costs.