87 Va. 125 | Va. | 1890
delivered the opinion of the court.
Immediately after the execution of this deed, a house of Worship was erected on this property, and the same was used continuously as a place of worship in accordance with the provisions of the deed for a period of nearly thirty years. At the expiration of that time the church building became unsafe
Upon this state of facts, Hardy and wife filed their bill charging that the trustees had abandoned whatever rights accrued to them' by virtue of the deed of April 1st, 1856; and praying that the court would declare the uses and trusts created by said deed to have failed, and that the beneficial interest therein had resulted to the grantor therein, and passed by the deed of March 22nd, 1883, to James 0. Hardy as trustee for his wife, Sarah F. Hardy.
The decision of the Chancellor being adverse to the plaintiffs, the case has been brought before us by an appeal, and it has been argued for the appellants on several points with both ability and earnestness, which, however, will not be noticed, as they are not, in our judgment, necessarily involved in the determination of the case.
The deed of April 1st, 1856, was evidently modelled after the deed in Brooke v. Shacklett, 13 Gratt., 310, as an examination of that case will show, and we think upon the authority of several cases in this court that such a deed must be deemed valid. Brooke v. Shacklett, supra; Hoskinson v. Pusey, 32 Gratt., 428; Boxwell v. Afflick, 79 Va., 402.
The obvious purpose of the grantor in executing that deed, was the advancement of the cause of Christianity by the building up a local congregation in. that vicinity, and to aid in the
There are no words in the deed that can be properly construed into a covenant to rebuild, nor any indicating a-desire on the part of the grantor that the land should revert upon a failure of the trustees to maintain the church.
Under these circumstances we think that the trustees have done all that could be required of them. They built the church in a reasonable time, and allowed it to be used for the purposes contemplated by the deed as long as it was fit for use. Neither do we think it would be a diversion of the property to make sale of it and invest the proceeds in a parsonage for the same congregation, although worshiping at a different place. For the object of the grantor was rather to “further the cause of Christ” than to tie the congregation down-to that particular spot. The case is not unlike the case of Mead v. Ballard, 7 Wall., 290, where it was held that a grant of land “upon the express understanding and condition” that a certain institute of learning, then incorporated, “shall be permanently located upon said land” between the date of the deed and the same day in the succeeding year, was a condition subsequent, but was fulfilled by the location of the institute at the designated place within the required time.
The court is of opinion, however, that the decree of the chancery court is erroneous in. holding that the trustees have
The decree will therefore be amended in this respect and, as amended, be affirmed.
Lewis, P., and Fatjntleroy, J., dissented.
Decree amended and aeeirmed.