99 Ga. 766 | Ga. | 1896
Reuben Brown, as tbe administrator of Henry Brown, brought complaint for land against the Mayor and' Council.
“The State of Georgia, Twiggs County. This indenture, made this fifth day of December in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-three, between Willis F. Lamb of the State and County aforesaid, duly constituted administrator of the estate of Reuben Lamb, late of said State and county, deceased, of the one part, and Henry Brown of Montgomery of the [other] part, witness that, whereas, by virtue of an order granted by the honorable inferior court of said .court [county] when sitting for ordinary purposes, previous notice of application having been given agreeable to the statute in such ease made and provided, on the fifth, day of December last, to said Willis F. Lamb, administrator as aforesaid, to sell a tract of land belonging to the estate of said deceased, situate, lying and being in the county of aforesaid, known and distinguished as lot number (309) three hundred and nine in the 13 th district, containing two hundred two and a half acres, with the rights, members and*768 appurtenances thereto belonging, after the said tract of land was duly advertised in conformity to law the same was put up and exposed to sale to the highest bidder at the door of the court-house at Jacksonville in said county within the legal hours of sale on the first Tuesday in December last passed, by said Willis F. Lamb, administrator as aforesaid, when said tract of land was knocked off to. said Henry Brown at the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, he being the highest and best bidder: Now for and in consideration of the said sum of two hundred and fifty dollars' cash in hand paid to said W. F. Lamb, administrator as aforesaid, by him said Henry Brown, at and before sealing and delivering of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, the said W. F. Lamb, administrator as aforesaid, hath granted, bargained and sold and by these presents doth grant, bargain and sell unto the said Henry Brown, his heirs, executors and administrators, and assigns, the said tract of land (No. 309) three hundred and nine in the thirteenth district of said county, with all the rights, members and appurtenances thereunto belonging or anywise appertaining, unto him said Henry Brown, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, to his and their own proper use, benefit and behoof, forever in fee simple. In witness whereof said W. F. Lamb, administrator as ‘aforesaid, hath hereunto set his hand and affixed his seal, the day and year above written. Willis F. Lamb, adm’r. (L.S.)
“Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of D. J. Hughes, James M. Lamb, William Haskins, J. P.”
Entries on back of above deed:
“Deed from Willis F. Lamb, adm’r, to Henry Brown, for lot No. 309 in 13th dist. Telfair, 202-J acres.
“Georgia, Telfair County. Clerk’s office, Sup’r Court,
May 23rd, 1854.
Recorded in Book N. No. 14, pages 42 & 43.
Fee 75c. John F. McRae, Clk.”
To the introduction of this deed the defendant objected, upon the ground that upon its face it did not purport to convey'to plaintiff’s intestate the premises for which the action was brought, but that according to its descriptive terms it applied to land elsewhere. To meet this objec
It was 'contended upon the part of the defendant, that the plaintiff had no right to recover, but that the right of recovery, if any, was vested in the heirs at law of the intestate ; and in support of this contention, defendant submitted evidence to the effect, that subsequent to the death of the testator and after all the heirs had become of age, there being no debts against the estate, the heirs at law (the admin
1. Complaint is made -of the ruling of the court in admitting parol evidence for the purpose of identifying the land sued for with the land described in plaintiff’s deed. Under our code it is a rule 'of evidence, that parol evidence is admissible to explain ambiguities in written instruments,
In the case of Blake v. Doherty, 5 Wheat. 359, the rule is laid down: “It is undoubtedly essential to the validity of a grant, that there should be a thing granted, which must be so described as to be capable of being distinguished from
2. It was insisted in the present case that, under the evidence submitted, the right of recovery was in the, heirs at law, and not in the administrator upon the estate of the intestate. The intestate died in possession of the premises, having held it in the neighborhood of forty years under the deed to which we have heretofore referred. Section 2485 of the code provides that, “Upon the appointment of an administrator, the right to the possession of the whole estate is in him; and so long as such administrator contin
3. In the present case, the right of recovery in the administrator depends upon whether the term has expired during which the tenure of the widow was to continue. According to the evidence in this case,, she had an interest during her life in the use of the premises for'farming purposes.According to her contract with the administrator, the measure of her term was the balance of her natural life. The interest that she took was either that of a life-tenant ,or a licensee. If she took'as- a life-tenant,; she was entitled.to enjoy the life-estate in such a way as -would give ¿her the right_ to apply the property to such uses as 'it; might be
4. Upon the evidence submitted, the jury could properly find in favor of the plaintiff the premises in dispute. The mere fact that they were occupied by the municipal author
There was evidence from which the jury might properly have found $10.00 for damages by way of compensation for the trees cut from the premises occupied by the defendant; but upon a careful examination of the evidence which was submitted upon the trial, we find no evidence which will uphold the special finding of $75.00 for “damage and rental”; and hence we affirm the judgment in the court below, upon condition that when the remittitur is entered the plaintiff shall write off from the verdict the item so recovered, otherwise the judgment shall stand reversed.
Judgmmt affirmed, loith direction.