58 Neb. 268 | Neb. | 1899
• In the district court of Dawson county Josephus Moore brought this action against Sylvanus Moore and others. In his petition Josephus Moore alleged that from 1878 until his death, which occurred in October, 1886, his father, Hamilton Moore, was the owner in fee of and resided upon the southeast quarter of section 12, township 9 north, and range 19 west, in Dawson county, Nebraska; that his father was old and infirm for a number of years before his death and unable to take care of himself, and required the constant care and attendance of others; that he resided with his father from 1872 continuously until just before his death, supported him and his mother until her decease, and in so doing expended large sums of money and performed much labor; that all this was done by him in pursuance of an oral agreement between his father and mother upon one part and himself on the other that upon the decease of the father and mother he, Josephus Moore, should have said quarter section of land as compensation; that in pursuance of the agreement he, Josephus Moore, was to enter upon the possession of said described land and remain in possession thereof until the death of his father and mother and thenceforth forever; that in pursuance of said oral agreement he did enter
1. The evidence in the record abundantly sustains each and every finding made by the district court, and would sustain no other finding. It would subserve no useful purpose to quote all this evidence.- Hamilton Moore, his wife, and their two sons, Josephus and Russell, came to the state of Nebraska about 1873. They came from the state of Indiana, where Hamilton Moore left some sons and daughters living, who were at that time married. When Hamilton Moore and his wife came to Nebraska their sons, Josephus and Russell, were unmarried, and so remained for a number of years. Hamilton Moore acquired title to the land in dispute by patent from the United States government under the-homestead act of congress. In support of appellant’s claim’that an oral contract existed between himself and his father and mother whereby he was to have the title to the father and mother’s homestead on the death of the survivor of them in consideration that he would support and care for them during their natural lives, and that he had in all respects carried out his contract, a number of witnesses testified that in conversations with the father and mother, and especially with the mother, each of the old people had said that upon their death the farm was to be appellant’s; that the farm was appellant’s; that appellant was taking care of and supporting them, and other conversations of similar import. No one testified to having heard made any such a contract as the appellant alleged in his petition, nor did any one testify that either of the old people said that such a contract existed, as appellant alleged. Some time before her death the mother went to Indiana, where she died in March, 1884. In October and November, 1884, she wrote the appellant long letters, but not a word is said in either of these letters about the title to the family homestead belonging to the appellant; not a word in the letters in reference to any contract between the father and mother that upon
2. The evidence on behalf of the appellant tended to show that he broke up some of the land in controversy, put some improvements of small value thereon; that his father and mother lived on the place with him, the appellant; that he boarded and took care of them; that the father was a cripple and unable to work and unable to help himself, and that the appellant dressed him and undressed him, put him to bed, and gave him the care that a helpless old man would need. On the other hand, the evidence shows that the mother, while she remained in Nebraska, was a hale, healthy, intelligent old lady, was a midwife and made money practicing that profession; that she did the work usually done by housewives on farms; that the old gentleman, though crippled with rheumatism, was a very industrious man; that he worked in the garden and chopped wood and did such chores as he was able to do; that the appellant, until he married, lived with the old people instead of their living with him;
Affirmed.