Bassett v. Sherrod

35 S.W. 312, 13 Tex. Civ. App. 327, 1896 Tex. App. LEXIS 71
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 15, 1896
DocketNo. 1325.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 35 S.W. 312 (Bassett v. Sherrod) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bassett v. Sherrod, 35 S.W. 312, 13 Tex. Civ. App. 327, 1896 Tex. App. LEXIS 71 (Tex. Ct. App. 1896).

Opinion

FISHER, Chibe Justice.-

— Statement of Case__This is an action of trespass to try title, by appellants, to recover the C. N. Bassett survey of 640 acres of land, situated in Brown county. Appellees, W. C. White, Noah Sherrod and J. C. Vandevener each answered not guilty, and each disclaimed title to said land except 201-J- acres, which quantity each of the defendants claim to own out of said survey, and each set up title to 201-J acres of said survey, describing it in their respective answers. Each pleaded the three, five and ten years statutes of limitations, and each pleaded improvements in good faith. The case below was tried before the court without the aid of a jury, and upon the facts and conclusions of law as found by the trial court it rendered judgment in favor of appellees for the entire survey of 640 acres, and that the plaintiffs .take nothing by this suit.

We find the following as the facts in the case:

1. The land in controversy was, on the -30th day of July, 1860, patented by the State of Texas to Clement N. Bassett. The patent recites that it was based on “unconditional certificate No. 352, issued by the Board of Land Commissioners of Harris County on the 7th day of April, 1845.”

2. The land was patented by virtue of unconditional certificate No. 352 for 640 acres of land, issued by the Board of Land Commissioners of Harris County, April 7th, 1845, and the certificate recites that Clement C. Bassett “arrived in the Republic of Texas prior to 1841, and that he has been a resident citizen up to the present time and that he is a married man.”

3. That C. N. Bassett, Sr., the patentee, was married to his wife Julia Bassett, some time prior to 1842. That C. N. Bassett, Sr., died some time in the year 1849. That he had two children, Winifred, a girl, and C. N. Bassett, Jr., a boy, both born prior to 1843. That he left surviving him at his doath these two children, and Julia Bassett, his widow. That C. N. Bassett, Jr., is living and one of the plaintiffs in this suit. ■ That Winifred Bassett in July, 1854, married George H. Chambers; that of this marriage there was one child, Wm. J. Chambers. That Winifred Chambers is dead; that she died some time in the year 1870. That her husband George H. Chambers is also dead; that he died some time in the year 1880. That Wm. J. Chambers is dead; that he died in November, 1882, at the age of about 26 years, and that he was never married.

That Julia Bassett, the widow of C. N. Bassett, Sr., was married a second time; that she married Thomas Smith in the year 1854; that of the marriage of Thomas Smith with Julia Bassett there were born four children. That Thomas Smith died in the year 1889, and his wife Julia died in May, 1888. That they both died intestate, and there has never been any administration on either of their estates.

*329 Some of the plaintiffs are heirs of C. N. Bassett, Sr.. Some are heirs of Mrs. Julia Smith, and some are the heirs of Wm. J. Chambers.

4. The land in controversy was the community property of C. ST. Bassett, Sr., and his surviving wife Mrs. Julia Smith.

5. In March, 1875, J. W. Lawrence filed suit in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, against S. S. Thompkins, a resident of Harris County, Texas, and the unknown heirs of C. N. Bassett, and the unknown heirs of a number of other persons, and against certain named defendants, non-residents of the State, seeking to recover a judgment against said parties for an undivided one-third interest in the land in controversy and other lands described in the petition filed in that suit, and for a partition of said lands. The plaintiff Lawrence, in that suit, resided in Travis County, Texas, and none of the lands described in that suit were situated in Harris County, Texas. The record in that case shows service by publication on all of the defendants except S. S. Thompkins, who appeared by answer and disclaimed as to the land sued for, and there was a judgment against him for the-land and in his favor for costs. The record shows that the unknown heirs, defendants in that suit, were represented by an attorney appointed by the court. The unknown heirs of C. N. Bassett, at this time, were residents of the State of Texas. Mrs. Smith, the surviving wife of C. N. Bassett, was not a party to that suit, and no judgment was rendered against her. November 3, 1875, the District Court of Harris County, in that suit, rendered a judgment against all of the parties defendant to that suit except Thompkins, in favor of Lawrence, for an undivided one-third interest in all the lands in controversy in that suit, including one-third of the land here sued for, and rendered joint and several judgment against all of the defendants for the costs.

Said district court thereupon appointed commissioners to divide and partition the land in controversy, together with other lands in that suit, and they filed their report of partition, in which was set aside and partitioned to the plaintiff in that suit, J. W. Lawrence, one-third of the survey in controversy, which one-third was defined by metes and bounds. A decree was rendered on said report and it was in all things confirmed, and decreed title in Lawrence to the one-third that was set apart to him. Thé judgment in that cause recites that the defendants were duly cited, and appeared by A. JR. Masterson, attorney appointed by the court to represent said unknown heirs.

6. It does not appear from anything contained in the record before us that any of the parties defendant to that suit had any interest or title to the land in controversy except the heirs of C. N. Bassett.

C. N. Bassett, Jr., one of the appellants in this suit, and Wm. J. Chambers, the son of Winifred Chambers, the deceased daughter of C. N. Bassett, Sr., were the only heirs of C. N. Bassett, Sr., at the time that suit was filed and the judgments and decrees were rendered, that had any interest in his title to the land in controversy.

7. July 24, 1876, J. W. Lawrence and M. W. Garnett conveyed *330 to W. <3-. Simmons by deed with field notes the same land — -213-J acres— that was set apart and decreed to Lawrence in the partition suit heretofore described, which deed was filed for record in Brown County, January 10, 1887, and duly recorded September 1,-1888.

8. There is evidence that shows that prior to June 8, 1876, an execution for the costs of the partition suit heretofore mentioned was issued out of the District Court of Harris County, Texas, directed to the sheriff of Brown County, which execution we find the evidence shows was issued in suit No. 9242 — J. W. Lawrence v. J. Buck et al., and we find that J. Buck was a defendant in said partition suit and that its number was 9242. We also find that the style and title of the suit in the District Court of Harris County was J. W. Lawrence v. S. S. Thompkins et al. We find that the original execution has been lost or destroyed. We find from the sheriff’s return that the execution came into his hands June 8, 1876, and he executed same by levying upon lands that constituted a part of a number of surveys which in the return he describes as the property of the “defendants,” and the return shows that said levy was made in part on “426-|- acres out of the S. W. side of the C. N. Bassett survey, No. 292, 640 acres of land.” The return also shows that this land, 426§- acres, was sold to L. R.

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Bluebook (online)
35 S.W. 312, 13 Tex. Civ. App. 327, 1896 Tex. App. LEXIS 71, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bassett-v-sherrod-texapp-1896.