Dooley v. Greening

100 S.W. 43, 201 Mo. 343, 1907 Mo. LEXIS 331
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedFebruary 22, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 100 S.W. 43 (Dooley v. Greening) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dooley v. Greening, 100 S.W. 43, 201 Mo. 343, 1907 Mo. LEXIS 331 (Mo. 1907).

Opinion

WOODSON, J.

This is an action of ejectment for the possession of an undivided one-fourth interest in a tract of land situated in Monroe county, the description of which will hereinafter be stated.

The petition was in the usual form, and the answer was a general denial.

A jury was waived, and the cause was submitted to the court upon an agreed statement of facts.

The court found for the respondent, and appellant, in due time, filed motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment, which were, by the court, overruled, and he has duly prosecuted his appeal to this court.

James Dryden was the common source of title, and in September, 1833, he departed this' life, intestate, leaving his widow, Milly Dryden, and his minor children, Margaret J. and William J. Dryden, his sole heirs at law. In 1836 Milly Dryden, his widow, married Mason Wilkerson. In 1844 Margaret J. Dryden married Joseph O. Greening.

Everett Dooley, the respondent, was the only surviving heir of Mattie H. Dooley, a deceased daughter of Joseph O. Greening; and William H., Thomas J., Arthur M. and Clarence Clapper, and Amelia Anderson were the sole heirs of Amanda Clapper, a deceased daughter of Joseph C. Greening; and William T. and Thomas A. Greening were his only children.

In July, 1838, the land in controversy was partitioned among his widow and heirs. To Margaret J. Dryden was allotted the south one-half of the east half of the southeast quarter of section twenty, and also the south half of the west half of the southwest quarter of section twenty-one; and William J. Dryden received [350]*350the north half of the same tracts, being eighty acres allotted to each.

In 1845 William J. Dryden died intestate, unmarried, and leaving as his only heirs at law his mother, Milly Wilkerson, and his sister, Margaret J. Dryden.

January, 1846, Milly Wilkerson and her husband conveyed their interest in the north half of the east half of the southeast quarter of section twenty and the north half of the west half of the southwest quarter of section twenty-one to Joseph O. Greening.

In February, 1898, Joseph O'. Greening was duly adjudged to be a person of unsound mind, and his son, William T. Greening, was appointed the guardian of his person and curator of his estate.

On February 18,1899, said curator filed his petition, in the proper court, praying for an order authorizing him to sell the land of his ward for his support and maintenance. Afterwards, the order of sale was duly made by the court, and the sale of the", land was made by the curator, and on March 27, 1899’, the report of sale was by the court approved, and on May 8, 1899, said curator made, executed and delivered a deed purporting to convey said real estate to Thomas A. Greening, a son of the ward, for the consideration of $2,800, which sale was duly approved. The deed was an ordinary curator’s deed, duly executed.

On March 27,1899, Margaret J. Greening, the wife of Joseph O. Greening, the ward, made, executed and delivered to said Thomas A. Greening her certain quitclaim deed, by which she remised, released and forever quitclaimed unto him the land' described in the following language, to-wit:

“All of my right, title and interest whether dower or other interest as the wife of J oseph O. Greening of, in and to the east half of the southeast quarter of section twenty, and in the west half of the southwest quarter of section twenty-one, all in township fifty-five, [351]*351range eight west, and containing 160' acres more or less, hereby conveying and intending to, convey all interest I may have in said land whether of dower or otherwise.”

The consideration expressed in the deed was five dollars, bnt no part of it was ever paid to her. The deed was made on an ordinary printed blank, and the blanks, as well as the portion above quoted, were written in by the scrivener who prepared the deed.

In June, 1899, said Joseph C. Greening departed this life, leaving his widow, Margaret J. Greening, and the children and grandchildren heretofore named as his only heirs at law.

The said Joseph C. Greening left a last will and testament, which was duly probated. All his property was willed to his widow for life, except a few minor bequests which were made to his grandchildren, and the remainder of his estate was willed to his two sons, William T. and Thomas A. Greening. The latter was appointed administrator of his estate. Joseph G. Greening had no personal estate except the proceeds of the sale of his land.

Upon proper orders the curator paid Margaret J. Greening the sum of $267.50 out of his ward’s estate for her support and maintenance, and after the death of’Joseph G. Greening the administrator of his estate, under proper order, paid her an additional sum of $201.75.

She departed this life on February 101, 1901, leaving as her sole heirs at law the said children and grandchildren heretofore mentioned as the heirs at law of said Joseph C. Greening. The said Margaret J. Greening nor the administrator of her estate never received any assets of any character from her deceased husband’s estate, except the $201.75 above mentioned.

At the date of the institution of this suit Thomas A. Greening was in the actual and exclusive possession [352]*352of the land sued for; and Everett Dooley was a minor, ■under twenty-one years of age, and John H. Dooley was his duly appointed and acting guardian and curator.

It was agreed that the value of the monthly rents and profits of the one hundred and sixty acres of land was $15.

I. It will be seen from reading this record that Margaret J. Greening owned, in her own right, an estate in the land sued for, as well as her marital interest in that part of it which belonged to her husband, Joseph O. Greening. There seems to be no controversy as to the effect of the curator’s deed, it being conceded by respondent that it conveyed the entire interest of Joseph O. Greening in the premises to the appellant. But the question presented for the consideration of the court is, did the quitclaim deed of Margaret J. Greening, dated March 27, 1899, convey the estate she owned in her own' right as well as her marital interests in her husband’s land.

The language of the deed is, I hereby convey “all of my right, title and interest whether dower or other interest as the wife of Joseph O. Greening . . . more or less, hereby conveying and intending to convey all interest I may have in said land whether of dower or otheiwise.”

The first clause of the paragraph above quoted states that she conveyed all her dower or other interest as the wife of Joseph O. Greening, while the latter states that she conveyed and intended to convey all her interest in said land whether of dower or otherwise.

At first blush there seems to be some ambiguity as to the real intention of the grantor, but when both clauses are read together, and in the light of the facts and circumstances surrounding the parties at the time of its execution, that uncertainty disappears.

[353]*353The facts surrounding the parties at the time the deed was made were, substantially, as follows:

Joseph C. Greening was of unsound mind and confined in an insane asylum, with no means of support outside of his interest in the land in controversy. That unfortunate condition of Joseph C.

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Bluebook (online)
100 S.W. 43, 201 Mo. 343, 1907 Mo. LEXIS 331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dooley-v-greening-mo-1907.