McClure v. Bryant

44 S.W. 3, 18 Tex. Civ. App. 141, 1898 Tex. App. LEXIS 39
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 26, 1898
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 44 S.W. 3 (McClure v. Bryant) 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
McClure v. Bryant, 44 S.W. 3, 18 Tex. Civ. App. 141, 1898 Tex. App. LEXIS 39 (Tex. Ct. App. 1898).

Opinion

NEILL, Associate Justice.

This is an action of trespass to try title, brought in the ordinary form, on the 29th day of March, 1895, by Thos. McClure, M.rs. Minnie I. McClure, surviving wife of Alexander I. McClure and mother and next friend of their minor children, Joe Ellen, Robert Allison, and Leonora R. McClure, and R. W. Broyles, and his ivife Georgia V. Broyles, for themselves, and as next friends of the minor children of Wm. G. McClure and his wife Annie E. McClure, who are Glenn and Zula McClure, against the Palestine Water Works and Power Company and other parties including appellees Calvin Bryan, R. Naismith, R. Naismith, Jr., A. G. Friddell, A. L. Friddell, and John H. Friddell, to an undiAÜded five-sevenths of 113 acres of land, a part of the J. Snively quarter league situated in Anderson Coun ty, AAdiich is in their original petition described by metes and bounds. The plaintiffs claim title thereto as the heirs and distributees of A. E. McClure and his wife Ann E. McClure, both deceased.

A severance was granted as to defendants, Avho are appellees herein, in their application.

Their ansAvers contain pleas of not guilty, general denial, innocent purchasers for value, improvements in good faith, the several statutes of limitations of three, five, and ten years of the several tracts of land respectively claimed by them and described in their ansAvers. Each disclaimed as to all the land not described and claimed in his answer.

Appellants, plaintiffs beloAV, by supplemental petition filed January 20, 1896, set up coverture of Georgia Y. Broyles and minority of Glenn and Zula C. McClure, and of Joe Ellen, Robert Allison, and Leonora R. McClure, and also to Thomas McClure in avoidance of defendants* pleas of limitation.

The case was tried by the court, AAÚthout a jury, on January 25, 1897, and judgment Avas rendered in favor of appellees R. Naismith and Robt. Naismith, Jr., for the parcels of land claimed by them respectively in their ansAver, and against all the plaintiffs in favor of defendants Calvin Bryant, John H. Friddell, A. G. Friddell, and A. L. Friddell for the parcels of land respectively claimed by them against all the plaintiffs except Georgia Y. Broyles, for whom the court entered judgment against the last named defendants for an undivided one-fourteenth of the respective tracts of land claimed by them, and for her costs of suit. Judgment Avas also rendered in favor of plaintiffs against defendants for the balance of the land sued for and not claimed by any of these appellees.

The trial judge filed his conclusions of law and fact, to Avhich the *143 plaintiffs excepted, and have appealed from the judgment rendered against them.

Conclusions of Fact.—While we concur in all of the findings of fact made by the trial judge, and deem them fully supported by the evidence, we deem it only necessary to reiterate such of them here as are necessary to a disposition of this case.

Alexander E. McClure, the common source of title under whom all the parties claim, purchased the land in controversy at an administrator’s sale in October, 1857, but the deed from the administrator was not made to him until January 31, 1860. There is a regular chain of title from the sovereignty of the soil down to him.

Upon March 2, 1859, Alexander E. McClure executed to Shelby Crawford his title bond whereby he bound himself in the sum of $2800 to make said Crawford a good and sufficient warranty title to the land sued for upon the payment by Crawford of his two promissory notes of even date with the bond given for the purchase money for the land, which notes were due one and two years from date, and each is for the sum of $700. No lien was reserved by the notes, nor mentioned in the title bond. Crawford entered and held possession of the land under this bond from its date to 1866 or 1867, when he removed therefrom and never occupied it again.

Upon November 22, 1859, John Eansom conveyed to Alexander E. McClure 458 acres of the M. Main league (other than the land in controversy) in Anderson County, and as a part consideration for the conveyance, Alexander E. McClure, upon said date, transferred by indorsement to Eansom the two notes of Shelby Crawford mentioned in the preceding conclusion. The deed of Eansom, however, recited a cash consideration.

John Eansom sued Shelby Crawford as principal, and Alexander E. McClure as indorser, in the District Court of Anderson County, upon said two notes and recovered judgment thereon—the first of which bears-date April 26, 1860, and is for the sum of $708.37, together with costs; the second bears date April 26, 1860, and is for the sum of $957.51 and costs. No foreclosure of any lien, was prayed for or adjudged in either suit in which said judgments, were rendered.

Upon the 29th day of February, 1868, John Eansom, in consideration of a reconveyance to him of that date by Alexander E. McClure of the 458 acres referred to in the preceding conclusion, transferred and assigned in writing to Mary E. McClure in accordance with the direction of her father, Alexander E. McClure, the two judgments above described.

Tn 1837 Alexander E. McClure married Ann E. McClure, and in 1840 they moved to Texas, where they resided the remainder of their lives.

Ann E. McClure died July 14, 1861. Alexander E. McClure died May 9, 1870. They left the following named children surviving them: Bobert McClure, born November 28, 1840; Mary E. McClure, born August 31. 1816; Georgia V. McClure, born October 14, 1849; Wm. G. Me *144 Clure, born May 20, 1852; A. P. McClure, born January 29, 1854; Thos. W. McClure, born November 23, 1856; George E. McClure, born February 6, 1859.

A. P. McClure died January 27, 1890, leaving his wife, Minnie I. McClure, and the following named children surviving him: Joe Ellen McClure, Robert Allison McClure, and Leonora R. McClure.

Wm. G. McClure died May 27, 1891, leaving as his only heirs his children Glenn and Zula McClure.

Georgia Y. McClure married Robert W. Broyles on December 19, 1872.

Alexander E. McClure, upon his death on May 9, 1870, left a will devising his entire estate to his surviving children share and share alike, and naming Robert McClure as independent executor. This will was duly probated. In the inventory returned by the executor, the land involved in this suit was not included. Neither was it included in the partition of the estate. In this partition Mrs. Mary E. Hamlett, formerly Mary E. McClure, received an equal one-seventh with each other heir.

After the death of Alexander E. McClure, and prior to the partition of his estate, upon the 30th day of March, 1871, at the instance of the ¡executor of the will, Shelby Crawford executed and delivered to Miss' Mary E. McClure a conveyance to and of the tract of land in controversy. This conveyance contains the following recitals as to its consideration: ■“And whereas, as the above transfer is made for the reason that the . same was on the-day of-, 1859, sold by said A. E. McClure to me; and whereas, I having failed to make the payment of the purchase money due for said land; and whereas, judgment was rendered upon said notes: Now therefore, I transfer the said land in payment and satisfaction of said original purchase money.” This conveyance was made to Mary E.

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Bluebook (online)
44 S.W. 3, 18 Tex. Civ. App. 141, 1898 Tex. App. LEXIS 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclure-v-bryant-texapp-1898.