M'Crackin's heirs v. Steele

4 Ky. 46, 1 Bibb 46, 1808 Ky. LEXIS 155
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedNovember 23, 1808
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Ky. 46 (M'Crackin's heirs v. Steele) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
M'Crackin's heirs v. Steele, 4 Ky. 46, 1 Bibb 46, 1808 Ky. LEXIS 155 (Ky. Ct. App. 1808).

Opinion

[46]*46OPINION of the court, by

Judge Bibb.

M’Crac-kin’s heirs have appealed from a decree of the Woodford circuit court, made to the prejudice of their elder title at law, by supporting the following entry :

“ November 21st, 1786 — John Craig, assignee, enters 1000 acres of land on part of a treasury warrant, No. 19,410, between and adjoining George Moffett, Cyrus M’Crackin, Briscoe, assignee of Stewart, John Craig and Samuel Estill, on Glenn’s Creek.”'

George Moffett’s 1000 acres were surveyed on the 1st July 1773, by virtue of a military warrant, &c. and a grant therefor issue.d on the 11 th July 1780,

Cyrus M’Crackin’s settlement and pre-emption, were surveyed on the 25th of January 1783, on which grants issued on the 10th January in the year 1785..

John Briscoe’s 1000 acres, as assignee of Charles Stewart, were surveyed on the 1st of September 1783, the survey was registered on the 18th of October 1784, but the grant did not issue until the 26th of October 1790.

Samuel Estill’s 400 acres, were surveyed on the 9th of December 1782, for which a grant issued bearing date on the 8th-of February 1785.

The notoriety of these surveys at the date of the entry in question is well established.

400 acres preemption, to include a cabin, to be furveyed in square to the cardinal points, cabin in the middle: 200 acres joining thereto on S. W. and running S, W, for quantity, hovr to be surveyed, as in Crow’s heirs vs, Har„ rod's heir, Har. 435- How an entry <( lying between and adjoining Mof-fett, M’Crack-in, Briscoe, Craig, and Es-till, on Glenn’s creek — ” to be furveyed. Craig had'two claims — one on a fpecial Valid entry, but not surveyed — the other surveyed-only about two months before the entry in queftion,not notorious and the entry obscure, the valid entry of Craig was taken, as well on account of the want of notoriety of the survey, the obscurity of the entry and posi“ tion of the ci-ther claim.

[47]*47On the 26th April 1780, John Craig, as the assignee of a militar}7 warrant, &c. entered 200 aeres, “ — -joining Samuel Estill’s pre-emption on Glenn’s creek, on the southwest, and running the same course for quantity.”

Estill’s pre-emption is the claim surveyed and granted as before mentioned. Craig’s entry must be attached to Estill’s certificate of pre-emption of 400 acres, “ on Glenn’s creek, to include John Clarke’s cabin and improvement at a large spring.” John Clarke’s cabin and spring are identified, and the notoriety thereof since the year 1776, is well established. But it does not appear that any survey of this entry of Craig’s 200 acres, had been executed previous to the entry in question.

Glenn’s creek, on which, and its branches, all these entries and surveys lie, was notorious by that name as early as 1776, and ever since.

The relative positions of these claims form an area not entirely circumscribed by their lines, but yet concentrated very closely upon the quantity of land called for in the location. Such indeed are the situations of Mof-fett, M’Crackin, Briscoe, assignee of Stewart, and Estill, with respect to each other, as surveyed, that if the actual demarcations of boundary, rather that the ideal boundaries of the entries of the three latter, are to be understood as alluded to by the location, no subsequent locator, who candidly examined this entry for information, and not for mere cavil, could have hesitated to content himself with saying these are the claims called for, without searching for others lying without the limited neighborhood within which these had brought him. Although by discarding the calls for Briscoe, assignee of Stewart, and for Estill, the entry might be thrown entirely off the ground now occupied by the survey, and yet adjoin Moffett, M’Crackin, a claim represented on the plat as John Craig’s 387 1-2 acres, and indeed a claim represented as Briscoe’s, assignee of Rowe ; yet so to disregard those calls, when they can be complied with by reference to notorious corresponding subjects, would indeed be an arbitrary and unpardonable violence upon the entry.

One objection made to the entry is, that it has not designated which are to be adjoined, the entries or the surveys. As to those claims which were actually carried into grant, no doubt exists but that the claims as [48]*48granted are to be adjoined» Where an entry does hot in such ease expressly call to adjoin the entries, but uses the general expressions, as in the present, to adjoin certain persons by name, it must be considered as tantamount to a call for the land of such persons. The land granted, and not the land entered, where there is a variance, is in legal and common parlance, understood by the phrase A’s land. For the entry is merged in the grant, except where priority of adverse conflicting claims may become a question and render a resort to the entries necessary to determine that question. In like manner a survey which has been made and recorded so long as that all who will, may demand a copy, and moreover has become generally known, (as was the case of the survey of Briscoe, assignee of Stewart, when called for in the present case,) ought to be considered as alluded to by such general expressions. Actual boundaries and visible objects attract the attention and claim consideration in preference to ideal — the demonstrated, is taken in preference to the demonstrative. Surveys therefore should be presumed to be intended, rather than entries, where they stand in pari sensu et ceteris paribus. But much more shall the presumption be indulged, when the survey is notorious at the time the expression is used, and the entry is uncertain or obscure. For these considerations we think the proper understanding of the entry is, that the surveys of Moffett, M’Crackin, Briscoe, assignee of Stewart, and Estill, respectively, are to be adjoined. If the record had exhibited proof of the equal notoriety of the several claims in the name of John Craig, which are represented on the plat, yet the entry applied to the facts then existing, furnishes enough to determine which of those claims was intended. The order in which the claims are called for, induces an expectation, prima facie, that Craig was to lie in the way, or serve as a beacon in going from Briscoe to Estill. When such an intermediate claim, in the name of said Craig, located upon the southwest of this same Estill, was known to exist, or found upon reasonable enquiry, and serving as a leading string from ene intermediate call to another, and around towards the beginning, the locator who could have rejected this, and sought some other, out of this group of claims, thereby to distort the entry, would have acted with most uncandid and ill-judg-

Where objects, notorious and corresponding with the expressions in an entry, are exhibited $ the entry not deftroy-cd, by objects with corresponding names, but obscure and not as well adapted. Same principle Moiby & Craig vs. Car land, f>oft Whi. taker vs. Hall, fofi Where the survey directed by court of appeals is variant from that di rected by court below, but includes all the land in controversy, the decree affirmed,

[0]*0t,

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Bluebook (online)
4 Ky. 46, 1 Bibb 46, 1808 Ky. LEXIS 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcrackins-heirs-v-steele-kyctapp-1808.