Rothenbarger v. Rothenbarger

19 S.W. 932, 111 Mo. 1, 1892 Mo. LEXIS 121
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJune 20, 1892
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 19 S.W. 932 (Rothenbarger v. Rothenbarger) 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
Rothenbarger v. Rothenbarger, 19 S.W. 932, 111 Mo. 1, 1892 Mo. LEXIS 121 (Mo. 1892).

Opinion

Brace, J.

This is .an action to set aside a quitclaim deed executed by plaintiffs, Sarah Ellen and Susan M. Eothenbarger, dated January 3, 1885, whereby, for the consideration of $1, they conveyed all the interest acquired by them by two deeds made to them by their father, Solomon Eothenbarger, and his wife, in the southeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 36, township 28, range 33, in Jasper county, to the heirs of said Solomon, deceased, to take in accordance with the provisions of the will of said Solomon dated March 15, 1881, on the ground of fraud and undue inflence. Prom the decree of the ■circuit court setting aside said quitclaim deed the ■defendants appeal.

It appears from the evidence that in October, 1883, Solomon Eothenbarger of advanced age and in feeble health was living on his farm in Jasper county, of [4]*4■which, the premises in question formed a part; that his family consisted of his wife, Jane, his oldest son, Jacob, a younger son, John, and his two single daughters, the plaintiffs, Sarah Ellen and Susan M.; that he had been an invalid for some years, and his business was being managed by his oldest son, Jacob, who was a strong-willed and imperious man, to whom the younger children were in the habit of yielding obedience; that Sarah Ellen and Susan M., the youngest of the children, were raised on the farm, had no business education or experience other than such as falls to the lot of girls whose whole time is engaged in household duties and in attendance upon their sick father. That previous to the sixth of October, 1883, he had conveyed eighty acres of his farm to his son Jacob; that on that day he duly executed and acknowledged -before a notary public by the name of Webb four deeds, one to his wife for eighty acres, one to his son John for ninety acres, one to his daughter Sarah Ellen for eighty acres, and one to his daughter Susan M. for eighty acres.

Sarah Ellen testifies: The first I knew anything about the deeds father had B. T. Webb in the house making the deeds; he said, ‘Ellen, which piece of land do you want!’ I said, ‘I want the piece Turkey creek ran through. ’ He said, ‘ No, I will not give that to you, I will give that to Susan.’ ” After the deeds were signed and acknowledged (she continues) “father said, ‘Ellen, here is your deed, and here is Susan’s, and here is your mother’s deed, and there is John’s; place them in that trunk till after my death; after my death they are to be recorded, and they are to be yours, and there is to be a division of the land.’ ”

Susan M. testifies: “I saw father hand sister Ellen the deeds, and he said, ‘Take these deeds; here is Susan’s and your mother’s and John’s deed, place [5]*5them in that trunk until after my death, and then you girls will have that land; it will be divided then.’ ”

Mrs. P. J. Ware, one of the defendants, and a sister of the plaintiffs, testified that she had a conversation with her father about the deeds a short time after they were executed, in which he said: U1 made Sue and Ellen and John and mother a deed. I have given their deeds to Ellen until my death.” He said: “I gave the east part of the farm to Susan, the next was Ellen’s, the home place where the house was, he said was Ma’s, and next adjoining Jake’s was John’s;” he said “I deeded Jake his land several years ago.”

These are the only witnesses who undertake to give the language of the grantor in respect of the disposition he desired made of the deeds which he had signed and acknowledged, and their evidence is set out so far as they undertook to give his tvords on that subject.

John Rothenbarger, one of the defendants, who it seems was not present when the deeds were signed and delivered, testifies that he received his deed from his mother, he thinks, the same day it was executed at his father’s bedside, who told him to take it and keep it, but not to put it on record until after his death, and that he had made the other deeds.

Jacob Rothenbarger for the defendants testified as follows on this branch of the case:

“Q. What was done about signing and acknowledging? A. I was not in the house and know nothing about it.
“Q. Were you there when they were put away after they were signed and acknowledged? A. I was.
“Q. What was done with them? A. I can’t say what was done with John’s; it was left on the table. The girls’ deeds were put in the old man’s trunk. The old lady’s deed was put in my trunk by myself.
[6]*6“Q Who took the two deeds to the girls, and put them in your father’s trunk? A. I did.
“Q. Why did you? A. The old man told meto.
“Q. What did he say about what was tobe done with them? A. They were to be left there until after his death; that is all he said at that time.
“Q. Who did he tell to put them in the trunk? A. He told me.”

The deeds of the girls remained in the trunk in their father’s room from the time of their execution until after the death of their father; unless perhaps taken out temporarily by some member of the family, all of whom had access to the trunk which was either unlocked, or, if locked, the key was put in the clock on the mantel. It does not appear that Solomon Rothenbarger ever rose from his bed after the execution of these deeds; but thereafter he had to be ‘‘bathed, rubbed, waited on and lifted” in bed by his attendants; this daughter, Sarah Ellen, was his nurse, gave him all his medicine and was in immediate charge of him and his surroundings, while the other members of the family attended to the duties of the farm and household and rendered such assistance from time to time as the exigencies of his situation demanded, until his death which occurred in the summer or fall of 1884.

It seems the widow and John came into possession of their deeds, and their right to hold their land under them remains unquestioned. Not so, however, with the deeds to the girls. Some time after the death of their father, Jacob Rothenbarger, who qualified as executor, and his brother-in-law, Harvey Chitwood, who went on his bond as such, took Solomon Rothenbarger’s will to the county seat for probate and to procure letters of administration on the estate. Upon their return, they demanded the deeds from the girls, and, thereupon, commenced a system of intimidation and [7]*7misrepresentation that finally resulted in the execution of the quitclaim deed in question by the girls.

The following extracts from their evidence, which is sustained by the other evidence in the case, illustrates sufficiently the means by which those deeds were procured.

Sarah Ellen testified: “After Jacob and Chitwood had returned from Carthage, where they had probated the will, Chitwood commenced on us in the sitting-room. Mother and I got up and went into the kitchen, and he followed us out there and said, ‘If you don’t give up those deeds we will sue you, and for $100 we can get them. We will sue you until you don’t have a wrap to your person.’ Jake said the deeds were no good, and that Webb made them just to please father, and that the doctor said that father, was not fit to do business. He said that, if we did not give them1 up, he could not get any bondsmen on his bond.

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Bluebook (online)
19 S.W. 932, 111 Mo. 1, 1892 Mo. LEXIS 121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rothenbarger-v-rothenbarger-mo-1892.