Whinnery v. Missouri Lumber & Mining Co.

132 S.W. 661, 231 Mo. 262, 1910 Mo. LEXIS 249
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 30, 1910
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 132 S.W. 661 (Whinnery v. Missouri Lumber & Mining Co.) 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
Whinnery v. Missouri Lumber & Mining Co., 132 S.W. 661, 231 Mo. 262, 1910 Mo. LEXIS 249 (Mo. 1910).

Opinion

GRAVES, J.

Plaintiffs, by petition in ordinary form, under section 650, Revised Statutes 1899, sought to have declared the title to 240 acres of land in Shannon county. Answer was a general denial with which was coupled a claim of title by defendants. By its judgment the court decreed title in the plaintiffs for eighty acres of said land and decreed title in defendant as to 160 acres thereof. With this decree all the plaintiffs were satisfied except John Whinnery. In the briefs it is admitted that the other three plaintiffs at no time claimed title in the 160 acres of land involved in this appeal. The case here, therefore, is simply a contest between John Whinnery and the defendant, and reaches this court upon the appeal of plaintiffs, taken in the usual time and form.

John Whinnery, to sustain the issues upon his part, introduced record evidence as follows: (1) Plat book of entries of Shannon county, showing that the land in question was patented by the United States to John Berding; (2) warranty deed from John Berding to Christopher Pierson and Stephen Whiney; (3) quit-claim deed from C. Y. Pierson and wife, Delila, ■to Stephen Whinney; (4) quit-claim deed from Stephen Whinny and Mary J., his wife, to John Whinny.

The defendant claims title by virtue of a tax deed given under a tax sale in a tax proceeding against John Whinney and others. In this, service was had by publication and several objections are urged as against the validity of this tax proceeding. These questions we state more fully and discuss in the opinion.

[266]*266In addition to the record evidence above indicated, one witness, Robert Whinnery, testified for the plaintiffs. His testimony is short and we reproduce it, inasmuch as upon it turns the case. This testimony was interspersed with objections, some of which were ruled upon and some not, and also interspersed with the introduction- of the written documents first above described. For brevity we cut out all but the testimony proper. It thus reads:

“Q. Who was your father? A. My father was Stephen Whinnery.
“Q. Where did he reside? A. Upper San-dusky, Wyandotte county, Ohio.
“Q. Do you know of his purchasing the land in question in this county? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Do you know whether he is living or dead? A. He is dead.
“Q. When did he die? A. In 1877.
“Q. This deed described his name as Whiney? Is that correct, or should'it be Whinnery? A. It should be Whinnery.
“Q. Were you acquainted with C. Y. Pearson? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. How long did you know him? A. All my life until the time of his death.
Q. Do you know where he lived? A. At upper Sandusky, Wyandotte county, Ohio.
“Q. Do you know whether Christopher Pearson and C. Y. Pearson were one and the same person? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Do you know your father and C. Y. Pearson were the ones that purchased this land? A. ’Yes, ■sir.”

. On cross-examination he testified:

“Q. Do you know anything about this deed this record stands for, the deed piirporting to be from John Berding to Christopher Pearson and Stephen Whinnery? A. Yes, sir, I saw the deed.
[267]*267“Q. Where is the deed? A. It is now among my mother’s old papers in Grand Rapids, Michigan..
"Q. Who has this deed in custody? A. My brother there.
“Q. You have this deed? A. I am pretty certain we have this deed.”
On re-direct examination:
"Q. Did you make an effort to find this deed before you came down here? A. Yes, sir.
"Q. Did you find it? A. No.
“Q. Did you or your brother search for it? A.. Yes, sir.
“Q. You couldn’t find it? A. No, sir.
“Q. You couldn’t find the patent? A. No, the way the papers got mixed up, after father’s death, us children, four of us, were all engaged in railroading and were away from home and mother was old and feeble and the administrator gets a guardian appointed for her.
“Q. You have seen the deed? A. Yes, sir, I have seen the deed and the patent. ’ ’

On re-cross examination:

"Q. You-just stated a moment ago the papers were in your brother’s possession? A. They are.
“Q. What search did you make before coming down here? A. We searched all the time we had to-search.
“Q. (By the Court): That is indefinite. What search did you make? A. I searched through all the papers at that time I could find of the heirs.
"Q. Did you make a search through all those papers? A. I searched through all my brother had there.-
"Q. Did you make search through your brother's papers in Ohio ? A. I went there and my brother was not home, and his wife did not know anything about it.
"Q. Did you piake any search? A. No. . ■
[268]*268‘ ‘ Q. Did you make any search through your brother’s papers in Logansport, Indiana? A. No, sir..
‘ ‘ Q. All the papers your mother had of your father’s estate are among the heirs? A. Yes, sir, all that I know of. ”

On re-direct examination:

“Q. Did you bring all the papers you could find? A. All I could find. ’ ’

On further direct examination:

“Q. I will ask you again now if you were acquainted with O. Y. Pearson? A. Ye¡p, sir.
“Q. I will ask you if Christopher Pearson and O. Y. Pearson are one and the same person? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Christopher is the one named in this deed? . A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Did you see this deed from O. Y. Pearson to your father? A. Yes, sir.
“Defendant objects to the introduction of any further evidence in regard to the deed from O. Y. Pearson to Stephen Whinny until it was either shown that the deed was lost or destroyed. ' (No ruling of the court at the time.)
“Q. You say your father died. Who did he leave as heirs? A. John Whinnery, Hiram Whinnery, Joseph Whinnery and Robert Whinnery.
“Q. They are the plaintiffs in this case are they? A. Yes, sir.”
“Q. Are these heirs of your father all alive? A. Yes, sir, the last I heard of them a few days a,go.
“Q. And all parties to this suit? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Did you not say that you had the original deed from Berding and could find and produce it if you had the opportunity? A. Yes, sir, I made that statement down there to you.
“Q. I will ask you- also if you did not state you could have brought it along if the attorney had called [269]*269for it? A.

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Bluebook (online)
132 S.W. 661, 231 Mo. 262, 1910 Mo. LEXIS 249, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whinnery-v-missouri-lumber-mining-co-mo-1910.