Commonwealth v. Wilson
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Common Pleas of Juniata county. This was an action of debt by The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the use of William and Samuel Cross, against William W. Wilson, late sheriff of Juniata county, upon his official bond.
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Error to the Common Pleas of Juniata county. This was an action of debt by The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the use of William and Samuel Cross, against William W. Wilson, late sheriff of Juniata county, upon his official bond. On the 30th March 1839, Samuel and William Cross executed a mortgage to Solomon Stahlman, on a tract of land in Lack township, to secure the payment of five bonds; one for $350, on the 1st April 1840; one for $300, on the 1st April 1841; one for $350, on the 1st April 1842; one for $500, on the 1st April 1843; and one for $500, on the 1st April 1844. This mortgage…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Read, J.
In Pennsylvania, a mortgage is considered merely as a security for the debt, and confers upon the mortgagee nothing more than a lien on the land. A judgment is also a lien on land. Both are, indeed, only encumbrances. This was clearly the view taken by the courts, when they decided, that a sale under a junior judgment sold the whole estate in the land, and discharged all prior liens, whether by mortgage or judgment. When, therefore, the legislature passed the Act of/the 6th April 1880, preserving in such cases the lien of prior mortgages, they…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Corporation for the Relief of Poor Distressed Presbyterian v. WallaceSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1831
- Berger v. HiesterSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1841
- Pierce v. PotterSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1838
- Whitehead v. Purnell, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County1840