Lewen v. Smith
Supreme Court of Alabama
Error to the Circuit court of Tuskaloosa. Trespass to try title, tried before Judge Chapman. The plaintiff brought his action of trespass to try titles to a portion of fractional section twenty-six, township twenty-one, range eleven, west, lying north and west of the Warrior river. The plaintiff proved, that he had for many years been in possession of that part of said fraction, lying north and west of said river, claiming title to the same.
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Error to the Circuit court of Tuskaloosa. Trespass to try title, tried before Judge Chapman. The plaintiff brought his action of trespass to try titles to a portion of fractional section twenty-six, township twenty-one, range eleven, west, lying north and west of the Warrior river. The plaintiff proved, that he had for many years been in possession of that part of said fraction, lying north and west of said river, claiming title to the same. It appeared, also, that defendant was, and had been for a long time, in possession of section twenty-seven, lying immediately west of said fraction. The…
1Opinion of the CourtOrmond, J.
— The question to be settled, in this case, depends on the true construction of the acts of Congress on this subject. The land system of the United States, seems to have been designed to provide, in advance, with mathematical precision, the ascertainment of boundaries, so as to dry up that fertile source of litigation, as far as practicable.
The act of Congress which contains the first conception of the system, and which is the ground-work of all succeeding acts on that subject, passed in seventeen hundred and ninety-six, prescribes the mode of surveying the public domain — (1 vol. Story’s…
2Cited by2 opinions
- Nolen v. PalmerSupreme Court of Alabama · 1854
- Stewart v. KervinSupreme Court of Alabama · 1938