Inhabitants of First Parish in Shapleigh v. Gilman
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Trespass quare clausum fregit. The defendant pleaded, that the locus in quo was, at the time of the supposed trespass, the soil and freehold of the First Congregational Society in the first parish in said Shapleigh; upon which issue was joined. - Trial at the last October term, before Wilde, J. It appeared, that the original proprietors of the 'town of Shapleigh, at a legal meeting on the 9th of January, 1775, divided a portion of the township into lots of 300 acres, and…
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Trespass quare clausum fregit. The defendant pleaded, that the locus in quo was, at the time of the supposed trespass, the soil and freehold of the First Congregational Society in the first parish in said Shapleigh; upon which issue was joined. - Trial at the last October term, before Wilde, J. It appeared, that the original proprietors of the 'town of Shapleigh, at a legal meeting on the 9th of January, 1775, divided a portion of the township into lots of 300 acres, and assigned them to the individual proprietors ; and at the same time voted, that one lot, including the locus in quo, “be…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court.
The declared object of the grant of this land by the proprietors of the township was for the support of a minister. They at that time preferred a minister of the congregational order or persuasion ; but there is nothing in the grant that limits the benefit of it to that particular sect. If the inhabitants of that part of the town, constituting the first parish, should hereafter become anabaptists, or Christians of any other sect within the description of protestants, they would still have a right to this land. The incorporation of Lord and others into a religious society…
2Cited by4 opinions
- Beatty and Ritchie v. Kurtz and OthersSupreme Court of the United States · 1829
- Brown v. PorterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
- Inhabitants of Harrison v. Inhabitants of BridgetonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1819
- Inhabitants of Porter v. GriswoldSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1830