Carpenter v. Rannels

ERROR to the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri.

Carpenter brought ejectment against Rannels in one of the Circuit Courts of Missouri to recover possession of two hundred arpents or acres of land in the county of St. Louis, located under a New Madrid certificate of relocation, No. 511, which was issued under an act of Congress of February 17th, 1815, and acts supplementary thereto, in lieu of lands in New Madrid County, which had been injured by earthquakes, and upon which certificate a patent issued, dated March 30th, 1833, to 'John Butler or his legal representatives.'

The plaintiff claimed, under the confirmation and patent, directly through the heirs of this John Butler.

The defendant claimed also through the confirmation and patent to Butler, but asserted that the same had in law passed the equitable title to one James Bankston, hereinafter mentioned, and whom he asserted to be the 'legal representative' of the said Butler, and he gave evidence tending to show derivative title under Bankston.

The cause was submitted to the court without the intervention of a jury. The court found and gave judgment for the defendant, and that judgment being affirmed in the Supreme Court of the State, the plaintiff brought the case here for review.

Mr. B. A. Hill, for the plaintiff in error; Messrs. Glover and Shepley, contra.

Mr. Justice SWAYNE stated the case, and delivered the opinion of the court.