Henrietta Hoffeld v. United States

This was a petition of J. Henrietta Hoffeld, executrix of the estate of Rudolph Hoffeld, deceased, for the repayment to her 1t27 the United States, under the act of June 16, 1880 (21 Stat. at L. 287, chap. 244), of the purchase money for 160 acres of coal lands, the entry of which had been canceled by the Commissioner of the General Land Office on January 27, 1895, over eight years after the purchase was made, and more than seven years after Hoffeld had bought the land.

The purchase from the United States was originally made by other parties for a consideration of $3,200. These parties had conveyed the lands to the Ohio Creek Anthracite Coal Company, against which company a judgment had been obtained, and a sale made November 10, 1887, to Rudolph Hoffeld, purchaser under the execution. Petitioner was his executrix. Several years after the sale the Commissioner of the General Land Office found that an error had been committed, in the allowance of the original entry upon the affidavit of an attorney, in the absence of the original entrymen. He thereupon exacted an affidavit of these entrymen, but as two out of the four were dead, and the other two could not be found, it was impossible to comply with the requirement of the Commissioner, who canceled the purchase, as above stated.

The court of claims made a finding of facts substantially as above stated, and decided, as a conclusion of law upon such facts, that the claimant had no right to recover, and the petition was therefore dismissed.

Mr. Robert Andrews for appellant.

Mr. George Hines Gorman and Assistant Attorney General Pradt for appellee.

Mr. Justice Brown delivered the opinion of the court: