Volume 15 — Grattan's Virginia Reports

This was a motion in the Circuit court of the city of Kichmond, by the auditor of public accounts, on behalf of the commonwealth, against John M. Drewry, late sheriff of Norfolk county, and Elizabeth Drewry an(l foui' others as his official sureties, to recover the property, capitation, free negro and September li-cense taxes of 1856, due from Drewry as sheriff, and ^eres^ an(l damages thereon according to law.

On the 24th day of September 1855 a summons was issued in the Circuit court of the city of Richmond, in the name of John Enders and William Palmer, executors of John Enders deceased, against Thomas CL Burch and Thomas T. Johnson, in an action of debt on two notes in writing; which summons was returnable to October rules, and was returned duly executed. At October rules the declaration was filed and a conditional judgment entered against the defendants.

On the 26th of October 1854, William Ham was appointed by the County court of Elizabeth City guardian of Jacob Ham, an infant then under the age of fourteen years; and he qualified and gave security as such guardian. On the 16th of January 1857 Jacob Ham attained the age of fourteen yeai's; and in October of that year he by his next friend moved the court to be allowed to nominate his grand father James Philips as his guardian to be appointed by the court.

Lewis laege being the owner of a lot of ground ia the city of Richmond, on which he desired to erect a small dwelling-house, at a cost of some six hundred or six hundred and fifty dollars, and holding also five shares in the Richmond building fund company, he applied to that company for the loan of a sum of money for the purpose of erecting such a dwelling.

This was an action on the case in the Circuit court of the city of Richmond, instituted by John C. Hob-son & Son against the Washington and New Orleans Telegraph Company.

Thomas Crouch, claiming to be the creditor of George Ives deceased, for money paid as a joint surety with him, in March 1854 filed his bill in the Circuit court of the city of Richmond, against the administrator and heirs of Ives, and a former guardiau of the heirs, seeking to subject a lot in the city which was a part of Ives’ estate, and also to have any money in the hands of the former guardian applied to the payment of the debt.

This was an action of assumpsit in the Circuit court of the city of Lynchburg, brought by William T. Booker against William B. Averett’s administrator. The plaintiff declared upon the following paper, which he averred was made for value received.

This was a motion by the commonwealth, in the Circuit court of the city of Eichmond, against James Monteith, sheriff of Stafford county, and twelve others as his sureties, for the recovery of a balance of the land, property and free negro taxes of 1857, due from Monteith. The facts are stated by Judge Allen in his opinion.

This was an action of ejectment in the Circuit court of Wood county, brought in June 1841, by the lessee of the heirs of Thomas Usher, jr. and Abraham Usher against Jesse Pride, Blirr Triplett and three others, to recover a tract of land of twenty-four hundred acres, separate parcels of which were held by each of the defendants. The cause came on to be tried in November 1856, as against Jesse Pride.

This was an action of ejectment in the Circuit court of Ritchie county, brought in March 1852, by Thomas Stinchcomb against Enoch Marsh, to recover one hundred acres of land.

This was an action of ejectment in the Circuit court of Nicholas county, brought in August 1855, by Hazael Williams and Thomas McCleary against Charles C. Miller, to recover a tract of three thousand acres of land. On the trial there \vas a verdict and judgment for the plaintiffs; and the defendant excepted to opinions of the court overruling a motion for a new trial, and also for refusing and giving certain instructions.

This was an action on the case in the Circuit court of Augusta county, brought by Jacob Sanger against the Virginia Central Rail Road Company, to recover damages for an injury which he sustained whilst being carried as a passenger on the defendant’s road. On the trial the defendant asked for six instructions to the jury ; the first four of which were given, the fifth was refused, and the sixth was given with a slight addition.

This was an action on the case in the Circuit court of Greenbrier county, brought by Margaret P. Callison against Henry Hedrick, to recover damages for an entry upon and ploughing up and scraping her lands. Upon the trial, which took place at the October term 1858, the plaintiff proved the entry upon her land by the defendant, and that he ploughed up the same for the distance of about a mile, with the purpose of making through said lands the Lewisburg and Oakland turnpike.

In July 1859 John Shue, a man of color, applied to the Honorable Lucas P. Thompson, judge of the Circuit court of Augusta county, for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that he was a freeman, and had been levied on as the property of Abraham Hanna, by virtue of an execution which issued from the clerk’s office of the County court of Augusta, upon a judgment recovered by Jacob Harnsbarger against Washington Swink, Abraham Hanna and others.

This was a proceeding of unlawful detainer in the County court of Greenbrier, by Andrew A. Miller against Asa Alderson. On the trial there was a verdict and judgment for the defendant Alderson; and Miller having taken two bills of exception pending the trial, obtained a supersedeas to the judgment from a judge of the Circuit court.

Ia a suit in equity depending in the Circuit court of Kanawha county, in which Isaac Read, guardian, &c. was plaintiff, and E. V. Cox and others were defendants, the object of which was to have a sale of the land of certain infants, a decree was made on the 11th of January 1855, by which W. E. G-illison and William R. Cox were appointed commissioners to sell the land upon the terms of one-fourth of the purchase money in cash, and for the residue upon a credit of one, two and…

This was a bill filed in April 1857 in the Circuit court of Rockingham county, by Robert L. Yancey against R. C. Mauck, Allan C. Bryan and others, to subject an interest in a tract of land sold by Yancey to Mauck, to the payment of a debt which Yancey insisted was a lien upon the land. The facts, as they appear from the pleadings and proofs, are as follows: Some years prior to 1850 Leyton Yancey died, leaving a widow and four children.

This is a suit for freedom, brought under the Code, ch. 106, p. 464, by Gracey and her nine children, against John A. Dice and Thomas Fulton, executors of James Fulton deceased. Verdict and judgment were rendered for the plaintiffs. The defendants took five exceptions to rulings of the court during the trial, and a sixth exception to the refusal of the court to set aside the verdict on the ground that it was contrary to the law and evidence.

Alexander Nisewander, being entitled to an undivided fifth of a tract of land, subject to his mother’s life estate in one-third thereof, contracted, during his infancy, to sell his said interest to John Mustard for the sum of eight hundred dollars; and on the same day, to wit, the 16th day of January 1852, executed a title bond in the penalty of one thousand six hundred dollars, conditioned to make a good deed with general warranty to the purchaser for the said interest on…

This was a case of caveat in the Circuit court of Russell county, filed by Dale Carter against William Ramey.

In 1841 Archibald W. Huston and William W. Pollock entered into a partnership for the purpose of keeping a hotel in the town of Harrisonburg, in the county of Rockingham; and for the purpose of the partnership they” purchased a house and lot, which was after-wards known as Pollock’s hotel. By the terms of the partnership the house was to be kept by Pollock. In 1843 they purchased another house and lot which had been known as the Washington tavern.

In 1851 John Bowyer of the county of Rockbridge died intestate, leaving a large real and personal estate, and a widow and eight children. One of his children was Frances H. the wife of George B. Poindexter.

This was an action of trespass on the case, brought in September 1854 in the County court of Warren county, by William Davy against Samuel M. Spengler, for maliciously suing out an attachment against the property of the plaintiff.

This was an action on the case in the Circuit court of Henrico county, instituted in May 1850 by Nelly C. Willis against Haxall, Brothers & Co., to recover the price of a quantity of wheat which the plaintiff alleged she had sold and delivered to the defendants. The parties agreed to dispense with a jury and submit the whole case to the court.

This was an action of assumpsit in the Circuit court of Powhatan county, brought to August rules 1855, by Edwin Wortham & Co., merchants and partners, against Josiah Smith and Francis J. Sampson, late merchants and partners trading under the name and style of Smith & Sampson, to recover the sum of twelve hundred and eighty dollars and twelve cents, for goods, wares and merchandise sold and delivered by the plaintiffs to the defendants.

This was an action of debt brought by “ The City Savings Bank” at Lynchburg, in the Hustings court of that city, against Robert GK H. Kean, administrator of James M. Boyd, on two notes negotiable and payable at the office of discount and deposit of the Bank of Virginia at Lynchburg, drawn by Paul Jones, and endorsed by said Boyd; one of them for two thousand dollars, dated May 22d, 1855 ; the other for one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, dated July 17th, 1S55, and…

This was a bill in the Circuit court of the city of Richmond, filed by the administrator and some of the children of William Evans deceased, against his widow and other children, two of whom were infants, for a settlement and distribution of his estate. The widow thinking that the administrator did not attend to the interests of the estate, took upon herself its defence.

This was an action on the case in the Circuit court of Alexandria county, by Richard C. Mason against R. Stockton Chappell. The declaration contained two counts. The first was for the breach of a warranty, upon the sale by the defendant to the plaintiff of one hundred and fifty barrels of a manure called “ Chap-' pell’s fertilizerthe second was the common money counts in assumpsit.

This was an appeal from the decree of the Circuit court of Pittsylvania, in a suit instituted by the children of Henry Toler deceased, against Grafton Bennett and others. The only question in the case arose on the construction of the sixth clause of the will of Joseph Toler deceased. Joseph Toler died in 1819, and his will was duly admitted to record in the County court of Pittsylvania. The sixth clause is as follows : “ 6th.

At the October term 1858 of the Circuit court of Jackson county, the grand jury indicted Henry Young, for that he “ unlawfully and without having a license therefor according to law, on the home farm of Charles Carney, in the said county of Jackson, and within the jurisdiction of the Circuit court for said county, did sell, by retail, wine, ardent spirits, and mixtures thereof, contrary to the form of the statute,” &c; At the May term of the court for 1859 the defendant…