. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS AUST1N



# - Bonorzble %i. A.Davis tP@, state Re&JtrRr 1P

Terns state Eonrd of ue3l.w Austin, Tc?xas 4



### cr 3 lcttor Ee desires

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called the '%clclish'

r and tke 2rairie IJo& To-zn F+ver F: tr3.a lK4.ii X!eridien

lies vest strivers jo~ir.,

Grcer County,Tqas, d ~.?:~a. I was barn t&ye, 3~s in,tbe fbrks of t?.ose

tiso riversard east of the tree mot?2 Ksria.52. Yhe I3:ublj.c of Texas claimed the lrti, aad after '?e& xas Chitted es a state, the Stc.+e

clnkad the lrcd. The 3prexe Cowt of the &nit& Sfztes in 1596 in a suit broqht by ?hc 'CAted Str.tes, styledVoLted StatesVs. Ye-xas,

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Bdnorable3. A. Davis, Page 2

162 U. S. 1, 16 Supa Ct. 725, heid that the land vzs lomted in the territoriallimits of tho U*titcd

States end without the St&e of Texas. On Ltny 2, 18S0, an Act of Corqress was amroved by the Plesideat, ;rovidlaSfor the or,Tehiz5tion

of the CklahoraTerritory, in which Act it is provid.sd'It is hergby emrossly providedthet t'hls act shall hot be construedto op2Py to mid Grcer county until the tltlo to ths sa.xg has been adjudicctgd and detenimd to be in the UnFted StE;tes', .--;-,---snd~~poceeds to .direct

the Attorosy Ggng?.%l 01 tha United 3tntas to brin.2 the cbove suit. Unitod St&es Vs. Taxes, 145 U.S. 621;
*On February 8, 1860, the Lg~klnture of the Stete of Tems rjaseed en Act croatinS Gresr Couhtf. Seyles, Early La.179 of Texas, 2: drt. 2386; cR--nels LEm of Tess, Vol.. 4, gage 1500. In July, 1336 the.set*Lersof ~Graer County organized~thecounty ehd mied Ean~uz as the County Seat, and fro?0 that tim to lS(i6. Grger CountyWas operatedas a,raSular comty in Taxas,having a reSulai- comty organizatioh, countyoffiaers,court house, jail, schools, countyand districtctiurts, and all the other attributesof a raql.aF~county, and recoglzed ,) by the State of Texns as a rhgller county. t Tb;e Grew Cotmty ‘:uestion"byi'iebb Lgonldushoore, .' pages 76, 84; Ucitgd St&as Vs. Tes.zs, 153 U.E. 1, 16 Sur,.

Ct. 725, 754, 143 U.S. 643, 12 3~. Ct. 4S8, 490. After the declsiohof the Supme Court in 1896, the United Etctes took over this tgrritory,and Gregr Cou~ti~, the organizatio5cegsgd to 3xist, and hns never existsd since that tLye. IE lE07 O:~iaf;o25 ~5s adrAtted as a statg and thsreaftgr- or6onlzad this territoryvrhich had been Grow County under thg Texas r:ile~ into four c@Iu?tiPs .Eov? kfform as I?a~?on,

Tack30n,,aecLTlan

gnS %eer Counties. PossiblyFarnon Comty, Gkl5!xxa, es aov, constitutedhas wlti~f5 its territorial lititsthe la5d on which I MS k:orn. IZaE.on couptg, olQab3~a is cot 6 successor .to Grcgr county,Texas; thsy did c.ot rocoive their authorityfor eristercefro2 the Silxe g2VerIZ9Etd.Eonorabls W, A.‘Davis,Page S .

..

souroe,as Hamon-County ws createdaad orGanlzedby the Steto of Oklchom, enc? Groer CountyWELS

oroatcd end orgsdzed by the State of Team. '.'.%n

I &as born, Toses was exerclsiag sole authorit& in ~ovcmmntal viatters over tho place of ny birth. The date of my birth viz8

Uarch lCth, lSQ2. ThwState of OWahom ws not then in o-xioteuoo.1 have never lived in the State of Oklaho~. I wim bozn in Texas, Were ng prents were then exercislnf;

arx? enioyingthe pivilogw of CitiiXXU Of the St&e Of %XcaS, and Subject

_-. .-..-20~th3 .Zavfa of .the'Utate ..of Texas. I was cerriodfrom Graer Countyby m parentsWon I wes tm yeaAx of a.;~, end boforo the land on which I rmi‘tarnwas taken fro= Tbxas, and while Teizmma still exorcising juriscilotier? ovsr.saidisnd &h& the inhabitants~thereof.~ I hfive noverlived there since thatdate. Ey prmuent haze is now, ant5 has been for almst~ twentyyems, in 3exar County, Texas;' 3ei8jre. that it was in Srown County, Texas.. I claim to bc an6 aa~

a native-tom Te~i8n.~ .:.
House Bill Ho, Gl4,Acts of 1939, 46th Legislature,, p. 3446,'providas

that the resist

rationOS births or deaths not provLous1.y

recorCeZ-zmy

te subtitte3to the pro.b?t,e court in the followingtuner:

*'J&l FroviOad fu&her,.that any cit,izen '. 0: the state of'T.sxas wishing to file the record of eey birth or death. oat pravfously registcrad,zag aubzit tc kto Trobate Court in the county r:hzro

tte birt!:

or cl~~th occurrea, a recorj.

of t'nat.

Lirth or &3ath writton ta the aaoptcC form of birth clcd Geath certiEhxiites.The cartificato&all be substantiated by the Elfidavit'ofthe zw3ical nttamiaqtpre-' sent at the tim of the birth, or in case of deeth, the sff'i"iavit of the physiciao last in stten&xca uy,on

the Ceceased,or the undertakes who buried tk.6

kody. ';.hen

tie si'fidtivit

0;' tha Eedical atteccant or undortakarCMfiOb’fie sacured, t3o csrt#iI'icaLte shill be suy,?orted by tho effidavitof some ;orsonwtio~was acquaintedc 

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BonorablaSf.

A. Davis, Page 4

with the facts surroundingthe birth or daoth, at the tka the birth or death on,ixrred, with a Second affidavitof so!vLe 2ersonr:hois ccquaintedwith the facts surroukdiqathe birth or death, 2nd v:20is not related to the individual by blood or m.rria~e. The ?robateCourt shall revAre SX~ other in.fO~atloaor **cd-** .aer?co 5s ~a7 bo dcc-wd nocosser~to establish the citizcrshi';?

of,thc individualfilingthe certificate,sod the truthfulscssof the stots-

-.x,&ts.xde in that record. The Clerk of the said Court rhcll form?d th5 cartificsteto the State Bureau of Vital Statistics with an order ,fron

th0 Court twtha 3tntqB5Sistror that the racop:brj,

or bo hot, acoootsd. mo stats Registrar 13 a~thOrlssd to scce+ths o5rtiflcate ;v'unn

verified in the above azmr, cod shall issue certifiedca-,iss of SwhrecordS:~, as'.prJvidad

for in $ecticn 21 oftbis Act. SilCh cert.ified

cO?ies shall 'be

prim~facie evidence ic all COurts sad slices of the fscts statod thereoo. 2x3 State Furesu of Vital Statistics Shall furrAshthe form ugou which such recor% ero filed,x~3 no other for51 shall be used for that ~uq:.osa.~*~

(Undpracorirq

Ours.)

. i Reference is n%id in~?.Tr, McCls5EhsnrSletterto the case of Uaitec? Ctctteen

'+.~Taxas,

162 U. S. 1, 16+9. Ct. 725. T&i; cese d.ecideZ the fcnous "Greer Countydicputen end the cwrt held:

*It is

. . . decreed

. . . that the tcrritory
. , . which

. . . is so%etius called 'GreerCouht~~, corztituteg 90 pirt of t:m territory ?m;erly includedvrithin or ri.ghtfuily bulo:l-,ir:

to TCJTZII

at the tige tt the Q&rlj.ssi~a

or est. st:ttc

into t!l*

union aid is
ECt within the liZitS 5Or Wlb3r the jUI'i5d:Ctioa of i&,t st,-.tti Yet is subject lx the exCl~~SiVU

;uri&iction of th5 Utiitsd S;tSta3 Of A'morlca."
you vtj.ll

obrorvg that Xr..

Zc:cClanaha:ar;

1733 born in lC92 iii

ffGr.2sr C2w.t;" bxt tkt tho court in the CQBB cited hold t:.;e

t tselt t2r:itoryXI8 !Xt CQr hr-d. OVOr &en G g2rt of T0XGS 3icce th the of its ud2iesloninto the Union..

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, ,'Eonorable

W., A. Davis, Page 5

A sinilar qusstionarose in opinicnHo. Q-2725. Thsro it appvrcd thnt certain individs;Els gene born at EIK&-IO,

Texas, cow in arooks County,buttihichtown at the t&e of the birthswas in Eidal~o Co*mty. ?!e held that Drooks CountgVLS the proper county for the iastltution of rrgistrstion proceedings,that the act has in conteizplctfcn

comties as preser?tly, and not 5s fomarly coristitutsd,

that Pzl&algo

Con&y es presentlyoonsttitutea, is not the county 9:hnreTt or in rthich thebirth occurrod.
SC also in tha present instame. Them is no county in Tems nor has there been since Texas rzs ad-. cibted to.

the Union in wh.ich 12r. PlcClanaha~'s

birth oould have occurred. The county or territoryWhnro" he vzs bcrn is not and hes nsvor beon in the State ofxs. It fol- ,lms and we mst advise you that no probateccurt in Texas baas jurisdictionto entertainthe groceedirgseontenplztea by Eouse Dill 614 of the Acts of 1939 insofar as 1Tr. '~ lWlacaha?so

is ccnoarnsd.

‘1 v8ry truly yours

w

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