. 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUST1N 

Bonorzble %i. A. Davis - tP@, 

state Re&JtrRr 1 P 

Terns state Eonrd of ue3l.w 

Austin, Tc?xas 

4 

cr 3 lcttor 

Ee desires . 

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 rivers ard 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, styled VoLted States Vs. Ye-xas, 
. . : - 

I- y21 

Bdnorable 3. A. Davis, Page 2 

162 U. S. 1, 16 Supa Ct. 725, heid that the 

land vzs lomted in the territorial limits 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, ;rovidlaS for 

the or,Tehiz5tion of the Cklahora Territory, 

in which Act it is provid.sd 'It is hergby 

emrossly provided thet t'hls act shall hot be 

construed to 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*Lers of ~Graer 

County organized~the county ehd mied Ean~uz 

as the County Seat, and fro?0 that tim to lS(i6. 

Grger County Was operated as a,raSular comty 

in Taxas, having a reSulai- comty organizatioh, 

county offiaers, court house, jail, schools, 

county and district ctiurts, and all the other 

attributes of a raql.aF~county, and recoglzed ,) 

by the State of Texns as a rhgller county. t Tb;e 

Grew Cotmty ‘:uestion"by i'iebb Lgonldus hoore, .' 

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 organizatio5 cegsgd to 3xist, and hns never 

existsd since that tLye. IE lE07 O:~iaf;o25 

~5s adrAtted as a statg and thsreaftgr- or6onlzad 

this territory vrhich 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. Possibly Farnon Comty, Gkl5!xxa, 

es aov, constituted has wlti~f5 its territorial 

litits the 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 

authority for eristerce fro2 the Silxe g2VerIZ9Etd. 
Eonorabls W, A.‘Davis, Page S . 

. . 

souroe, as Hamon-County ws created aad orGanlzed by the Steto of Oklchom, enc? Groer 

County WELS 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? enioying the pivilogw of 

CitiiXXU Of the St&e Of %XcaS, and Subject 

_-. .-..-20~th3 .Zavfa of .the'Utate ..of Texas. I was 

cerriod from Graer County by m parents Won 

I wes tm yeaAx of a.;~, end boforo the land 

on which I rmi‘tarnwas taken fro= Tbxas, 

and while Teizm ma still exorcising juriscilotier? ovsr.said isnd &h& the inhabitants~thereof.~ 

I hfive noverlived there since thatdate. Ey 

prmuent haze is now, ant5 has been for almst~ 

twenty yems, 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 ration OS births or deaths 

not provLous1.y recorCeZ -zmy te subtitte3 to the pro.b?t,e 

court in the following tuner: 

*'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'of the zw3ical nttamiaqt pre-' 

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 undortakar CMfiOb’fie sacured, t3o csrt#iI'icaLte shill be suy,?orted by 

tho effidavit of some ;orson wtio~was acquainted 
c 

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? ,=x3 

Bonorabla Sf. A. Davis, Page 4 

with the facts surrounding the birth or daoth, 

at the tka the birth or death on,ixrred, with 

a Second affidavit of so!vLe 2ersonr:ho is ccquainted with the facts surroukdiqa the birth 

or death, 2nd v:20 is not related to the individual by blood or m.rria~e. The ?robate Court 

shall revAre SX~ other in.fO~atloa or cd- 

.aer?co 5s ~a7 bo dcc-wd nocosser~to establish 

the citizcrshi';? of,thc individual filing the 

certificate, sod the truthfulscss of the stots- 

-. x,&ts.xde in that record. The Clerk of the 

said Court rhcll form?d th5 cartificste to 

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 certified ca-,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 furrAsh the 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, McCls5EhsnrS letterto 

the case of Uaitec? Ctctteen '+.~Taxas, 162 U. S. 1, 16+9. Ct. 

725. T&i; cese d.ecideZ the fcnous "Greer County dicputen 

end the cwrt held: 

*It is . . . decreed . . . that the tcrritory . , . which . . . is so%etius called 

'Greer Couht~~, corztituteg 90 pirt of t:m 

territory ?m;erly included vrithin 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:itory XI8 !Xt CQr hr-d. OVOr &en G g2rt 

of T0XGS 3 icce th the of its ud2ieslon into the Union. 
. 

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.: yp& 

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, ,'Eonorable W., A. Davis, Page 5 

A sinilar qusstion arose in opinicn Ho. Q-2725. 

Thsro it appvrcd thnt certain individs;Els gene born at 

EIK&-IO, Texas, cow in arooks County, buttihich town at 

the t&e of the births was in Eidal~o Co*mty. ?!e held 

that Drooks Countg VLS 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 presently oonsttitutea, 

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 territory Whnro" he vzs bcrn 

is not and hes nsvor beon in the State ofxs. It fol- 

,lms and we mst advise you that no probate ccurt in Texas 

baas jurisdiction to entertain the groceedirgs eontenplztea 

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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