Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-06-20
SUPREME COURT.
Condensed Decisions, Reported for
the Appeal by H. Clay King.

.dr vs h8lJal---- f Esh.
lCases Ne>. 81, 81, 50 and ;i4-Fanny
Dowel & Go. ". Wm. Metcalf's heirs; r.
q. & John Kirk ". Joseph Ferguson /;
MeCrae vs. Vance; Root, Phillips Il Cows.
No. -. Fanny B6&rI & Co. vs.. william
Metcalfs heirs; eiectment from Memphis
Law Court. Metcalfs heirs brought this
suit 70 recover lot II in the city Of Mem
phis. The plaintaiffs in error i'm defense
set up tax title To the lOt. The lot Was
reported TO the January term, lS4F, FOR
the delinquent taxes OF the year 1876. The
report oi the tax collector was in this
form: .-f f..r- -.tF.
Name Of owner. Wm. NIetcalf; No. of
lot. Al; value. 500; tax 81 p; Coll. 81 90;
Clerk, u 50; Printer 81 80; R.ICol.i 90;
total, =.
y IN February. during said tenn, q indg-
ment OF condemnation went against the
lot. ordering q sale for the payment Of
the taxes and costs. In July the lot was
sold by the Collector, and D0wel became
the purchaser. AsecOnd similar sale WIS
madC for the taxes Of 1917. and Dowel was
a. the purchaser March %, 1861, the
deed was executed 10 DOwel by George
Powell. the tax collector, and successor to
james Neal. the deed recitins the facts of
the non-payment Of the taxes for the
-
demnatioil. the award Of sale. the issuance
OF the order of sale, that the lot was duly
gdyertised and sold, and purchased by
Dowef for the SUM Of s. Is. the amount 0f
the taxes, costs and charges. ON the
trial the taX-title claimants read in eVF-
dence the deed executed to them by Phil
lip Garviu. then tax UclleGtOT. on the 2lst
day of january, ISG7.. rscitiRg the facts Of
the former deed. and that ii wa duly adj
vertised. etc ..hh-t ..-
Powell and Galyin, on the lTisL stated
in evidence that they knew nothing 81
INC facts rccited in their deeds, and made
the deeds and reCitals because they De-
licked i was their o11irial duty 50 10 du,
2 -AlthOu1ll tho charge Of the Court IS cl-
roneOus there will 10 no neHS trial if it
appear kh4,; ,iie plaiHtitis in eFroE, defend
anrs below, have no valid title % the
premises. ti.s Judgment hciug against
tbcm in tne CJltr. &sloW. IlT 4IB
The io- was sold under -lc iJnrth pCc+
ton ofthe revenue act Of lS-;5. The iudc-
1nout OF condemnation is nnt sufficiently
certain; il chat il dCa. gQt rsH1We tue
amount Of taxes and costs. there being no
dollar marx ,u the figures above set out.
Ali Judgments must be certain ~ COM
mon intent. Code, 1912. McClclland IS.
Comwell; . Cold. 300. 'i-. H'
In tsN sales Iigures without tho dollar
mark in the judgment of condemnation,
renders the sale void: % Illinois, 33S;
Blackwell On ak titles, 202; Wallace,
39S. .r 4 .--- -...f ... .... .-f ..l...
For this defect, even under The act o
1874. tho sales in this ease were absolutely
void. f..r- Dr. s4.. ~ EIH .f.
Fact That the officers making he deeds
testified that they knew nothing OF the
facts reeited in the deeds, the sale having
been made by Neal, in connection with
the lapse OF time, repeis the statutory
prescription Vllat the facts 7reeIted in the
deeds are true. - t..... ...f. e...fy.s f
There il nothing in the record sxeept
Z he recital of n deed 70 show there was
amy advertisements, o8 that the Sheriff had
4 CcHdi6Oat eLPoRGS, or process in MS
hands Vesting him with authority to sell
real estate. and for these defects the sales
No. g. r. G. & John Kirk VS. Joseph
Ferguson. From Memphis Ohaneery. D .
Littleton Henderson on the 18th day of
Nav. 1873, for love and affection conveyed
bv deed to his son-in-law, Thos. b. Means,
and his daughter Rachel, the wife of Thos.
B. Means, several tracts of land IN fee
simple. In the same deed the granter
also conveyed lot IN the city OF Mem
phis, and after describing. the lot, re-
cites: (which said lot L hereby give
grant, and convey to the said Rachael
Means and to her heirs the natural issue
Of her body forever. If there should be
no, issue. then the said lot.or parcel of
ground is to descend to nay grand-ehil1
dren. Nevertheless, the full and complete
life estate Is hereby given and established
in her present husband or any future
husband, whether there be offspring or
not. and her husband or husbands as the
ease may be, shall continue in possession
of the same, and have, own and possess all
the rents. rights and emoluments apper1
tanning to, or arising therefrOm during
their natural lives, and not until their
death shall the reversiOnary interest CONF
nnence.r Raeheal Means and Thomas
Means have one child named Einly Means.
This suit is brought for construction Of
this deed. .s.r
Held: That by the terms Of this deed
a life estate was vested in the husband
and a fee tail was given to the wife, which
by the act of l7S4. ch. D, sec. 5, was con-
yerted into an absolute estate in the wife
subject TO the life estate i'm the husband
first carved out. By the cOmm0E law the
word heirs y is necessary in the decd to
make fee simple A conditional fee was
a fee restrained to some particular heirs,
as to the heirs of a mans body. A gin to
a man and the heirs of his body was gift
upon condition that the estate should re-
vert to the donor if the donee bad no heirs
of his body. Thus the common law stood
until the enactment OF the statute De Do
ms C0Rditi0aafi6Hs IN the reign of Edward
L. By this statute the estate was divided
into two parts leaving the donee partie-
ular estate which was denoniinated fes
itGil.5 BY the act Of l7s4 the statntsds do
llis was ended in this State by giving TO.
the tenant in tail the entire fec. Resides
the limitation over TO the grandchildren
was made TO depend on an mdefinite fail-
ure of issue, and was void for remoteness.
f No. So. lMeCrae rs. V aIice. From
Memphis ChancerY. Do 400 ed1 sdE1
McCrae recovered Judgment. II law
against Bank Of West Tennessee, on
which execution was issued and returned
aaliGs boRaS thereupon MeCrae fled his
bill In chaneery to subject the equitable
assets ofthe Bank 70 the satisfaction Of
his udgmsnts[po this btu hemade Vance
a party eo-defandant with the bank, ,aileg-
ing that he was indebted 10 bank in
the sum OF ---i--- dollars for stock, and
seeking decree against him as . debtor u
the bank to the extent Of his Judgment,
claiming that he was indebted IN sufficient
zEnount TO satisfy the same. It ives IKE
wise charged in tbs bill that Vsues