The San Francisco call., 1896-03-23
ORGANIZED FOR
SELF-DEFENSE,
Five Thousand Homes in
Noe Valley Are
Threatened.
MISSION DEFENSE UNION
Formed for the Purpose of Fight.
ing the Heirs Of Jesus
Noe.
A VALUABLE TRACT OF LAND.
Present Owners Base Their Right on
a Decision of the Twelfth Dis.
trict Court.
A VALUABLE TRACT OF LAND.

The executive committee of the Mission
Defense Union are making strenuous
efforts to increase the mem bership of the
organization and are meeting with crafty
ing success. The lhree hundred and sixty
ninth member was enrolled yesterday and
it is expected that inside of another ten
days majority Of the property holders in
the San Miguel Rancho will have joined
the union.
This movement was born from necessity
out of self-preservation, when P. L. Kosci-
alowski, in behalf of the four heirs of Jesus
Noe, recently brought suit to recover one
half of the rancho from the present hold
ers.
The property in litigation covers about
45O0 acres of the garden spot of this City
and County, which is held at present by
about 5000 owners, the greater number of
whom have built beautiful homes and live
there. The land is embraced by the fol-
lowing lines: Sixteenth and Valencia
streets westerly to Stanyan, thence in a
southeasterly direction to a point one
quarter of a mile west of Lake Honda,
taking in the Almshouse Tract, thence to
the County line at the crossing of the San
Jose railroad track, following the latter to
Valencia street and back to Sixteenth.
Ali this property was granted to Jesus
Noe by the Governor of California in 1s46,
but under the Spanish law it went to him
and his wife jointly. The latter, it is al
legged by her heirs, died in 1847. These
heirs also claim that. under the treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo, on September 7, 1S47,
at the close of the Mexican War, the
United States guaranteed to them all
their property rights, and notwithstand-
ing that Jesus Noe, 10 whom the grant
was made. had conveyed it by deed
made and recorded on January 10, 1854,
to ]. Y. Horner and w. B. Strobe, they
claim now, after fortytwoyears of waiting,
that they are entitled to their mothers
share Of the land.
The claim is regarded as preposterous
by the residents of Noe Valley and by the
leading lawyers of the City, many of
whom live in the disputed territory.
1t is regarded by them as an effort to
cloud the titles of the property and then
sell quitclaim deeds.
This is clear enough. If person does
not appear in court within ten days after
service in the suit the Noe heirs will be en-
order to get it off the record, it will be
necessary for the delinquent to employ an
attorney, give notice to the heirs and pro-
cure an order of court setting aside the
default and allowing an answer to be filed.
1t is to avoid all this trouble that the
Mission Defense Union was instituted, |
with John H. Grady, president; John
Bolger, vice-president; S. w. Fuller
treasurer; A. P. Van Duzer, secretary and
attorney.
The executive committee consists of |
Messrs. 81. N. Nolt chairman; ]. X. G. |
Hobbs, Thomas Kerby, Peter McArdle, |
Edward Maher, D. Hulse and George W.
Boyd.
These gentlemen are acting for the bene.
fit of all the residents of Noe Valley, but |
they are particularly anxious to have the |
great mass of residents join them, as in |
the union they will find greater strength. |
The admission fee is but 81, and it is the |
purpose of the union, through Attorney
Van Duzer. to gather all the separate cases |
into one bunch, every defendant being |
represented at one time, and none having I
the suit go against him by default.
The law upon which the defendants are
strong in their ownership of their prop
erty is the decision rendered October
20, 1860, in the Twelfth District Court in
the case of Adolph Borie against Richard
Roman, Maria Dolores Jose Jesus Noe and
Miguel Noe.
The decision was never appealed from
and tits claimed that the judgment is still
in force. That Judgment validated, it
IS said, all the titles handed down by Hor-
ner and Strobe, who got the property from
Jesus Noe.
One point upon which the Mission De-
Fense Union insists is that no member, un-
Ter any circumstance, buy or accept quit
claim deeds from the promoters of the suit.
In circular widely distributed they say:
This would be aiding the enemy in an
attempt to rob us of our homes.''