Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-05-28
Butler County Land Titles.
lContinuea from May 18th

Butler County Land Titles.
Continued from May 14th)
The Acts of March II. 1888 and
March 24, 1885, defined the donation
district, and provided for surveying,
drawing by lots, etc, appointment OF
agents, sale Of plots, etc, and all tracts
not taken under them were offered at
public sale under the Act of April 3rd,
1892. at seven pounds and ten shillings,
equal to about $50 90, per hundred acres.
Very many adventurous settlers pass
ed over the Allegheny, located them
selves at different points within the
limits of the territory now opened for
settlement. commenced improvements.
and applied for warrents. But the
hostilities of the Indians prevented, al
most universally. their complying with
the legal terms of the settlement, neces-
sary to complete their titles. They
were compelled to abandon their i'm
| proyements, and retire beyond the river;
and thus exceedingly perplexing ques-
tions arose in regard to the true owner
| ship of the lands they had claimed.
The difficulties that thus arose IN re-
gard to the titles of the settlers to their
| claims, were greatly enhanced by the
onerations of certain land companies
| that were organized with view OF
speculating in the lands of this region.
! The most prominent of these We're the
| North American Land Company, the
[ PENNSYLVANIA Population Company, and
| the Holland Land Company.
| The North American Land Company
| has already been referred TO. Soon
after the passage of the Act of li92,
John Nicholson, who was previously IN
tested in the North American Company,
applied at the land Office for three
hundred and ninety warrents, to be
| located in the Triangle, and for two
hundred and fifty warrents, TO be locat :
ed on the waters of Beaver creek
representing, in all, about two hundred
| and sixty thousand acres. Before, how
ever, completing his purchase, the
| Pennsylvania Population Company was
formed of which he was made Presl-
dent. and Messrs Cafenove, Irvine,
Mead, Leet, Hoge and Stewart, Man
ayers.
| The capital stock of the company con-
sisted of two thousand five hundred
] shares, which was laid out in the pur-
chase of five hundred thousand acres OF
land. To this company Nicholson trans,
ferred his claims, and they perfected
the purchase by paying the legal price
| for them. In addition, they purchased
| five hundred more warrents fer lands
| in the donation district.
The terms of their purchase were OF
| course those provided in the law-the
payment of seven pounds ten shllllngs
| per hundred acres, and the making, OF
| causing TO be made, of legal settle
ment on each tract covered by war
rent. In order to induce emigrants to
! settle on their lands, the company pro-
| posed to grant, in fee simple, to every
settler. one hundred and fifty acres OF
land, if he should comply with the re-
quisitious of the law imposed upon
| them; and in that way it was designed
that the occupant should secure ms
land, together with his improvements,
and the company should secure two
hundred and fifty acres through him.
| But the fact that each actual settler
| could secure for himself, by the pay
| ment of the stifulated purchase money,
| a tract of four hundred acres, under the
law, prevented in great measure the
success of the company's scheme OF
monopoly.
| Settlers generally, indeed, located
| themselves on lands covered by the11
own warrents though, in some cases,
these infringed upon the lands OF the
company. In consequence, suits OF
eiectment were instituted against those
who had encroached upon the lands tc
which the company had an incomplete
title, and this state of things became a
| fruitful source of litigation for many
years.
A far more fruitful source of litiga
tion, however, arose from the conflict
ing constructions placed upon the ninth
section of the act of 1892, in the long
| litigation that grew out of the ''Hoi
land Case" The Holland Land Com
pap consisted of William Willink and
eleven associates capitalists of Holland
who had lent large sum of money tc
| the United States during the Revnlu
ton, Preferipg to keep their money
| invested in the Uniteo States they
purchased large tracts of land in New
York and Pennsylvania. After the
passage of the law of 1892, they com
menced to buy warrents, and to locate
settlers west of the Allegheny river, on
similar terms to those of the Popula-
| ton Company, conceding, however,
only one hundred acres to each settler
on their lands.
| In the course of their operations they
paid the purchase money for one thous-
and one hundred and sixty-two war
rents, and surveyed one thousand and
| forty eight more tracts for location
But in consequence of the Indian war,
| the settlers that had located on the
lands were prevented from making the
improvements required by law within
the prescribed two years after the date
of their warrants. In consequence. q
question arose whether the company
had failed to complete their titles to
| lands. One the other hand it was
claimed, that the conditions of settle
ment were rendered impossible by the
enemies of the United States, and,
| therefore, it was not necessary to dc
anything more in order to perfect the
titles to all lands on which warrents
| were actually laid On the other il
was insisted, that the right to those
lands was forfeited by the neglect OF
the company to persist in their en-
deavors to maintain their settlements.
The board of property before 1900 in
clned to the former of these construc-
tious of the law, and devised preven-
ton certificate which the warrent- hold
er might present at the land Office, set
| ting forth that he had been prevented
by the enemies of the United States
from making the settlement of his lands
prescribed in the law, upon which he
was entitled to his patent: and the Hol-
land company received many patents
for their lands under these prevention
certificates. The new Board of Proper
ty in 1900, placed different construc-
tion upon the law, and refused the is
sue of any more patents on prevention
certificates. The Holland company,
thus refused patents on these certifi-
Gates, applied to the Supreme Court of
the State for a mandamus, to compel
the Board of Property to complete their
| titles The cause was heard at the
March term of 1900 The Chief Jus.
tice held, that the war discharged the
company from the condition of settle
ment, and, therefore, their patents were
| y II r L y A..