Chancery Suit File - Watkins vs William L Smith; Pittsylvania County, Virginia Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Gayle Austin <gayleaus@earthlink.net> ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** Chancery Suit File - Watkins vs William L Smith November 1840 To His Honor Fleming Saunders Esq. Judge of the circuit superior court of Law and chancery for the county of Pittsylvania Humbly complaining shows unto your Honor your Orator Benjamin Watkins of the county of Pittsylvania. That some time in . . year Thomas Smith late of the said county, departed this life being first duly published and declared his last will and testament which has been regularly admitted to record in the county court of Pittsylvania. Among other things in the said will contained the said Testator Devises to his widow and relict a certain Frances W Smith, his lands lying on Sandy River in the county aforesaid for life with remainder over to Smith Fulton and William Smith all of which may more fully and at large appear by referring to a copy of the said last will and Testament marked A. A herewith filed and prayed to be deemed and taken as a part of this Bill. Your Orator further charges that among other tracts of land comprehended? By the Devise aforesaid is a separate and distinct tract lying on Sandy River aforesaid containing 1066 acres as may more fully and at large appear by referring to a plat of the said land marked B. B herewith also filed and prayed to be deemed and taken as part of this Bill. Your Orator further charges that some years after the death of the said Testator, his widow aforesaid intermarried with a certain James Watkins now dec'd, and previous to the said marriage, by marriage articles legally and duly executed and recorded, the power of alimony and disposing of the said land was expressly reserved? To the said Francis W Smith in the same manner as if she was a feme sole that under these circumstances the aforesaid William Smith, one of the said revisioners aforesaid wishing to avail himself of the benefit of a very valuable sect for building a Water Grist situate on Sandy River . . the tract of land aforesaid, and designated by the plat aforesaid, and being ignorant of legal principles and designing to obtain a title to ten acres of the said land for the purpose of erecting the said Mill and other convenient fixtures and Houses, entered into a treaty of purchase with the aforesaid Smith Fulton and the said Frances Watkins for the same. It was agreed by them and . . to the said William Smith entirely clear that by the terms of this will afore mentioned that he the said William would be entitled at the death of the said Francis W Watkins to one moriaty of the said ten acres in his own right and that the said Smith Fulton to the other, and that to this end they all believed that a release of five acres of the said ten would secure to the said William Smith a legal and perfect title to the ten acres of land, and to this end the said Frances W Watkins and the said Smith Fulton on the 4th day of September 1823, for a valuable consideration which has been fully paid (and expressed by deed), conveyed by deed of Release their title to five of the said ten acres of land and put him in possession of the same as may more fully and at large appear by referring to a copy of the said deed marked C. C herewith also filed and prayed to be deemed and taken as part of said Bill. Your Orator expressly charges that a release and sale of ten acres was contemplated by the said grantors after the manner before stated, and the said William in order to carry out his assign actually built a valuable mill on the site aforesaid which with it fixtures aforesaid comprehending the ten acres aforesaid was by all the parties regarded as the proper estate of the said William. Your Orator further charges that sometime after the promise aforesaid, a division of the said real estate Devised as aforesaid took place between the said Smith Fulton and the said William Smith by which the entire residue of the said tract of 1066 acres was assigned to the said William Smith at the death of the said Francis W Watkins, as his due and just moriety of the said remaining estate. Your Orator expressly charges that the said William Smith departed this life sometime in the year Intestate leaving Elizabeth Smith his widow and the following children to wit: Martha who hath intermarried with Anderson D Holderby, Henry Smith, James Smith, William Lynch Smith, Patrick L Smith, Elvira Smith and Elizabeth Smith, his heirs at law-that in the year 1825 the said widow and heirs at law impleaded each other before the county court of Pittsylvania on the chancery side thereof wherein the said court decreed a division of the Estate of said Intestate among the said widow and heirs and appointed certain commissioners to carry the same into effect, as may more fully and at large appear by reference to a copy of the record of said proceedings marked D. D herewith also filed and prayed to be deemed and taken as part of this Bill. Your Orator expressly charges that the said commissioners entered upon the discharge of the said duties and among other things, carrying into full effect the design of the parties aforesaid marked out by meets and bounds the ten acres of land aforesaid comprehending the said Mill and assigned the same to the aforesaid William Lynch Smith subject to the Dower of the said Elizabeth, together with a tract of land containing 188 acres in order to bring him upon terms of equality with the other children of the said William Smith, yet the said commissioners in making up their report wholly omitted the said Mill and thirteen acres of land, not withstanding they actually assigned the same to him an the Guardian of the said William Lynch Smith who was then a minor actually took possession of the said Mill and ten acres of land paid the taxes therefore and distributed the profits between his ward and the said widow until the said ward arrived at full age and then surrendered this possession to him being a period of seventeen years. Your Orator expressly charges that the said Elizabeth Smith and the said Francis W Watkins have both departed this life and that the said William Lynch Smith on the 29th day of March 1837, he being at that time of full age, and after the said Mill had been swept away by high waters sold to your Orator the said Mill site together with the ten acres of land aforesaid for a valuable consideration which his been fully paid and conveyed the same to him by deed all of which may more fully and at large appear by reference to a copy marked F. F herewith also filed and prayed to be deemed and taken as part of this Bill. Your Orator expressly charges that sometime in the year 1839 the aforesaid heirs of William Smith, decd impleaded each other before the said county court of Pittsylvania on the chancery side of said court for the purpose of effecting a sale or division of the aforesaid tract of land of 1066 acres (less by ten acres) when the said court desired a sale of the same and at the time of said sale a special reservation of the ten acres of land aforesaid comprehending the Mill site aforesaid was publicly made before the biddings were opened and 1056 3/8 acres was struck off to a certain James Lanier of Danville at the price of . . per acre. Your orator therefore expressly charges to the said James Lanier had express notice of his claim and his possession of the said ten acres of land. Your Orator expressly charges that at the time of the contract aforesaid, he confidently believed that the said William Lynch Smith had not only the equitable but also the legal title to said land-he had no doubt that the said commissioners to whom the duty of dividing the lands of the said William Smith among his heirs in the 1825 had fully discharged their duty and that their reports and return were regular and according to the laws and usages of the court of Chancery, but to his great astonishment has discovered a few weeks past that the said commissioners have wholly omitted to comprehend in their written report to the court the assignment of the said ten acres of land to the said William Lynch Smith, that to court and the counsel were notified of this past and hence that the said report was confirmed and a final decree returned in the said William Lynch Smith the said Anderson B Holderlty and Martha his wife, Henry Smith, James Smith and Patrick L Smith reside without the limits of this commonwealth and are scattered over several of the Western states that Elvira Smith and Elizabeth Smith are infants under the age of twenty one years and expect to remove from the Commonwealth of Virginia in a few days. That the said James Lanier refused to surrender to your Orator any title he may have acquired by the purchase of aforesaid although he is a purchaser? With stipulated terms of payment by annual installments, no one of which is yet fallen due and the legal title withheld . . .for the payment of the same. Your Orator expressly charges that at the time of his purchase aforesaid he had no Knowledge whatever of any defect in the title of the said land. He did not discover until within a few weeks past the said defects. He charges that the mill site is of great value to him that he is now in the act of building the said Mill, that he has been advised that it was the peculiar province of a court of chancery to look after the accidents and mistakes of parties and that a court of common law could afford him an adequate relief to the end therefore that justice may be done your Orator. He prays that the said William Lynch Smith, Anderson B Holderly and Martha his wife, Henry Smith, James Smith, Patrick L Smith, Elvira Smith, Elizabeth Smith, and James Lanier may be made defendants to this Bill and completed the adults in proper person and the said infants by a Guardian ad litem special assigned for that purpose to answer the answer the several allegations of this bill truly and perfectly . . . me manner as if the same were herein.