1811.

OcToner, day bargained and sold, and did thereby bargain and

sell, unto the said Beverley, all his tract of land lying and Beverley being in the county of Culpepper, together with the Lawson's buildings of every kind, stock of cattle, horses, hogs, heirs, &c.

plantation implements, and every other thing thereto ap-
pertaining; together with his adjoining tract of land in
Fauquier County, purchased of Routt and others, with
the two mills thereon erected, and the stocks; the whole
containing fifteen hundred acres certainly, (if more, the
surplus to be given in,) for and in consideration of the
sum of seven thousand five hundred pounds, Virginia
money, to be paid to the said Lawson, in four annual
payments, on the first day of December in every year,
commencing from the date of said agreement. Should
the several tracts of land fall short of the fifteen hundred
acres, then the said Lawson is to make a deduction of
two pounds twelve shillings and six pence for every
acre deficient. The said Lawson will forever warrant and
defend the said tracts in quiet possession of the said
Beverley, his heirs, executors, administrators, and as-
signs, and from every other person or persons whatso-

Possession to be given to the said Beverley on the
first day of December next ensuing the date hereof, when
a regular conveyance of the said property, agreeably to
this instrument of writing, is then to be made, by the said
Lawson, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns,
to the said Beverley, his heirs, executors, administrators,
and assigns, and the said Beverley is then, in considera-
tion of the purchase hereby entered into on his part, 19
give his bonds, with approved security, to the said Lawa
son, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns,
for the regular fulfilment of the annual payments. The
said Beverley is to be allowed to sow both the corn and
tobacco land with wheat, when he thinks proper, to be
under the care and management of the said Lawson's
overseer; the seed wheat to be found by the said Beverley.
The said Lawson is to keep possession of the store house
and lumber house, with the garden and paddock, until

pur self

but

ever.

1811.

Tring and

with ces, bars

V.

as

the 1st day of December, 1802, for and in consideration OCTOBER,
of fifty pounds current money. Should, however, the
said Beverley wish to occupy the said store, &c. himself Beverley
in the autumn of 1802, then the said Lawson is to give Lawson's

heirs, &c.
it up ; firewood to be allowed the said Lawson for his
store purposes."

On the 12th of May, 1803, Lawson filed his bill
against Beverley, in the Superior Court of Chancery for
the Richmond district; setting forth, that, in pursuance of
the said contract, Beverley and himself met on the first
day of December, 1801, and executed the contract,
fur as was then practicable;" that is, possession was
given by him to Beverly of the said lands, and of all
houses thereon (except the store and mille) together with
the stocks of horses, cattle, and hogs, and the plantation
implements: the mill, with its appurtenances, was re-
tained for five or six days by the complainant, with Be-
verley's consent, who paid, on his part, one fourth of the
purchase money, and produced bonds, executed by him-
self and two sureties, for the other annual payments :
but the said bonds were retained by the said Beverley,
because the complainant could not fully execute his part
of the contract by making conveyance of the land, for
want of knowing the precise quantity thereof." The com-
plainant and the said Beverley had previously agreed on a
certain Thomas Spillman to be the surveyor, who should
ascertain the quantity, and he had commenced the sura
vey, and would have completed it by the said first day of
December, but was prevented by a fall from his horse.
The further execution of the contract was deferred, by
consent, till the survey was completed. The defendant,
Beverley, had enjoyed full and entire possession of the
lands, houses, mills, and other property aforesaid, from
the delivery thereof; and on the first day of December,
1802, he received possession of the store and its appur,
tenances, and continued in possession ever since. The
complainant had called on him to proceed to the com-
plete execution of the contract, the survey having, at

1911.

OCTOBER, the time of such request, been completed more than

twelve months, and having ascertained the quantity of Beverley land to be fifteen hundred and twenty-three acres; and Lawson's the said Beverley having had full notice thereof for a like heirs, &c.

space of time before the said request; with which he re-
fused to comply. The bill, therefore, prayed for such
relief as the plaintiff's case might require.

The defendant, by his answer, admitted, that he was
put in possession of the greater proportion of the said
tract of land at different periods of time, but denied his
having been possessed of the whole thereof agreeably
to the contract. He acknowledged," that Thomas Spill-
man was appointed to survey the said lands, which he
accomplished some considerable time after the date of
said contract; and further he alleged, that as soon as he
was furnished by the said Spillman with the courses of
the different lines of the said two tracts, he, by his
agent, at the mutual agreement of the complainant and
himself, waited on the complainant with deeds (drawn
conformably to the surveys,) and presented them to the
complainant for his signature, February, 2d, 1802 ; that
the complainant evaded giving deeds, and deferred the
fulfilment of his engagements under the said contract to
the time of his visit, intended in the spring following, to
Culpepper, where and when (as he said) he would most
certainly conclude every thing requisite; but he let the
spring pass without noticing his promises aforesaid ; that
the respondent by the delay and reluctance shown by
the complainant, was induced to examine into his title
to the said lands, and discovered sundry defects therein;
viz. “ that the complainant purchased the tract in Fau-
quier of several persons; to wit, a portion thereof of a
certain fohn Routt and others, for which he had only a
deed from John Routt, and his bond for the others who
could make a conveyance; that the part so bought

of Fohn Routt, &c., was further the subject of litigation; the same being claimed by the descendants of James Routt, on the ground of a division having been made of

1811.

V.

for al

the said land in the minority of the said James Routt, OCTOBER,
without the authority necessary to make such divisions

Beverley
binding; and that the said James Routt's heirs had noti-
fied the respondent of their claim; that another part of Lawson's

heirs, &c.
the tract, purchased by the complainant of the said John
Routt, &c., is claimed and possessed by the representa-
tives or heirs of a certain Edivard Nugent; that Tur-
bervill's heirs claimed, and are in possession of another
part thereof; that the complainant had diminished the
number of acres in the said Fauquier tract by the sale of
a considerable part of the tract he purchased of fames
Withers to James Routt, whose heirs are in possession
thereof; that the complainant has a defective conveyance
to another portion of the said Fauquier tract, which he
purchased of Margaret Reynolds, who had a title thereto,
but his deed for which was from Catharine Reynolds,
who had no title; that the complainant cannot make a
legal title to the greater part of the tract in Culpepper,
which he purchased of a certain James Slaughter ; the
same being open to the claim of the heirs of the original
patentee, and in part controverted by the claim of a certain
John Matthews, who is in possession of the part so
claimed by him.

The respondent further stated, that, “as soon as he found
the complainant's title so imperfect, he thought it advisable
to communicate to him full information relative thereto:
he accordingly did so, and demanded of him a view of
his title papers ; the demand was not complied with ; and
this respondent refused to accept deeds from the com-
plainant with the solitary and naked security of his gene-
ral warranty; especially, as, since the date of the con-
tract, the complainant had nearly sold off all his real es-
tate, and invested the proceeds thereof in lands in the
state of New York, in the names of his sons-in-law, John
Nicholas, and Robert Rose; having himself removed from
Virginia to Genessee, in the state of New York, there to
reside, and taken with him, or parted with, the property
he was possessed of at the time of his contract aforesaid.
Vol. III.

a

S.

1811.

October, The respondent did not receive possession of the storé

house, and lumber house, until the first day of December, Beverley

1902; the same having been occupied by the complainant,
Lawson's
Leirs, le agreeably to the contract, at the rent of fifty pounds per

&c.
' annum; which sum the complainant is chargeable with.”

He denied that he received all the stock and plantation
utensils; some of which were kept back, (as he had been
informed,) and were actually removed and used by the
complainant. Several other discounts or set-offs were
also claimed in the answer; for repairs to the mill, which
(as the respondent alleged) the complainant verbally
agreed to pay for, &c. He stated, also, that the com.
plainant had instituted actions of ejectment against him,
in the District Courts of Dumfries and Fredericksburg,
to turn him out of possession. In March, 1804, an or-
der was therefore made by the chancellor, that the plain-
tiff, on the third day of the next term, being served with
a copy of such order, show cause, if any he could, why
he should not be compelled to make his election, either
to dismiss his said suit at common law, and proceed in
the court of Chancery, or to dismiss his suit there, and
proceed at common law. The complainant replied gene-
rally, and commissions to take depositions were awarded.

The first of June, 805, the suit having abated by the
plaintiff's death, was revived, by consent, in the names of
John Nicholas, and Anne, his wife; Robert S. Rose, and
Fane, his wife, (which Anne and Jane are heirs of Gavin
Lawson,) and the said John Nicholas, administrator, and
Susannah Lawson, widow of the said decedent; they bar-
ing agreed to dismiss the actions at common law in the
proceedings mentioned.

The cause coming on to be heard, the 22d of September, 1808, Chancellor Taylor decreed, “that, within thirty days after, the plaintiffs shall file in the office of this court, a bond executed by the plaintiffs, John and Robert, with sufficient security, residing in the state of Virginia, payable to the defendant, in the penalty of six thousand pounds, with condition to abide by and perform any fu