About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

United States, Appellants, v. Jean Baptiste D'Auterieve, Ponponne Le Blanc and Others, Heirs and Legal Represenatives of Jean Antoine Bernard D' Austerieve, deceased, The U.S. 14 (1854)

handle is hein.slavery/ussccases0224 and id is 1 raw text is: 14 SUPREME COURT. United States v. D'Auterieve et al. THE UNITED STATES, APPELLANTS, v. JEAN BAPTISTE D'Au- TERIEVE, PONPONNE LE BLANC AND OTHERS, HEIRS AND LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES OF JEAN ANTOENE BERNARD D'Au- TERIEVE, DECEASED. The.heirs of D'Auterieve claimed a tract of land near the river Mississippi, upon two grounds, viz., 1st, Under a grant to Duvcrnay by the Wuestern or Mississippi Com- pany in 1717, and a purchase from him by D'Auterieve the ancestor, accompanied by the possession and occupation of the tract from 1717 to 1780; and 2d, Under an order of survey of Unzaga, Governor of the province of Louisiana in 1772, an actual survey made, and a confirmation thereof by the governor. With respect to the first ground of title, there is no record of the grant to Duvernay, nor any evidence of its extent. It is, therefore, without boundaries or location; and, if free from these objections, itwould be a perfect title, and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the District Court, under the acts of 11324 and 1844. With respect to the second ground of title, if the proceedings of Unzaga be regarded as a confirmation of the old French grant, then the title would become a complete one, and beyond the jurisdiction of the District Court, If they are regarded as an incipient step in the derivation of a tite under the Spanish government, then the survey did not extend to the back lands which are the pro- perty in question, but only included the front upon the riier, which was surrendered to the governor in 1780. Neither the 'upper or lower side line, nor the field-noteg, ;ustify the opinion that the survey included the back lands. A letter addressed to Unzaga by the surveyor is so ambiguous, that it must be controlled by the field not(s and map. The neglect of the parties to set up a claim from 1780 to 1821, and the acts of the Spanish government in granting concessions within the limits now claimed, furnish a presumption of the belief of the parties that the whole property was surrendered in 1780. THIS was an appeal from the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The history of the claim is fully set forth in the opinion of the court. It was argued by 1ir. Cushing, (Attorncy-General,) for the United States, and submitted on a printed argument, by Messrs. Janinr and Taylor, for the appellees. The points made on the part of the United States were the following: - 1. That the claim of the petitioners, founded on the alleged grant by the Western Company is not -pen for discussion,the pe- titioners having taken no appeal from the decree of the court below, confirming their claim to the extent only of the forty-four arpens of front, and excepting even out of this confi:rmation the forty in depth on the front granted to the Acadians. But if it were, then every thing relating to that grant and its extent and locality) and what interest D'Auterieve had in it, are so vague and uncer- tain that it would be impossible to identify and locate the land, and the grant would have to be declared void.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most