Harrison, Administrator, et al. v. Mock et als.

ReadAboutContentsHelp

Harrison, Administrator, et al. v. Mock et als.

Metadata

Case Number: 2679

Location: SC00089

Court Term: 1849 June

Catalog Record: http://archives-alabama-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/01ALABAMA:default_scope:01ALABAMA_ALMA215682820002743

Collection Creator: Alabama. Supreme Court

Description: This case is summarized in Alabama Reports, volume 16, pages 616 through 624. Excerpt from the report: Error to the Chancery Court of Lowndes. Tried before the Hon. Jos. W. Lesesne, chancellor. The bill in this case was filed in June 1841 by the defendants in error, as creditors of William R. Meyer, against him, Richard B. Harrison, et al. to enforce the provisions of a deed of trust executed for the benefit of his creditors generally in April 1840 by said Meyer to the said Harrison. The deed of trust conveyed all the property both real and personal of the debtor and provided that the trustee should take it into immediate possession, expose it to sale as 1000 as it could be done consistently with the interest of the creditors and appropriate the proceeds to the payment of their debts "equally and ratably without any distinction or preference." Each of the defendants answered the bill, and Harrison, the trustee, insisted that one of the debts due by said Meyer at the time of the execution of the deed, and for which it was intended to provide, was a debt of about $2000, due to himself "by various notes of band of said Meyer for money advanced, and executions paid by respondent, and judgment, assigned to him which are still due." After the execution of the deed and acceptance of the trust by him, the said Harrison caused several executions against Meyer, which he had paid for him and acquired the control of, before the date of the deed, and which created a lien on the property, to be levied on certain of the slaves assigned, viz, Aaron, Nancy and child, Hagar and Elisa, which were sold by the sheriff, and bid off by said Harrison and by him conveyed to the sole and separate use of Mrs. Meyer. The balance of the property, except the land, which was sold under judgments, having a lien older than the trust deed, and two slaves sold under a mortgage, also older than the deed, were suffered by the trustee to remain in the possession of Meyer, who, cultivated with the slaves a plantation belonging to the said trustee, and received the proceeds of their labor until his death in 1842 or 1843. In the latter year the crop was sold and 1he proceeds received with the permission of the trustee by Richard K. Harrison the administrator of Meyer. Subsequently to the death of Meyer, Richard B. Harrison, the trustee, died, and the bill was revived first against Richard K. Harrison, and on his resignation, against Sam'l Gardner, as the administrator of Meyer; and against Kirkland Harrison as administrator of Richard R Harrison, each of whom answered the bill, and adopted the answers of their respective intestates. In February 1845, the register, by consent of the parties, took an account of the debts due to the creditors and made report thereof to. the court, the debt due to Richard B. Harrison being stated in said report at $1989 05, and in July 1845, the chancellor rendered a decree, settling the equity of the case, and referred to the register the matters of account against the estate of the trustee. The register reported the sum of $4137 68 due by the estate of the trustee, after deducting the $1989 05 due it, which report was confirmed, and the slaves, including Aaron, Nancy and child, Hagar and Eliza, the sale of which the chancellor set aside, were ordered to be sold. A writ of error was sued out to this court from the decree of the chancellor, and the case thereon reversed as to some of the matters of account and remanded for further proceedings. Upon its return to the court below, the chancellor re-referred the matters of account to the register to be reported on in accordance with the opinion of this court. At this stage of the case, the administrator of Richard B. Harrison, by consent of the opposite party, filed what the record calls an amended and supplemental answer, in which he states, that since the execution of the trust deed and since the filing of the original answer of his intestate, his intestate advanced and paid to the plaintiffs and became thereby the owner of sundry executions against William R. Meyer - one in favor of George Walker for $302 17 - two in favor of Roper, Reese & Co., one for $70 and the other for $795 77 - and two in favor of George Williams, one for $288, and the other for $791, each of which executions created a lien on the trust estate superior to that of the trust deed, and that his intestate thus was, and his estate is a creditor of the said Meyer, to the aggregate amount of said executions over and above the sum claimed in the original answer, and entitled to reimbursement therefor out of the trust fund. The register in taking the account rejected this claim set up in the amended and supplemental answer, it appearing by the proof that the alleged advances or payments on the above executions by said Harrison were made in 1839 or 1839, long before the trust deed was executed. Proceeding then to state the account he charged the estate of the trustee as follows: 1st. Instead of deducting the sum of $19:39 05, due the administrator's intestate, as was done in the former report, from the sum of $6126 73 with which the estate was found chargeable, he reported the last named sum with interest as due by the estate, and the first named sum as due to it and constituting a charge on the trust fund: 2d. The slaves Aaron, Nancy and child, Hagar and Eliza not having been delivered to the register in accordance with the decree, he charged their value against the estate of the trustee, to wit, $3348 with interest: 3d. He charged the estate of the trustee with the proceeds of the crop of 1843, received by Richard K. Harrison as administrator of Meyer, amounting to $1100 as admitted by said Richard K. to Samuel Gardner, and which admission was the only evidence thereof. These several sums with interest make the aggregate sum of 112,260 79. The defendants filed the following exceptions to the register's report: 1st. That he had no authority to alter his Conner report by changing the amount of $4137 68 therein found due, to $6126 73. 2d. That he should not have charged the estate of the trustee with the value of the crop of 1843. 3d. That he should have credited the estate with the sum of $1989 05, the amount ascertained to be due it. 4th, That he should have allowed the additional credit claimed in the amended and supplemental answer. Each of these exceptions was overruled by the register and confirmed on appeal by the chancellor, who thereupon rendered a decree, directing the administrator of Richard B. Harrison to pay the said sum of $12,360 79 into the bands of the register in ten days after the service of a copy of the decree, and in default therein, that execution issue, &c. These several matters are now assigned as error.

Division: Southeastern Division

Language: English

Repository: Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130

Rights: This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.

Collection Title: Alabama Supreme Court case files

Subject - Topics: African Americans; Debtor and creditor; Estates (Law); Forfeiture; Slavery

Subject - Places: Lowndes County (Ala.)

Subject - People: Aaron, slave in Lowndes County, Ala., of William R. Meyer; Bryan & Potter; Chambliss & Mundy; Chambliss, William W.; Drane, Walter; Edwards, Zachariah A.; Eliza, slave in Lowndes County, Ala., of William R. Meyer; Gardner, Samuel; Greenwood & Rochelle; Greenwood Rochelle & Co.; Greenwood, James; Hagar, slave in Lowndes County, Ala., of William R. Meyer; Harrison, Kirkland; Harrison, Richard B.; Harrison, Richard K.; Judge, Thomas J.; Meyer, Willian R.; Mock, Benjamin. Jr.; Mock, Edward; Mundy & Judge; Mundy, James J.; Mundy, John W.; Mundy, Rubin; Nancy, slave in Lowndes County, Ala., of William R. Meyer; Oliver, Creed T.; Rochelle, James L.; Roper, Reese & Co.; Walker, George; Williams, George

Time Period: 1840-1849

Case: Harrison, Administrator, et al. v. Mock et als.

Upload Batch: SC00089_Harrison_v_Mock

Repository: Alabama Department of Archives and History

Source: From: Harrison, Administrator, et al. v. Mock et als.

IIIF Manifest
https://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/iiif/info/supreme_court/11873/manifest.json