Conecuh County AlArchives Court.....Gillis, John 1822 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sam West sam.west.1@gmail.com September 3, 2015, 7:51 pm Source: N C Archives Written: 1822 The State of Alabama } Conecuh County } The separate answer of Swain Gillis of the County & State aforesaid one of the defendants named in the bill of complaint of John Gillis now pending in the court of Equity in Robeson County, North Carolina, as framed, sworn to & subscribed before me in confor- -mity with a commiSsion to me directed from said Court and herewith returned. The defendant now and at all times hereafter saving & reserving to himself all man- ner of benefit & advantage of exception to the manifold Errors and imperfections contained in the said Bill of Complaint for answer thereto or so much or such part thereof as this defendant is advised is material saith, That he this defendant admits that he did on or about the first of February 1818 offer for sale a tract of land in the said County of Robeson containing three hun- Ddred and three acres, and disposed of the Same of public sale to the highest bidder Whereupon the said complaimant John Gillis became the purchaser thereof and ------------------------------------------------- agreed to pay him this defendant for the same the sum of three hundred and three dollars in the manner alledged in the said Bill of complaint, that this defendant did receive the sum of one hundred and fifty three dollars in part payment for the same from the said complainant John Gillies, and for the balance did for the said Land, he this defendant saith that he received from said John Gillies complainant as foresaid three seve- -ral bonds of fifty dollards each with John McPhatter & Norman Gillies Securities, as alledged in said Bill the same being deemed by this defendant as a full compensation for the land,m But he this defendant denies that he gave or executed a deed to the said complainant John Gillies containing an indisputable title for the who whole of said land purchased by said Complainant, and alledges that he giave a deed for one hundred and Eighty acres of Land purporting an in -disputable title in him said tract of one hundred and eighty acres being parcel of the said three hundred and three acres, and that for the balanced of the three hundred and three acres as afore -said, the said defendant Swain Gillies ----------------------------------------------- Saith that the said complainant John Gillies agreed to receive two deeds which he the said John Gillies had previously given in his own name for the balance of said tract of three hundred and three acres, to a certain Murdock Gillies of whom this defendant obtained the whole of said three hundred and three acres. That the said John Gillies complainant as aforesaid was in poSseSsion of that part of the said three hundred and three acres for which this defendant did not give his personal deed, and during that time he was in poSseSsion gave an undisputable title to the same as above mentioned to the said Mur- -dock Gillies by two several deeds, one for forty three acres and the other for Eighty acres; that the said Murdock Gillies conveyed to him this defendant the same title which he received from said complain- -ant, for the said parcel of one hun- -dred and twenty three acres the amount Contained in the above mentioned Several deeds of Eighty acres and forty three acres, that the said last men- -tioned deed were not recorded while in the poSseSsion of the said Murdock Gillies, neither were they recorded ----------------------------------------------- while in the poSseSsion of the defendants that the said complainant in consequence thereof received the said deeds of Eighty acres and forty three acres being parcel of the said three hundred and three acres, as a satisfactory title to one hundred and twenty three acres parcel of said three hundred and three acres and not including any part of said tract parcel of said three hundred and three acres contained in the said deed of one hundred and eighty acres given by this defendant to the said complainant in his own individual name. The said defendant further de- -nies that he promised the said complainant That he would not negociate any of the Bond which he the said complainant ex- -cuted for the ballance of the purchase money of said land above mentioned or that no proceedings should be taken whereon until he the defendant would return, but alledges that he promised that he would not trade the said Bonds until they should become due and he this defendant alledges that he did neither negociate the said Bonds nor did he endeavour to collect the same in any other manner than was understood --------------------------------------------- by the terms of the agreement, that at the time of the agreement between this defendant & the said complainant the said complainant did promise to pay the ballance due on said Bonds whereon they became due, and that this defendant relying on the integ- -rity and fidelity of said complainant did accordingly where said Bonds became due, send them to David Gil- -lies of Cumberland County North – -Carolina to present then for collec- -tion that the money might be trans -mitted to this defendant & c ~ ~ This defendant further said that no breach of faith can be with property or principles of justice impu- -ted to him in consequence of not hav- -ing given a title to the whole of the three hundred and three acres, when by expreSs agreement this defendant ansers that he so transferred his interest therein as to give a warrantee title to one hundred and eighty acres of said land in his own in- -dividual name and for the residue Returned to the said complainant ------------------------------------------- the deeds which he the said complain- -ant had previously given (and which had never been recorded) to the said Murdock Gillies and, by which the said Murdock Gillies ac- -quired the same title to the ballance of said three hundred and three acres as was originally poSseSsed by said Com- -plainant, the same as was conferred on this defendant and the same as is repoSseSsed by said complainant that it is ungenerous for said complain- -ant to require of this defendant or person holding the said tract by a tenure under Which he himself conveyed it, a better title than he himself had ~ that the the said complainant was aware as this defendant thinks and as this defendant in good con- -science ought to be expert of him that he this defendant only gave a title in his own name for one hundred and eighty acres of said tract of three hundred & three acres and that the title to the ballance was given to the said complainant by a return of this defendant of the ------------------------------------------ unrecorded deeds above mentioned by which the ballance of the three hundred and three acres were dispoved of while in the poS- -seSsion of the said complainant and through which this de- -fendant had was obtained any title; that this defendant believes that the complainant and himself were sufficiently explicit in the contract not to leave the least particle of doubt as to the certainly thereof in the minds of those who were privy thereto, viz John McPhatter, John McMillan and Norman Gillies, one or more of whom were subscribing witneSses as this defendant saith to the said deed of conveyance purport- -ting to grant &c unto the said John Gillies Complainant as afore -said, the amoung of one hun- -dred and eighty acres of Land parcel of said three hundred & three acres, that the said John Mc- Millan wrote the said deed for the conveyance of one hundred & eighty acres as aforesaid, that he was an --------------------------------------- intimate friend and acquaintance of the said complainant, that the ballance of the witneSses to said agreement John McPhatter & Norman Gillies were men of letters and in the belief of the defendant fully aware of the said agreement and that the am- -ount for which the said deed was given contained no more than one hundred & eighty acres & that the ballance was transferred from the defendant as a bonafide trans- -fer in the manner before stated viz by a delivery of his own deed as aforesaid defts. Attys. State of Alabama } Personally appeared Conecuh County } before me Anderson Cranshaw Judge of the Circuit Court of said County Swain Gillis who being duly sworn deposeth & said that the facts stated in the forgoing answer are just & true. Sworn to & subscribed this 14th day of December 1822 Crenshaw Swain Gillis Circuit Judge Additional Comments: Source: Robeson County Civil Actions concerning Land, 1822 - NC State Archives – 109 E Jones Street – Raleigh, NC. C.R.083.928.8 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/conecuh/court/gillis363gwl.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 9.2 Kb