LINCOLN County Tn - COURT RECORDS - George and Mary Bevels Disposition 1920 ************************************************************************************* Copyright. All Rights Reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This File Was Contributed For Use In The Usgenweb Archives By: Charity Goodwin (PO Box 733 Courtland Ala 35618) ************************************************************************************* Sumitted and Transcrbied by: (as copy of original) Depositions E.G. Bevels In the Chancery Court at Fayetteville Vs. Lincoln County, Tennessee James Bevels, Et AL. The depositions of E.G. Bevels, J.A. Bearden, and A.B. Clark, witnesses for complainant, taken before Emma Sebastain, A Notary Public, at her office in Fayetteville, Tennessee, on the 17th day of July 1920, pursuant to notice entered and endorsed on the Rule Docket, and under and pursuant to and order of reference mande in the above styled cause at the Special July Term of the Court. Present, B.E. Holman, Counsel for Complainant, and Giles L. Evans, Guardian Ad Litem, for the minor defendants. E.G. Bevels, the first witness, being first called and duly sworn deposing said: My name is E.G. Bevels, and I am the son of George M. Bevel and wife Mary Bevels, both now deceased. That tract of land described in Paragraph 1 of the bill filed in this cause, containing about 5 1/2 acres, was purchased by my father and mother Mary Bevels some 30 years ago from E.S. Bearden. A deed was executed by E.S. Bearden and delivered to my father, George M. Bevels and his wife Mary Bevels, and they entered into the immediate possession, use and control and management of the property, living upon the same until about 4 years ago, whe George M. Bevels died intestate in Lincoln County, Tennessee, leaving his wife, my mother, the said Mary Bevels, surviving, and the said Mary Bevels died intestate in Lincoln County, Tennessee about 6 months ago. At the time of the death of George M. Bevels he left him surviving as his only children and only heirs at law, the following named children, to wit: 1. E.G. Bevels, a son 2. James Bevels, a son 3. Telitha Barnes, wife of S.E Barnes, a daughter 4. Eliza Hall, wife of Arter (Arthur) Hall, a daughter 5. Susie Hobbs, wife of J. Hobbs, a daughter 6. Emma (Martha Emma) Wodoard, wife of Fayette (James Lafayette) Woodard, a daughter That said George M. Bevels was married twice, his wife Mary Bevels, being his second wife, and by his second wife he had two children , to wit: Complainant, E.G. Bevels, a son, and said Defendant, Telitha Barnes, a daughter, who were the only children and only heirs at law of said Mary Bevels at the time of her death. The deed that was exevuted by E.S. Bearden was executed to my father and mother as husband and wife, and I saw the deed in their possession, how that they had such deed, and that it was so made, but this deed was never recorded, and when my father's house burned this deed was destroyed in the fire without ever having been recorded, but I know that he had the deed and that it was as above stated, because I saw it and saw it in their possession, and read it and know that it was made to my father and mother as above stated. My mother, Mary Bevels survived her husband George M. Bevels, and by reason of surivorship she became entitled absolutley to the lands described in Paragraph One of the bill filed in the cause, and as she left only two children as her children, to wit, myself and the said Telitha Barnes, wife of S.E. Barnes, we as her only children, and only heirs at law, thur became entitled to said tract of land, and now own the same in the following porportion, to wit: I , E.G. Bevels, own a one-half interest therein, and Telitha Barnes, wife of S.E. Barnes owns the other one-half interest therein. The tract of land described in the bill described in this case contains 5 1/2 acres, the only buildings located on the tract is a small residence, containing tow rooms, which is a lot building, and two out buildings, one of which is a small lot stable or barn, some 18 feet square. Ther eis no water of any kind on the tract of land, very little fire wood, and is all in cultivation except one of one and a half acres. It is hill land, and owing to the situation of the tract, and its size and the number of improvements, I am of the opinion that said tract could not be advantageously partitioned in kind, but that it would be manifestly to the interest and advantage of myself and my sister that the same be sold for divison instead of divided. In as much as the deed has been lost, I think it would be advisable to have the land surveyed before the day of sale, and in order to bring the best price, think it ought to see on a credit of one-third cash and the balance in one and two years, notes for deffered payments to bear interest from Jan. 1st 1921, purchaser to get possession of the lands January 1st 1921. Futher Sayeth not. Sworn to and subscribed befopre me ) ) Signed E.G. Bevels on this the 17th day of July 1920 ) Emma Sebastian Notary Public J.A. Bearden, the next witness, being next called and sworn, deposing said: I am acquainted with E.G. Bevels, complainant to the bill filed in the cause, and also well acquainted with the tract of land described in Paragraph One of the bill. I am 50 years of age, and a resident citizen of Lincoln County, Tennessee, where I have lived all of my life, and am a farmer by occupation, and also a member of the County Court of Lincoln County. I heard my uncle, E.S. Bearden say that he had sold to George M. Bevels or to George M. Bevels and his wife, the wat I understood it being to Bevels and his wife, the lot or tract of land described in Paragraph One of the bill filed in this cause. I heard him say this after their house had been destroyed by fire , in which he said that he intended to make them another deed, and would do so whenever they were ready for him to do so. I know also that George M. Bevels and his wife, Mary Bevels, lived on this tract of land and held it in constant, continuous, open, peaceable possession for a long number of years, I will say in all about 30 years, say for 26 or more from the time they bought the property up to the time of the death of George M. Bevels, who died first, and after by Mary Bevels, the wife up until her death which occurred about six months ago, and during all of that time no question was made by any of the Bevel Heirs so far as I know as to the rights of George M. Bevels and his wife, and the death of George M. Bevels of his wife Mary Bevels to said tract of land, and by reason of my intimate acquaintance with my uncle's people, and also by reason of the fact of my intimate acquaintance with my uncle, E.S. Bearden, I believe that is there had been any question or contention that they did not own this property I would have heard of it, and as stated above, I do know that my uncle said that he sold the land to Bevels and his wife, as I understood it, and that he would make a new deed to them wherever they requested it in lieu of the one that has been destroyed by the burning of the house, and for this reason I am therefore sure that my uncle had previously conveyed this land to the said Bevels and wife or her would not have been willign to have executed a second deed in lieu of the one that had been destroyed. My uncle, E.S. Bearden, is now dead and died intestate in Lincoln County, Tennesse, a number of years ago, and at the time of his death left him surviving the following children as his only children abd heirs at last , to wit: 1. Mrs. S.C. Sawyers (or. Mrs Cal. Sawyers) now a widow, a daughter 2. Mrs. M.N. Cunningham, wife of J.W. Cunnincham (or Mollie Cunningham, wife of Wilson Cunningham), a daughter 3. Mrs. Jimie Cunningham, wife of Hence Cunningham, (Or C.H. Cunningham) a daughter, who died intestate since the death of her father, but who left her surviving no children or descendants of such surviving, and her husband is also now dead. 4. Mrs. Florence George, who was a daughter of Mrs. Eva Hamilton, a daughter of E.S. Bearden, said Florence George having since died inestate in Lincoln County, Tennessee, and whose husband have likewise died, and who left her surviving at the time of her death as her only children and heirs at law, three children, to wit: (a) Eva Mattie George (b) Rhea George (c) Mable Lee George 5. Mrs. Julia Watt, wife of P.W. Watt (Or Please Watt) a daughter 6. Earnest Bearden, ( or W.E. Bearden), a son 7. Mrs. Maggie Cunningham, wife of Sam Cunningham (or S.M. Cunningham) a daughter As the bill sets out all of these heirs by name, they are therefore all properly now before the Court as defendants in this cause. P.W. Watt, husband of Julia Watt, resides near Talley Station, Marshall County. I live within about one-half mile of the tract of land described in this bill filed in this cause, have seen it often, it adjoins my own land, and the land owned by my brother and myself, and am therfore well acquainted with these lands. I have heard the description of this land given by E.G. Bevels witness taken before me in this cause, and heard his deposition read, and I think he has correctly described this land, and described it as well as I could describe it, in every respect, and I here adopt his description of it as my own and fully as in here repeated. Owing to the size of the tract, it being a small tract only, onle one set of buildings on it, I am of the opinion that it would not be advantageoysly partitioned in kind between the Owners of the same, but believe it would be manifestly to their interest and advantage that the same be sold instead of partitioned, and if sold think it should be sold on credit of one and two years, except about one-third of the purchase price to be required in cash, and in view also of the fact that the deed has been lost it might be best to survey the land before it is offered for sale so as to definitley and correctly give the boundaries of the land and it proper description by such. I think a reasonable mimimum price for the above lands would be $50.00 per a acre, believe it should not be sold for less that $50.00 per acre, and believe it would bring the sum when offered if sold on the above time and term. Futher sayeth not. Sworn to and subscribed before me) Signed J.A. Bearden on this 17th Day of July 1920 ) Emma Sebastian Notary Public Note on page: 24 miles- 1 days attendance A.B. Clark, the next witness, being next called and sworn, deposing said: I am 49 years of age and resident citizen Lincoln County, Tennesee, where I have lived for a large part of my life. I am well acquainted with E.G. Bevels, and also the tract of land described in the bill in this cause. I was present at the taking of the depositon of E.G. Bevels, taken in this cause prior ro me, and I have heard the description of the lands as given by him in his deposition and know that he has correctly described this land, and has described it as well as I could describe it, and I adopt this description of said land as my own as fully as if here repeted. I live with a half mile of it, have see the tract of land, and am therefore well acquainted with it, in fact, I see the land nearly every day. Owing to the size of the tract, it being a small tract only, onle one set of improvements on it, I do not think it could be advantageoysly partitioned or divided in kind, but am of the opinion that it would be manifestly to their interest and advantage of all parties that the same should be sold for divison, and if sold think it should be sold on credit of one and two years, except about one-third of the purchase price to be required in cash,notes for deffered payments to bear interest from Januaary 1st. 1921, and on these terms think that the reasonable minimum value of the place would be $40.00 per acre. In view of the fact that the dead has been lost and the bill in this case have been filed partly to set up the lost deed, I think it would be advisable to survey the land and definitely locate the boundaries and amount of land before selling it. Futher sayeth not. Sworn to and subscribed before me) Signed A.B. Clark on thie 17th. day og July 1920 ) Emma Sebastian Notary Public Note on page: 26 miles- one day attendance Notes from transcriber: George Martin Bevels was married twice, he married Mary Ellen Beddingfield on Jan 30, 1866 in Lincoln County Tennesse ( she is the mother of Eliza, Emma, James,& Susie) and Mary died in 1878 (burial place not known) George married second on Sept 18, 1878 in Lincoln County, to Mary Elizabeth (Ellen?) Brotherton and had two children (Elisha Green & Telitha Ellen (married Stephen E. Barnes) In the 1900 census of Lincoln County, George was not living with Mary and their 2 children. Also in the 1880 census, George's Children from first wife May Ellen Beddingfield, were living with her parents William James & M. Susan Bollin Beddingfield. Note: There also was a land transaction April 1, 1890 between Pleasant W. Halbert, and wife to Ellis (Elias) Swanner, and Mrs. Ruth Mitchell fro $560 in Lincoln County, Civil Dist. 13, part of divison of land of late James Barnes deceased to Telitha Brotherton, Bounded by: E.S. Bearden, Geo. Bevels, Rev. Debose, S.O. Green, Mrs. Ruth Swanner. (Telitha (Barnes) Brotherton,was Mary E. Brotherton Bevels mother)