7. John A. Rollinson and Malinda E. Rollinson, his wife, executed their warranty deed to Joel D. Minor February 22, 1899, to the said land, recorded in book 71, page 430, office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill.

8. On or about the 1st of September 1921, Joel D. Minor made application to the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis for a loan on the said land and in support of his title obtained an attorney's certificate of land patent, dated September 3, 1921, executed by B. P. Holzberg, which said certificate shows that a patent on said land was granted by the United States of America to Joshua Britton on February 1, 1851, said patent being recorded in volume 74, page 13, United States Land Office, and carries a notation "patent sent to local office." Photostatic copy of said attorney's certificate is hereto attached and made a part of this affidavit. The loan applied for to the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis was approved in every respect except that the applicant could not obtain information relative to the location of the bodily heirs of Samantha J. Hogue, from whom the Federal Land Bank was requiring quit claim deeds. (See item No. 3 above.)

I have read the report of Mr. Oscar L. Chapman, Under Secretary of the Interior, dated February 18, 1948, and cannot agree with the conclusions reached by him in his report for the reason that according to his statement the Government Land Office records show that Joshua Britton filed on the south half (S) of the southeast quarter (SE) of section twenty-three (23), township one (1) south, range three (3) east, and further that the bureau tract book for township one (1) south, range three (3) east of the 3d P. M., Illinois, shows that warrant 52347 issued to Joshua Britton was located on the south half (S1⁄2) of the southeast quarter (SE) of section twenty-three (23) and other lands in township one (1) south, range three (3) east of the 3d P. M., and further that the Shawneetown land office plat for township one (1) south, range three (3) east carries a notation "Warrant 1847-455,” which is the identification of the receiver's certificate issued pursuant to warrant No. 52347 owned by Joshua Britton. It is apparent to me from the facts disclosed that the United States of America was in error when it granted a patent on the land in township five (5) south, range three (3) east of the 3d P. M. in Illinois in 1851 and that the present victim of the Government's error is Joel D. Minor. Further, this deponent says that he believes that the Secretary of the Interior should be required to grant a patent on the above described land to Joel D. Minor and that his belief is based upon his knowledge of the facts and circumstances as hereinabove outlined and that the said Joel D. Minor and his successors in interest may not be made the innocent third party victims of an obvious error committed by persons in the employ of his Government.

Further this deponent sayeth not.

Dated this the 28th day of February A. D. 1948.

AVERY MINOR, Affiant.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, a notary public in and for Marion County and State of Illinois, on this the 28th day of February A. D. 1948.

ATTORNEY'S CERTIFICATE OF LAND PATENT

WASHINGTON, D. C., September 3, 1921. I hereby certify that I have examined the records of the General Land Office and find that the SE. 1⁄4 of SE. 1⁄4 and SW. % of SE. 1⁄4 of Sec. 23, and W. 1⁄2 of SW. of 160 acres sec. 3, T. 1 S., R. 3 E. 3rd District of Shawneetown, State Illinois, was entered by Joshua Britton on May 18, 1849, with M. B. L. Warrant #52347, Act of 1847. Patented to Joshua Britton, February 1, 1851. Patent recorded, vol. 74, page 13.

Patent sent to local office.

B. P. HOLZBERG, Attorney at Law.

from that time to the present has continued to be on the tax rolls. In 1861 it was sold for taxes and tax title was given by the county. Between 1861 and 1899, title to this land was transferred no less than six times. The present owner, Joel D. Minor, purchased the land 49 years ago. He has improved it with farm buildings, using the land for agricultural purposes. In 1921, he obtained a loan on the land from the Federal Land Bank, a Federal Government agency, which mortgage has since been paid off. In 1944 he gave a lease for prospecting for oil on the land. In searching the title the oil company interested discovered that an error had been made in the land records and that a patent in fee apparently had not actually been issued for the land.

Examination of the records of the Bureau of Land Management indicates that Joshua Britton filed a warrant on the S1⁄2 of the SE, sec. 23, T. 5 S., R. 3 E., of the principal meridian, Illinois, but the plat book indicates the description to be the S1⁄2 of the SE sec. 23, T. 1 S., R. 3 E, of the principal meridian, Illinois. As pointed out in the report of the Department of the Interior, made a part hereof, at some time during the confusion of those pioneer days someone, apparently discovering the error, drew a red line through the record of this entry in township 5 S. and made the notation "See 24-1-3," but noted no further explanation.

A complete chronology of the land records in the office of the recorder of deeds of Jefferson County, Ill., is set forth in the following affidavit:

I, Avery Minor, being duly sworn under oath, depose and say that the following chronological facts appear on the land records in the office of the recorder of deeds of Jefferson County, Ill., in relation to the land described as the south half (S) of the southeast quarter (SE) of section twenty-three (23), township one (1) south, range three (3) east of the third principal meridian, Jefferson County, Ill. 1. The original land entry book of Jefferson County, Ill., shows that entry was made on the above-described land May 21, 1849, by Joshua Britton. The record is silent as to payment of taxes on said land from the years 1849 to 1856, but it can be assumed with more than a reasonable degree of certainty that Joshua Britton paid taxes on the land in question during this period. The taxes were permitted to become delinquent for the years 1856 and 1857 and were sold by C. G. Vaughn, sheriff of Jefferson County, Ill., on June 14, 1858, to Lemuel B. Gregory, who obtained a tax deed on April 8, 1861, recorded in book M, page 562, office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill.

2. On January 10, 1887, Lemuel B. Gregory conveyed the above-described land to Samantha J. Hogue and her bodily heirs, book 39, page 345, office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill.

3. December 18, 1888, Samantha J. Hogue and William H. Hogue, her husband, conveyed the said land by warranty deed to Ida O. Chambliss and William D. Chambliss, her husband, recorded in book 44, page 9 office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill.

4. On January 22, 1889, Ida O. Chambliss and William D. Chambliss, her husband, conveyed the said land by warranty deed to James C. Rankin, book 44, page 24, office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill.

5. James C. Rankin died prior to February 1, 1892, leaving Mahulda and Dora D. Rankin, minors, as his only heirs at law, for whom Lydia A. Baker was appointed guardian February 1, 1892, and under order of the Probate Court of Jefferson County, Ill., at the April term, 1892, executed a guardian's deed to Charles E. Bruce, dated May 14, 1892, recorded in book 51, page 572, of the office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill.

6. Charles E. Bruce, a single person, executed his deed to John Rollinson, dated December 18, 1897, recorded in book 52, page 350, office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill

7. John A. Rollinson and Malinda E. Rollinson, his wife, executed their warranty deed to Joel D. Minor February 22, 1899, to the said land, recorded in book 71, page 430, office of the recorder of deeds, Jefferson County, Ill.

8. On or about the 1st of September 1921, Joel D. Minor made application to the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis for a loan on the said land and in support of his title obtained an attorney's certificate of land patent, dated September 3, 1921, executed by B. P. Holzberg, which said certificate shows that a patent on said land was granted by the United States of America to Joshua Britton on February 1, 1851, said patent being recorded in volume 74, page 13, United States Land Office, and carries a notation "patent sent to local office." Photostatic copy of said attorney's certificate is hereto attached and made a part of this affidavit. The loan applied for to the Federal Land Bank of St. Louis was approved in every respect except that the applicant could not obtain information relative to the location of the bodily heirs of Samantha J. Hogue, from whom the Federal Land Bank was requiring quit claim deeds. (See item No. 3 above.)

I have read the report of Mr. Oscar L. Chapman, Under Secretary of the Interior, dated February 18, 1948, and cannot agree with the conclusions reached by him in his report for the reason that according to his statement the Government Land Office records show that Joshua Britton filed on the south half (S1⁄2) of the southeast quarter (SE) of section twenty-three (23), township one (1) south, range three (3) east, and further that the bureau tract book for township one (1) south, range three (3) east of the 3d P. M., Illinois, shows that warrant 52347 issued to Joshua Britton was located on the south half (S%) of the southeast quarter (SE1⁄4) of section twenty-three (23) and other lands in township one (1) south, range three (3) east of the 3d P. M., and further that the Shawneetown land office plat for township one (1) south, range three (3) east carries a notation "Warrant 1847-455," which is the identification of the receiver's certificate issued pursuant to warrant No. 52347 owned by Joshua Britton. It is apparent to me from the facts disclosed that the United States of America was in error when it granted a patent on the land in township five (5) south, range three (3) east of the 3d P. M. in Illinois in 1851 and that the present victim of the Government's error is Joel D. Minor. Further, this deponent says that he believes that the Secretary of the Interior should be required to grant a patent on the above described land to Joel D. Minor and that his belief is based upon his knowledge of the facts and circumstances as hereinabove outlined and that the said Joel D. Minor and his successors in interest may not be made the innocent third party victims of an obvious error committed by persons in the employ of his Government.

Further this deponent sayeth not.

Dated this the 28th day of February A. D. 1948.

AVERY MINOR, Affiant.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, a notary public in and for Marion County and State of Illinois, on this the 28th day of February A. D. 1948.

ATTORNEY'S CERTIFICATE OF LAND PATENT

WASHINGTON, D. C., September 3, 1921. I hereby certify that I have examined the records of the General Land Office and find that the SE. 1⁄4 of SE. 4 and SW. 4 of SE. 1⁄4 of Sec. 23, and W. 1⁄2 of SW. of 160 acres sec. 3, T. 1 S., R. 3 E. 3rd District of Shawneetown, State Illinois, was entered by Joshua Britton on May 18, 1849, with M. B. L. Warrant #52347, Act of 1847. Patented to Joshua Britton, February 1, 1851. Patent recorded, vol. 74, page 13.

Patent sent to local office.

B. P. HOLZBERG, Attorney at Law.

The adverse report of the Department of the Interior on this legislation under date of February 18, 1948, based entirely upon the technical legal question involved, is set forth in the following communication to Hon. Richard J. Welch, chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives, from Oscar L. Chapman, Under Secretary of the Interior:

Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH,

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington 25, D. C., February 18, 1948.

Chairman, Committee on Public Lands,

House of Representatives.

MY DEAR MR. WELCH: This is in further reply to your request for a report on House Joint Resolution 242, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue a patent for certain land to Joel D. Minor.

I recommend that the resolution be not enacted.

The resolution would require the Secretary to issue a patent to Joel D. Minor for the S1⁄2 SE, sec. 23, T. 1 S., R. 3 E., 3d P. M., Illinois. This Department has absolutely no evidence to connect Joel D. Minor with the land to which the bill relates. No claim has ever been made on his behalf before the Department, nor do the records of the Department show that he has any interest in or claim to the land. It may be, however, that he is the successor in interest of one Avery Minor who has previously claimed a portion of the S1⁄2 SE, sec. 23, T. 1 S., R. 3 E., in proceedings before the Department. Assuming that Joel D. Minor is the successor of Avery Minor, the situation with respect to the land is this:

The abstract of records of the Shawneetown, Ill., land office shows that warrant No. 52347 for 160 acres under the act of 1847 was located by Joshua Britton on the S1⁄2 SE, sec. 23 and the W SW, sec. 24, T. 5 S., R. 3 E. The Shawneetown office plat for T. 5 S., R. 3 E., carries a pencil notation that this entry covers the same land, as does both the warrant itself and the Shawneetown register and receiver's certificate No. 455. The certificate of location also describes the township involved as 5 S. and on February 1, 1851, a patent was issued in the name of Joshua Britton for the land in T. 5 S., R. 3 E. The Department also has evidence that the records of Franklin County, Ill., show that Joshua Britton conveyed the land in T. 5 S., to James Bushue and that the present owners thereof based their claim on the original Britton patent.

The tract book of the Bureau of Land Management in which entries for land in T. 5 S., R. 3 E., are posted shows that Joshua Britton located the warrant on land in T. 5 S. This posting, however, has been lined through with red ink and noted: "Error-See 24-1-3."

The Bureau's tract book for T. 1 S., R. 3 E., 3d P. M., Illinois, contains a notation that warrant No. 52347 was located on the S1⁄2 SE, sec. 23 and the W1⁄2 SW, sec. 24, in that township, and the Shawneetown land office plat for T. 1 S., R. 3 E. carries a notation: "Wt. 1847-455."

It thus appears that claims of title to two different tracts in different counties have been based on the same warrant location. The tract books show no dispositions other than those discussed above.

The matter was considered carefully by the Acting Director, Bureau of Land Management, in a decision of November 19, 1946, wherein he held:

"The application and evidence filed in support thereof are not sufficient to warrant the issuance of a supplemental patent by this office. It is not satisfactorily shown by the records of this office or the evidence furnished by the applicant that Joshua Britton actually intended to enter land in T. 1 S., instead of T. 5 S. In fact, the preponderance of the evidence is in favor of the premise that the patent was correctly issued for land in T. 5 S., R. 3 E. This conclusion is justified by the fact that the latter description is used on the original location paper filed on May 21, 1849, which entry is shown consistently on the Shawneetown local office abstract, tract book, and plat, and on the tract book in this office as being in T. 5 S., R. 3 É.

"The records do not reflect any reason or justification for lining out the original posting of the entry in T. 5 S., R. 3 E.. and reposting it in T. 1 S. R. 3 E. Therefore, no reason appears for disturbing the present patent issued for the W1⁄2 SW sec. 24, S1⁄2 SE1⁄4 sec. 23, T. 5 S., R. 3 E."

It is evident that the titles of the present claimants of the land in T. 1 S. are defective since they are not based on any patent nor, in fact, on any application. The Department has no knowledge as to why the predecessors of the present holders accepted the defective title. The holders in T. 5 S., on the other hand. seem to have titles based on a valid patent, which would exhaust the rights derived from the Britton entry.

The color of title law (43 U. S. C., sec. 1068) provides a remedy for persons in situations such as that of those who now claim the land in T. 1 S. The Bureau of Land Management has suggested that law be used, but no effort has been made to do so. It is true that the color of title law requires the reservation of minerals to the United States, while the resolution would not. No facts have been shown, however, to justify favoring Joel D. Minor with special legislation in this respect while other citizens are required to follow the general statute.

suThe Bureau of the Budget has advised me that there is no objection to the bmission of this report.

Sincerely yours,

OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Under Secretary of the Interior.

The Committee on Public Lands is unanimously of the opinion that it would be unfair and unjust to require the present holder of this land, Joel D. Minor, to repurchase the land under the color of title law as suggested by the Department. Mr. Minor bought this land in good faith in 1899 and for 49 years has paid taxes on it, has improved and maintained it, and has even placed a mortgage with a Federal agency which was accepted and is now completely paid off. The committee feels that all of the justice and equity belongs to Mr. Minor. He should not be penalized for an error made almost a century ago and the Committee on Public Lands unanimously and strongly recommends the passage of this resolution amended to confirm title in the original patentee as of May 21, 1849.

AMENDMENT

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

That title in fee simple is hereby confirmed in Joshua Britton who made entry under the Act of 1847 under Warrant No. 52347 on May 21, 1849, at Shawneetown, Illinois, District Land Office, his heirs and assigns, to all rights to and interest in the following described lands in Jefferson County, Illinois: South one-half of the southeast quarter of section 23, township 1 south, range 3 east, third principal meridian, Illinois.

Amend the title to read as follows:

A bill to confirm title in fee simple in Joshua Britton to certain lands in Jefferson County, Illinois.