Castro v. Tennent

Citations

• 44 Cal. 253
• 1872 Cal. LEXIS 191

Syllabus

<p>Construction of Descriptive Clause in A Deed.—A deed from 0. and wife described the premises conveyed as “all the 'undivided .half of the right, title, and interest of the said parties of the first part of, in, and to that certain tract and parcel of land lying and being in the State of California and County of Santa Clara, known by the name of the Rancho Santa Teresa, the interest therein conveyed being the same acquired by the parties of the first part as heirs of José Joaquin Bernal and his wife, Josefa Sanchez de Bernal, deceased:” Held, that there was no repugnancy in the descriptive clause of the deed, and that it appeared on the face thereof that it was the intention of the grantors to convey only such interest as they had acquired as the heirs of Bernal and his wife. Held further, that the deed conveyed the separate interest which the wife of Castro, one of the grantors, had acquired as the heir of Bernal and wife, and that it did not convey the interest which one of the grantors, Joaquin Castro, had acquired in the Rancho Santa Teresa by purchase.</p> <p>Definition of Word “ Heir.”—The word “ heir ” is not limited in its meaning to one to whom an estate of inheritance has descended from his immediate ancestor, but a person is the heir of one from whom he has inherited by several successive descents.</p>