Dickerson v. Kirk

Boyd, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an appeal from a decree requiring the appellant to pay the balance of purchase money due for a property situated at the corner of Falls and Constitution streets in Baltimore City, purchased by him from the trustees of the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church. The property was conveyed to the church by the Methodist Sunday School Society of the North Baltimore Station, by a deed dated June 1st, 1863, and had been conveyed to that society by Abraham Silver and Charles Farringer by deed dated the 24th of May, 1841. The appellant alleged, and it is not denied, that neither of those grantees obtained the sanction of the Legislature for those conveyances, in accordance with the requirements of what is now Art. 38 of the Declaration of Rights (Art. 34 of Const. of 1776 and Art. 35 of that of 1851).

Neither of the conveyances shows that it was for such purposes as exempted it from the effect of that provision of the Constitution, which has been, with some changes not affecting this case, in all of the Constitutions of this State, and under the decision of Grove et al. v. Trustees, etc., 33 Md. 451 , they were void. But the evidence conclusively shows' that since June ist, 1863, the date of its deed, the trustees of the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church, which is a body corporate, has been in continuous, notorious, adverse and uninterrupted possession of the property — paying regularly the ground rent reserved thereupon and using the building as a Sunday School room until about three years ago, since which time it has paid taxes on it and rented