John McKinley, Lessee of Croghan v. Nelson — Opinion of the Court
“ Now we have a right to infer, from the facts proved, that all the land included in Croghan's patent, and all the river bottom above Mayfield creek, at the date of the entry, was a dense cane-brake; because, if an object, permanent in its nature, is proved to exist at the time of the trial, it is fair to infer that it existed at the time the entry was made. ”
John McKinley, Lessee of Croghan v. Nelson — Opinion of the Court
“ There is no principle better settled in the land law, than that the calls in a survey and patent are not affected by quantity. If no private and paramount right be interfered with, whether the survey and patent contain more or less than the quantity called for, it is equally valid. An entry cannot call for a greater number of acres than is authorized by the warrant on which it is made ”
John McKinley, Lessee of Croghan v. Nelson — Opinion of the Court
“ Palpable mistakes in the entry, such as a call for east instead of west, which is apparent by other calls in the entry, may be corrected. But where there is no mistake or uncertainty in the calls, to vary them is to make a new entry. This, I conceive, no court has power to do. An entry, like every other instrument of writing, must be construed by the words used. And these words can never be extended, by construction, so as to infringe upon subsequent and bona fide entries. ”
