Robles and Secundino Robles, and the said vendees have agreed thereto. And the said Don José Peña hereby renounces the laws bearing on contracts, purchases and sales, barter or exchange, and others bearing upon frauds in sale more or less of the moiety of the just price, and that from the period stipulated, henceforward and forever, he dispossess himself of, quits and withdraws himself and his children, heirs and successors, from the domain, fee, possession, right, title and resources, and any other rights whatsoever pertaining to the same, the said rancho of Rincon de S. F., which he yields, renounces and transfers unto the persons of the vendees, or whom may act for them, that they may possess, enjoy, barter, alienate, use and dispose thereof at their discernment, as their own property acquired by right and legitimate title; and for the observance of all above mentioned, the said D. J. P. binds himself, and his estate had and to be had, and therewith he submits to the courts and justice, who ought and may cognize of such a case according to law, in order that, for the fulfilment thereof, they may judge and compel him as by a definitive judgment, and passed to a tried case, and as such he shall admit it, and renounce such law which may favor him in the case. In testimony whereof, he signed his name hereunto with myself and the witnesses, it being on common paper, the day and month first above mentioned, which I attest. JOSÉ PEÑA. Witness: AGUSTIN DESFORGES. At folio 122 of the book of reg'ty there appears the deed of purchase made by Don Diego Forbes, attorney of Sen's Robles, and for the safety of the vendee this certificate is made the 14th day of July, 1849. (Sig.) ANTONIO MA. PICO, Alcalde. Opinion of the Board. TEODORO ROBLES and SECUNDINO ROBLES) For the tract of land called "Rincon de San Francisquito." VS. THE UNITED STATES. The petitioners allege that the land for which they ask a confirmation was granted by the government to José Peña, through whom they claim title by his conveyance to them. They have given in evidence a traced copy of the espediente, showing that said Peña presented his petition for the land to the prefect of the first district, February 23d, 1841; that information was obtained in the usual [REC. CLXXIV, D. T., 1858.]-3 1 manner and transmitted to Governor Alvarado, who, on the 29th March of the same year, made the concession and issued the grant, the original of which, duly proved, is filed in the case. There is no evidence of approval by the departmental assembly, nor is there any proof of juridical possession. The deposition of José de la Cruz Sanchez shows that said Peña occupied the premises, residing thereon, and using the land for agricultural and grazing purposes, as far back, at least, as the year in which the grant was made; that Alexander Forbes succeeded him and lived on the premises, occupying it in the same way, and that some seven or eight years ago the present claimant purchased the property of said Forbes, and have lived upon and cultivated it ever since. A deed of conveyance of the land made by said Peña, directly to the claimant in the case, is introduced and proved, bearing date the 10th day of September, 1847. The land granted is described by metes and bonds, and by reference to the map and to the limits of the surrounding tracts mentioned in the grant as boundaries, it is believed a survey of it can be made with little difficulty.. The claim appears to be meritorious, and it is therefore confirmed. Filed in office November 29th, 1853. GEO. FISHER, Sec'y. Decree of Confirmation. TEODORO ROBLES and SECUNDINO ROBLES VS. THE UNITED STATES. In this case, on hearing the proofs and allegations, it is adjudged by the commission that the said claim of the petitioners is valid, and the same is therefore hereby confirmed. The land of which confirmation is hereby made is the place known by the name of "Rincon de San Francisquito," being the same on which said claimants now reside, and bounded and described as follows, to wit: Bounded on the northwardly side by the rancho of Doña Antonia Mesa, by the land of Don Antonio Buelna, and by that of Doña Guadalupe Briones; on the west side by the range of hills from the land of said Guadalupe Briones to the point known by the name of "Arastradero;" on the south side by said "Arastradero" until it reaches the land of Francisco Estrada; and thence by said Estrada's north line to the east end of the same; and on the east side by the bay to the south line of the rancho of said Antonia Mesa first mentioned, at the southeast corner thereof. The limits of the land hereby confirmed to be subject to the settlement and location of the said lines of the ranchos and lands above mentioned, as the same has been defined and settled by juridical survey, or as the same shall be defined and settled under confirmations by this commis sion, or, in default of both, as the same were understood and settled at the time of the grant of the premises hereby confirmed to José Peña on the 29th day of March, 1841. Reference to be had to said grant, and also to the map or plan of said premises on file in this case, attached to and forming a part of the traced copy of the espediente, duly certified from the office of the United States surveyor general for California. ALPHEUS FELCH, Filed in office November 29th, 1853. Commissioners. GEO. FISHER, Secretary. Secretary's Certificate. OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS To ascertain and settle the private land claims in the State of Cal' a. I, George Fisher, secretary to the board of commissioners to ascertain and settle the private land claims in the State of California, do hereby certify the foregoing twenty-seven pages, numbered from 1 to 27, both inclusive, to contain a true, correct, and full transcript of the record of the proceedings, and of the decision of the said board, of the documentary evidence, and of the testimony of the witnesses upon which the same is founded, où file in this office in case No. 200 on the docket of the said board, wherein Teodoro and Secundino Robles are claimants against the United States, for the place known by the name of "Rincon de San Francisquito. In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand and affix my private seal (not having a seal of office) at San Francisco, California, this twenty-third day of August, A. D. 1854, [SEAL.] and of the independence of the United States of America the seventy-ninth. Endorsed: Filed August 23d, 1854. GEO. FISHER, Sec'y. JOHN A. MONROE, Clerk. Notice of Appeal. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, TEODORO AND SECUNDINO ROBLES You will please take notice that in the above case, decided by the commissioners to ascertain and settle private land claims in the State of California in favor of the claimant, and a transcript of the proceedings in which was received in this office on the 18th day of August, 1854, the appeal in the district court of the United States for the northern district of California will be prosecuted by the United States. C. CUSHING, Attorney General. JOHN A. MONROE, Clerk. Endorsed: Filed January 8th, 1855. Petition. To the honorable District Court of the United States in and for the northern district of California. The petition of the United States by their attorney represents, that this cause is an application for a review of the decision of the board of commissioners whereby the claim of the said appellee was confirmed, as appears by reference to the records in the case; that a transcript of the said records was filed in this court, on the 1st day of January, 1855; that a notice of appeal was filed on the first day of January, 1855, and that the land claimed lies in the said district; that the said claim is invalid. Wherefore the appellants pray that the said decision of the board be reversed, and that this court decree the said title to be invalid. Respectfully, &c., Endorsed: Filed June 27th, 1855. A. GLASSELL, Ass't U.S. Att'y. JOHN A. MONROE, Clerk. By W. H. CHEVERS, Deputy. Answer District Court of the United States, northern district of California. THE UNITED STATES, Appellants, VS. TEODORO Y SECUNDINO ROBLES. No. 81.-L. C. docket No. 200. Teodoro and Secundino Robles, appellees and claimants in the above entitled case, in answer to the petition therein filed, aver and say, that their title to the land therein claimed is valid. They therefore pray that the decision of the board of land commissioners be affirmed, and the title of the said claimants be decreed to be valid. J. CLARKE, Att'y for Claimants. Endorsed: Filed June 27th, 1855. JOHN A. MONROE, Clerk. By W. H. CHEVERS, Deputy. Opinion by his honor Judge M. H. McAllister. THE UNITED STATES, Appellants, VS. TEODORO ROBLES and SECUNDINO ROBLES, Appellees. The appellees claim through a mesne conveyance from Alexander Forbes, whose title is derived from one Don José Peña, the grantee. The grant was issued to the said Peña by Governor Alvarado on the 29th March, 1841, and was for a tract of land known by the name of "Rincon de San Francisquito," bounded by the rancho of Doña Antonio Meza, by the land of Doña Guadalupe Briones, by the ranges of the hills as far as to the point known by the name of "Arastradero," until reaching the land of Don San Francisco Estrada. The third condition describes the land to be of the extent as shown by the sketch annexed to the espediente. The genuineness of the grant, the original of which was before the commissioners, is established, and the parol testimony ascertains the occupancy of the land by the grantee from the year in which the grant was issued, its subsequent occupation by Forbes at the time of his purchase from the grantee until some eight years ago, when latter sold to the appellees, since which period they have lived on and cultivated the premises. A deed of conveyance from Forbes for the property is in evidence. The only objections to the caim are, the want of approval by the departmental assembly, and the failure to obtain judicial possession. These cannot, under the circumstances of this case, avail to defeat the claim. The decision of the commissioners must be therefore affirmed. TEODORO ROBLES and SECUNDO ROBLES. Stated term, October 29th, 1855. Appeal from the final decision of the commissioners to ascertain and settle private land claims in California. This cause coming on to be heard at a stated term of this court on an appeal from the final decision of the board of commissioners to ascertain and settle private land claims in the State of California, under the act of Congress approved March 3d, 1851, upon the transcript of the proceedings and decision, and the papers and evidence on which said claim was founded; and it appearing to the court that such transcript has been duly filed according to law, and counsel for both parties having appeared, it is ordered, adjudged |