ON THE LAW OF REAL ESTATE, AND OF THE MODE OF ALIENATION THEREOF; WITH AN APPENDIX OF FORMS OF CONVEYANCING, AND NOTES: Adapted to the Law of the State of New York: PUBLIC BY JOHN WILLARD, LED, LATE ONE OF THE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, ALBANY: . WILLIAM GOULD, LAW BOOKSELLER, No. 60, STATE STREET. 1 8 6 1. ENTERED according to act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, BY WILLIAM GOULD, in the crerk's office of the district court of the northern district of New York. Steam Presses of G. M. Davison, PREFACE. HE object of this treatise is to give a general view of the existing law of real property in this state, and of the mode of conveying and charging the same. No man can become a good pleader or conveyancer until he has become acquainted with the doctrine of estates. It is indispensable that he should know, when called upon to advise as to the form of a deed, lease or mortgage, what interest, the grantor possesses, and what he proposes to convey to another; how that interest may be affected by charges and incumbrances; how these latter may be ascertained and removed. The whole law of title to things real, whether derived by descent or purchase, is, therefore, an essential part of the education of a lawyer; and especially, of a conveyancer. There are few subjects of English jurisprudence which have been more fully discussed than those which relate to real estate, and its mode of alienation. From the time when Littleton wrote his treatise on TENURES, more than four hundred years ago, to the present day, the subject has, in various forms, enlisted the best talents of the English juridical writers. Although most of their works contain matter of great value to an American student, they are encumbered with much that is useless to him, and which, indeed, may in many instances, mislead him. Our jurisprudence, though based upon the common law, underwent many changes in adapting itself to the condition of the country. |