best of his experience and judgment, and will make a true return thereof. 1786. c. 33, s. 4. to make sur 9. The said commissioners shall meet on the land agreeably to I. s. 9. the notice given by them, and may cause the lands mentioned in the Commissioners commission, as well as any other lands they may think proper, to veys. be surveyed by the surveyor of the county, or such other skilful person as they shall think fit to appoint 1786, c. 33, s. 4. monses for 10. Summonses for witnesses may issue out of the court issuing Id. s. 10, the commission, or by the said commissioners, or a majority of To issue sumthem, and witnesses summoned shall attend, and be subject to pun- witnesses. ishment by the said court for not attending, in the same manner as on summonses issued by and returnable to said court. Id. s. 11. witnesses, how 11. If any witness shall not attend when summoned, the com missioners, or any two of them, shall apply to the clerk of the said Attendance of court for an attachment, which shall issue accordingly to compel compelled. their attendance. 1786, c. 33, s. 4. to administer 12. The commissioners may administer an oath to the surveyor, Id. s. 12. and also to the chain-carriers, to execute their respective duty as Commissioners surveyor or chain-carriers faithfully and impartially, according to the oath. best of their skill; and shall also administer an oath to every witness, that the evidence he shall give to the commissioners in the matter depending in question shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 13. The commissioners shall take the depositions of the witnesses touching their knowledge of the boundaries to he perpetuated, and shall make return thereof, with their other proceedings, to the court, to be recorded, and the same when recorded shall be as good evidence in law or equity as if taken under a commission to perpetuate testimony issued from a court of equity. 14. The commissioners, or any two or more of them, may adjourn from time to time, and they, or a majority of them, or a major part of a majority met, concurring in opinion, shall cause the lands mentioned in the commission to be marked in the lines where convenient, and shall mark or set up boundaries at the termination of the lines, when course and distance only are given, according to their a judication and adjustment of the location thereof, and shall return ન plat and certificate of such marked lines and boundaries to Id. s. 13. 1793, c. 70, s. 2. return deposi 4 H. & J. 200. be evidence. When recorded Id. s. 14. To set up boun 1786, c. 33, s. 4. daries and return plats. the court under their hands, which return shall be received and recorded in the record of land commissions and returns of such court, Returns to be unless the court shall otherwise order, because of the misconduct recorded. of the commissioners. after 1786, c. 33, s. 5. tion of commisrecord thereof to be conclusive recording the return of the commissioners, to call in question when adjudicatheir adjudication, the marking and bounding such land as aforesaid sioner and and the record thereof shall be conclusive evidence of the original location thereof, both as to the direction and termination of the lines; or if the adjudication of the commissioners shall be confirmed by the verdict of a jury in any such suit, the adjudication of evidence. 1 H. & J. 153. the commissioners in the point confirmed by the jury, and between the same parties and those claiming under them, shall conclude to Infants, married every intent and purpose; provided, that every infant, married women, etc., excepted. Id. s. 16. 1785, c. 33, s. 6. Where parties have agreed, commissiouer not to act. Id. s. 17. Id. s. 18. 1786 c. 33, s. 7. Fees of commissioners, Surveyors, etc. woman, insane person, or person in prison and beyond sea, and those claiming under either of them, shall have five years after the disability is removed to commence such suit or action. 16. If the parties interested have fairly agreed to settle the lines of any land, and have fixed boundaries at the termination of such lines to mark and ascertain as well the direction as the extent of the lines, or if such lines have been settled and ascertained by arbitration, no commissioners shall have authority between the same parties or those claiming under them, or either of them, to vary from the lines so settled, agreed, or ascertained. 17. If any persons shall agree to settle and ascertain the location of their lands, and fix boundaries to the same, such settlement and agreement and a plot of the lands so settled may, by consent of the parties interested, be recorded in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of the county, or Superior Court of Baltimore City, and when recorded shall have the same effect as if the location of such land had been settled by commissioners. 18. Each commissioner appointed by the court shall be entitled to two dollars per day for each day he shall attend in the execution of the commission. Any person acting as surveyor shall receive such per diem allowance as shall be adjudged by the commissioners, not exceeding four dollars per day. Each chain-carrier shall receive seventy-five cents, and each witness fifty cents for each day they shall respectively attend, to be paid by the person at whose request the service shall be performed, and, if necessary, attachment of contempt shall be issued by the court issuing the commission to compel such payment. Art. 37, s. 29. 1723, c. 8, s. 2. Commission to perpetuate how taken. 2 II. & G. 147; 182, 230, 239, 531; 4 H. & J. 200. COMMISSIONS TO PERPETUATE BOUNDARIES OF LANDS. 19. Upon petition of any person seized or possessed of lands in his own or any other right, to the Circuit Court for the county bounds of land, where the land lies, or the Superior Court of Baltimore City if the land lies in the city of Baltimore, for a commission to examine 1. & MCH.4; evidences to prove or perpetuate the memory of any of the bounds of such lands, or of any other lands whereon the lands he shall be so seized or possessed of shall depend, or whereto they relate, the court to which such petition shall be preferred may grant a commission to four substantial and capable freeholders within the said county or city, not being in any way related to any of the parties or interested in the land, empowering them, or any three or two of them (they having first taken an oath before the said court or some justice of the peace, duly and impartially to examine and certify such evidences), to issue summons for all such evidences as shall be to them named by the petitioner or other person concerned, to appear before them at a certain day by them to be appointed, upon the lands, the boundaries whereof are to be proved or perpetuated, and to examine all such evidences upon their corporal oaths, to be administered by such commissioners, of their knowledge concerning the several bounds of such lands, and carefully to reduce what the evidences shall declare into writing in the presence of all the parties concerned that shall be there present, and return the same to the said court to be recorded in perpetual memory. land, Ia s. 30. the 20. The said commissioners before their meeting on such where all the parties concerned live in the county, or where are not known, shall cause public notice of such meeting and object thereof, to be set up in the most public places in the county, at least twenty days before such meeting, and where all the persons interested are known and any one of them lives out of the county, they shall cause such notice to be given by advertisement in some newspaper, forty days before such meeting, and shall return a certificate of having given such notice with the examination of the witnesses. 1723, c. 8, s. 4. commission rs 2 II, & McH. 243; H. & J. 451; 1723, c. 8, s. 3. as available as if taken under rules of courts 21. All examinations of witnesses taken by the said commis- Id. s. 31. sioners shall be as good and available as if taken according to the Examinations rules and practice of the courts of equity, notwithstanding any defect or want of form, or of filing or exhibiting a bill. 22. The said commissioners shall receive four dollars a day for their services in taken such depositions, and the witnesses attending upon their summons the sum of one dollar per day for every day they shall attend. Id. s 32. 1723, c. 8, s. 6. pay of commis sioners. 1 Art. 47, s. 1. DESCENTS. 1. If any person seized of an estate in the lands, tenements, or 1820, c. 191, s. 1; hereditaments lying in this State, in fee simple, or fee simple con 1786, e. 45. What lands shall descend. 21 Md. 477; 23 Md. 111-113; 32 Md. 77; 47 Md. 356. Id. s. 2. ditional, or of an estate in fee tail general, shall die intestate thereof, such lands, tenements, or hereditaments shall descend in fee simple to the kindred male and female of such person in the following order, to wit: 2. First, to the child or children and their descendants, if any, How to descend. equally. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Id. s. 3. 3. If no child or descendant, and the estate descended to the inHow when de- testate on the part of the father, then to the father. rived from the Id. s. 4. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Same. father. 27 Md. 200. 4. If no father living, then to the brothers and sisters of the intestate of the blood of the father, and their descendants equally. 5. If no brother or sister as aforesaid, or descendant from such 1820, c. 191, s. 1. brother or sister, then to the grandfather, on the part of the 27 Md. 200. Id. s. 5. Same. 27 Md. 200. Id. s. 6. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Id. s. 7. father. 6. If no such grandfather living, then to the descendants of such grandfather and their descendants, in equal degree equally. 7. If no descendant of such grandfather, then to the father of 1820, c. 191, s. 1. such grandfather, and if none such living, then to the descendants of the father of such grandfather in equal degree, and so on, passing Same. to the next lineal male paternal ancestor, and, if none such, to his descendants in equal degree without end. 8. If no paternal ancestor or descendant from such ancestor, then Id. s. 8. to the mother of the intestate. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Same. 9. If no mother living, to her descendants in equal degree Id. s. 9. equally. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Same. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. 10. If no mother living, or descendants from such mother, then Id. s. 10. to the maternal ancestors and their descendants, in the same man- same. ner as is above directed as to the paternal ancestors and their descendants. 1820, c. 191 s. 1. 11. If the estate descended to the intestate on the part of the Ia s. 11. mother, and the intestate shall die without any child or descendant, How when then the estate shall go to the mother. derived from the mother. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. 12. If no mother living, then to the brothers and sisters of the Id s. 12. intestate of the blood of the mother and their descendants in equal same. degree equally. 9 Md. 576. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Same. 13. If no such brother or sister, or descendant of such brother or Id. s. 13. sister, then to the grandfather on the part of the mother. 14. If no such grandfather living, then to his descendants in Id. s. 14. equal degree equally. 15. If no such descendant of such grandfather, then to the father of such grandfather, and if none such living, then to his descendants in equal degree, and so on, passing to the next male maternal ancestor, and if none such living, to his descendants in equal degree. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Id. s 15. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. 16. If no such maternal ancestor, or descendant from any ma- Id. s. 16. ternal ancestor, then to the father of the intestate. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Same. 17. If no father living, to his descendants in equal degree Id. s. 17. equally. 1820, e. 191, s. 1. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. Same. 18. If no father living, or descendant from the father, then to Id. s. 18. the paternal ancestors and their descendants, in the same manner hereinbefore directed as to the maternal ancestors. or Id. s. 19. 1820, c. 1. ed by 19. If the estate shall be vested in the intestate by purchase, shall descend to or vest in the intestate in any other manner than as hereinbefore mentioned, and there be no child or descendant of such intestate, then the estate shall descend to the brothers and sisters of 27 Md. 200; such intestate of the whole blood, and their descendants in equal degree equally. 29 Md. 131. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. 2. If no brother or sister of the whole blood, or descendant Id. s. 20. from such brother or sister, then to the brothers and sisters of the Same. half blood and their descendants in equal degree equally. 1820, c. 191, s. 1. 21. If no brother or sister of the whole or half blood, or any de- Id. s. 21. scendant from such brother or sister, then to the father, and if no same. father living, then to the mother, and if no mother living, then to the grandfather on the part of the father, and if no such grandfather living, then to the descendants of such grandfather in equal degree equally. |