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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
AUST1N
Bonorzble
%i.A.Davis - tP@,
stateRe&JtrRr 1P
Terns state Eonrd of ue3l.w
Austin, Tc?xas
4
cr 3 lcttor
Ee desires .
called the '%clclish'
r and tke 2rairie IJo&To-znF+ver
F:tr3.alK4.iiX!eridienlies vest
strivers jo~ir.,Grcer County, Tqas,
d ~.?:~a. I was barn t&ye, 3~s in,tbe
fbrks of t?.osetisorivers ard east of the tree
mot?2 Ksria.52. Yhe I3:ublj.cof Texas claimed
the lrti, aad after '?e& xas Chitted es a state,
the Stc.+eclnkad the lrcd. The 3prexe Cowt
of the &nit& Sfztes in 1596 in a suit broqht by
?hc 'CAted Str.tes,styled VoLted States Vs. Ye-xas,
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I- y21
Bdnorable 3. A. Davis, Page 2
162 U. S. 1, 16 Supa Ct. 725, heid that the
land vzs lomted in the territoriallimits of
tho U*titcdStates end without the St&e of
Texas. On Ltny 2, 18S0, an Act of Corqress
was amroved by the Plesideat, ;rovidlaS for
the or,Tehiz5tionof the Cklahora Territory,
in which Act it is provid.sd'It is hergby
emrossly provided thet t'hlsact shall hot be
construed to op2Py to mid Grcer county until
the tltlo to ths sa.xghas been adjudicctgd
and detenimd to be in the UnFted StE;tes',
to .directthe Attorosy Ggng?.%l
.--;-,---snd~~poceeds
01 tha United 3tntas to brin.2the cbove suit.
Unitod St&es Vs. Taxes, 145 U.S. 621;
*On February 8, 1860, the Lg~klnture of
the Stete of Tems rjaseeden Act croatinS
Gresr Couhtf. Seyles, Early La.179of Texas, 2:
drt. 2386; cR--nelsLEm of Tess, Vol..4, gage
1500. In July, 1336 the.set*Lersof ~Graer
County organized~thecounty ehd mied Ean~uz
as the County Seat, and fro?0that tim to lS(i6.
Grger County Was operated as a,raSular comty
in Taxas, having a reSulai-comty organizatioh,
county offiaers, court house, jail, schools,
county and district ctiurts,and all the other
attributes of a raql.aF~county,and recoglzed ,)
by the State of Texns as a rhgller county. tTb;e
Grew Cotmty ‘:uestion"byi'iebb Lgonldus hoore, .'
pages 76, 84; Ucitgd St&as Vs. Tes.zs, 153
U.E. 1, 16 Sur,.Ct. 725, 754, 143 U.S. 643,
12 3~. Ct. 4S8, 490. After the declsiohof
the Supme Court in 1896, the United Etctes
took over this tgrritory, and Gregr Cou~ti~,
the organizatio5 cegsgd to 3xist, and hns never
existsd since that tLye. IE lE07 O:~iaf;o25
~5s adrAtted as a statg and thsreaftgr-or6onlzad
this territory vrhichhad been Grow County
under thg Texas r:ile~into four c@Iu?tiPs.Eov?
kfform as I?a~?on,Tack30n,,aecLTlan gnS %eer
Counties. Possibly Farnon Comty, Gkl5!xxa,
es aov,constituted has wlti~f5its territorial
litits the la5d on which I MS k:orn. IZaE.on
couptg, olQab3~a is cot 6 successor .toGrcgr
county, Texas; thsy did c.otrocoive their
authority for eristerce fro2 the Silxeg2VerIZ9Etd.
Eonorabls W, A.‘Davis, Page S .
..
souroe, as Hamon-County ws created aad or-
Ganlzed by the Steto of Oklchom, enc?Groer
County WELSoroatcd end orgsdzed by the State
of Team. '.'.%n I &as born, Toses was exercls-
iag sole authorit& in ~ovcmmntal viatters
over tho place of ny birth. The date of my
birth viz8Uarch lCth, lSQ2. ThwState of
OWahom ws not then in o-xioteuoo. 1 have
never lived in the State of Oklaho~. I wim
bozn in Texas, Were ng prents were then
exercislnf; arx?enioying the pivilogw of
CitiiXXU Of the St&e Of %XcaS, and Subject
_-. .-..-20~th3 .Zavfa of .the'Utate..ofTexas. I was
cerriod from Graer County by m parents Won
I wes tm yeaAx of a.;~,end boforo the land
on which I rmi‘tarnwas taken fro= Tbxas,
and while Teizm ma still exorcising juriscilo-
tier?ovsr.said isnd &h& the inhabitants~thereof.~
I hfivenoverlived there since thatdate. Ey
prmuent haze is now, ant5has been for almst~
twenty yems, in 3exar County, Texas;' 3ei8jre.
that it was in Srown County, Texas.. I claim
to bc an6 aa~a native-tom Te~i8n.~ .:.
House Bill Ho, Gl4, Acts of 1939, 46th Legislature,,
p. 3446,'providasthat the resistration OS births or deaths
not provLous1.yrecorCeZ -zmyte subtitte3 to the pro.b?t,e
court in the following tuner:
*'J&l FroviOad fu&her,.that any cit,izen '.
0: the state of'T.sxaswishing to file the re-
cord of eey birth or death. oat pravfously
registcrad,zag aubzit tc kto Trobate Court in
the county r:hzrotte birt!:or cl~~th occurrea,
a recorj.of t'nat.
Lirth or &3ath writton ta
the aaoptcC form of birth clcdGeath certi-
Ehxiites. The cartificato &all be substantiated
by the Elfidavit'of the zw3ical nttamiaqt pre-'
sent at the tim of the birth, or in case of
deeth, the sff'i"iavit
of the physiciao last in
stten&xca uy,onthe Ceceased, or the undertakes
who buried tk.6kody. ';.hentie si'fidtivit0;'tha
Eedical atteccant or undortakar CMfiOb’fie sa-
shill be suy,?orted by
cured, t3o csrt#iI'icaLte
tho effidavit of some ;orson wtio~wasacquainted
c
...-
? ,=x3
Bonorabla Sf.A. Davis, Page 4
with the facts surroundingthe birth or daoth,
at the tka the birth or death on,ixrred, with
a Second affidavit of so!vLe
2ersonr:ho is cc-
quainted with the facts surroukdiqa the birth
or death, 2nd v:20is not related to the indi-
vidual by blood or m.rria~e. The ?robate Court
shall revAre SX~ other in.fO~atloaor cd-
.aer?co5s ~a7 bo dcc-wd nocosser~to establish
the citizcrshi';?
of,thc individual filing the
certificate,sod the truthfulscss of the stots-
-. x,&ts.xde in that record. The Clerk of the
said Court rhcll form?d th5 cartificsteto
the State Bureau of Vital Statisticswith an
order ,fronth0 Court twtha 3tntqB5Sistror that
the racop: brj,or bo hot, acoootsd. mo stats
Registrar 13 a~thOrlssd to scce+ths o5rtifl-
cate ;v'unn
verified in the above azmr, cod
shall issue certified ca-,issof SwhrecordS:~,
as'.prJvidadfor in $ecticn 21 oftbis Act. SilCh
cert.ifiedcO?ies shall 'beprim~facie evidence
ic all COurts sad slices of the fscts statod
thereoo. 2x3 State Furesu of Vital Statistics
Shall furrAsh the form ugou which such recor%
ero filed, x~3 no other for51shall be used for
that ~uq:.osa.~*~(UndpracorirqOurs.)
.i
Reference is n%id in~?.Tr,
McCls5EhsnrSletterto
the case of Uaitec?Ctctteen'+.~Taxas,162 U. S. 1, 16+9. Ct.
725. T&i; cese d.ecideZthe fcnous "Greer County dicputen
end the cwrt held:
*It is . . . decreed . . . that the tcrri-
tory . , . which . . . is so%etius called
'Greer Couht~~, corztituteg 90 pirt of t:m
territory ?m;erly included vrithinor ri.ght-
fuily bulo:l-,ir: to TCJTZIIat the tige tt the
Q&rlj.ssi~a or est. st:ttcinto t!l*union aid is
ECt within the liZitS 5Or Wlb3r the jUI'i5d:C-
tioa of i&,t st,-.tti Yet is subject lx the ex-
Cl~~SiVU;uri&iction of th5 UtiitsdS;tSta3Of
A'morlca."
you vtj.ll
obrorvg that Xr..Zc:cClanaha:ar;
1733 born in
C2w.t;" bxt tkt tho court in the CQBB cited
lC92 iiiffGr.2sr
t tseltt2r:itory XI8 !Xt CQr hr-d.
hold t:.;e OVOr &en G g2rt
of T0XGS 3icce th the of its ud2ieslon into the Union.
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, ,'EonorableW.,A. Davis, Page 5
A sinilar qusstion arose in opinicn Ho. Q-2725.
Thsro it appvrcd thnt certain individs;Els gene born at
EIK&-IO,Texas, cow in arooks County, buttihich town at
the t&e of the births was in Eidal~o Co*mty. ?!eheld
that Drooks Countg VLS the proper county for the iastl-
tution of rrgistrstionproceedings,that the act has in
conteizplctfcncomties as preser?tly, and not 5s fomarly
coristitutsd,that Pzl&algoCon&y es presently oonsttitutea,
is not the county 9:hnreTt or in rthichthebirth occurrod.
SC also in tha present instame. Them is no
county in Tems nor has there been since Texas rzs ad-.
cibted to.the Union in wh.ich12r.PlcClanaha~'sbirth oould
have occurred. The county or territory Whnro" he vzs bcrn
is not and hes nsvor beon in the State ofxs. It fol-
,lms and we mst advise you that no probate ccurt in Texas
baasjurisdictionto entertain the groceedirgs eontenplztea
by Eouse Dill 614 of the Acts of 1939 insofar as 1Tr. '~
lWlacaha?sois ccnoarnsd.
v8ry truly yours
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