My question involves real estate located in the State of: Pennsylvania
Hello All, first post here.
I own an 88 ac tract in deeply rural PA. My access passes through an adjacent 70 ac tract that has had numerous subdivisions, then through a 13 ac tract, then connects to a township road.
All three tracts trace to an original 1840 land warrant from the state to "Abel Barnes" who at that time owned the entire valley.
In 1878 Abel Barnes made the first private sale of my 88 acre tract, while retaining ownership of all the surrounding land. He included a phrase unique to PA land deeds "and the usual allowance of 6 percent for roads." He owned the land between the tract he sold and the then existing township road. We believe the 88 ac tract was occupied at that time and the access road was already in existence.
In 1882 he sold a 13 ac tract that intersected said township road, and that township road is mentioned in the deed to the 13 ac tract. In this deed there is no mention of the 6 percent allowance. Remember that the access road now leads from the 88ac that has been sold, through Abel Barnes unsold land, through the 13ac that has been sold, to connect with the township road.
In 1885 Abel Barnes sold the final 70 acre tract that lies between the 88ac and 13 ac tracts. In this deed he includes the language "and the usual allowance of 6 percent for roads."
****
Fast forward 140 years and the 70 acre tract has had subdivisions of four lots, all of which have boundaries that intersect the access road, all owned by the same family members who have a long and fractious history of fighting with each other. All refuse to maintain the access road and claim to be able to prevent anyone else from maintaining the road. The earlier deeds for this 70 ac tract recite the 6 percent call out up until 1954 when this fighting family purchased the land. All of the following subdivision deeds omit the 6 percent call and refer to a private road.
There are more details of course, but my question is simple. Does the 6 percent allowance in the 88ac deed constitute a right of way easement to the township road? Does the 6 percent allowance in the 70ac deed also constitute an easement to the road? If this is not an easement, Able Barnes would have land locked himself when he made the 1882 13ac sale. The same 6 percent language occurs in other deeds he conveyed during this time.
My admittedly biased interpretation is that the language confers senior easements rights to the 88ac tract
****
As a historical note, the 6 percent language was introduced by the Penn family in colonial times. If you purchased a grant for 100 ac, they conveyed 106ac "for roads and barren ground", specifically to improve the commerce of the commonwealth. Pretty nice of those Quakers!
Any help and citations from PA surveyors and Attorneys would be greatly appreciated here.
Thanks!
Hello All, first post here.
I own an 88 ac tract in deeply rural PA. My access passes through an adjacent 70 ac tract that has had numerous subdivisions, then through a 13 ac tract, then connects to a township road.
All three tracts trace to an original 1840 land warrant from the state to "Abel Barnes" who at that time owned the entire valley.
In 1878 Abel Barnes made the first private sale of my 88 acre tract, while retaining ownership of all the surrounding land. He included a phrase unique to PA land deeds "and the usual allowance of 6 percent for roads." He owned the land between the tract he sold and the then existing township road. We believe the 88 ac tract was occupied at that time and the access road was already in existence.
In 1882 he sold a 13 ac tract that intersected said township road, and that township road is mentioned in the deed to the 13 ac tract. In this deed there is no mention of the 6 percent allowance. Remember that the access road now leads from the 88ac that has been sold, through Abel Barnes unsold land, through the 13ac that has been sold, to connect with the township road.
In 1885 Abel Barnes sold the final 70 acre tract that lies between the 88ac and 13 ac tracts. In this deed he includes the language "and the usual allowance of 6 percent for roads."
****
Fast forward 140 years and the 70 acre tract has had subdivisions of four lots, all of which have boundaries that intersect the access road, all owned by the same family members who have a long and fractious history of fighting with each other. All refuse to maintain the access road and claim to be able to prevent anyone else from maintaining the road. The earlier deeds for this 70 ac tract recite the 6 percent call out up until 1954 when this fighting family purchased the land. All of the following subdivision deeds omit the 6 percent call and refer to a private road.
There are more details of course, but my question is simple. Does the 6 percent allowance in the 88ac deed constitute a right of way easement to the township road? Does the 6 percent allowance in the 70ac deed also constitute an easement to the road? If this is not an easement, Able Barnes would have land locked himself when he made the 1882 13ac sale. The same 6 percent language occurs in other deeds he conveyed during this time.
My admittedly biased interpretation is that the language confers senior easements rights to the 88ac tract
****
As a historical note, the 6 percent language was introduced by the Penn family in colonial times. If you purchased a grant for 100 ac, they conveyed 106ac "for roads and barren ground", specifically to improve the commerce of the commonwealth. Pretty nice of those Quakers!
Any help and citations from PA surveyors and Attorneys would be greatly appreciated here.
Thanks!
Use and Enforcement: Pennsylvanie "6 Percent Allowance for Roads" Easement Language
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