A Missing Deed, Twenty Years of Possession, and a Lot in Denny’s Lands
A Seattle quiet-title case turned on record deeds, an unrecorded sale, and two brick buildings—and the plaintiff won.
A deed that had thrown a cloud upon property in Denny’s lands was the subject of a suit to quiet title, decided by Judge Langley in favor of the plaintiff, who claimed the lot under a record title. The property is lot 6, block 16. The lot was conveyed by C. C. Terry to a well-known Black resident of Seattle, and the chain of title later ran through Scheuerman and Hedges. Hedges sold to a man who failed to record his deed; Scheuerman, who had taken a deed to the whole block, later sold to Wilhelm. The heirs of a prior owner fought the suit, contending their father never had title to the lot. After hearing the evidence and the arguments, Judge Langley held that the plaintiff, Fridolin Wilhelm, had proven his record title by the best deed and had also proven title by adverse possession for twenty years. The property is covered with two brick buildings, one of them one story high and the other three stories, leased by Lin Co. from Wilhelm. Steps have lately been begun to administer the estate of the minor heirs of William [——] and to clear title to this valuable property owned by him.
“The plaintiff had proven his record title by the best deed, and had also proven title by adverse possession for twenty years.”
Seattle’s property records were still being stitched together in the 1890s, and a missing deed could cloud a title for decades. The case reads like a modern boundary or title dispute—except the stakes were measured in brick buildings and twenty years of possession.
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