LOT 24 Original Plat (North Manchester), 130 East Main St.

December 29, 1838. Peter Ogan & Mary Ann Ogan, his wife to Thomas Thorn. Warrant Deed. Consideration $35.00. Recorded June 7, 1839. Deed Record “B” Page 476. Conveyed Lot #24 in the Town of Manchester, in Wabash County, Indiana.

October 19, 1839. Thomas Thorn & Nancy W. Thorn, his wife to Thorn & Frame [William Thorn & Mahlon C. Frame]. Warranty Deed. Consideration $196.00. Recorded March 29, 1841. Deed Record “E” Page 24. Conveyed Lot #24 on the recorded plat of Manchester. RESEARCH NOTE: William Thorn and Mahlon C. Frame constituted the firm and partnership of Thorn and Frame. See Affidavit of Levi J. Noftzger, age 84, in Volume “Y” of the Miscellaneous Records, Page 497 (Wabash County Recorder).

March 7, 1846. Mahlon C. Frame & Feraby Frame, his wife to William Frame. Warranty Deed. Consideration $175.00. Recorded April 14, 1846. Deed Record “H” Page 139. Conveyed the undivided one-half of Lot #24.

February 18, 1852. William Thorn & Elizabeth Thorn, his wife to John & Abraham Shallenberger. Warranty Deed. Consideration $2000.00. Recorded February 21, 1852. Deed Record “N” Page 58. Conveyed Lots #24 and #25 in the Town of Manchester.

June 14, 1854. Abraham Shallenberger & Rebecca Shallenberger, his wife to John Shallenberger. Warranty Deed. Consideration $2500.00. Recorded January 11, 1855. Deed Record “Q” Page 98. Conveyed the undivided one half of In Lots #24 & #25 in the Town of Manchester.

NOTE: On Pages 291 & 292 of Plat #2 in the Office of the Recorder of Wabash County IN appears the record of a plat and description thereof, as follows: “Plat of John Shallenbergers Sub-division of In Lots Number 24, 25 & 26 in the Original Plat of Manchester (now North Manchester); No. 24 is divided into 7 lots and an alley 10 ft. wide; No. 25 is divided into 8 lots numbered from north to south; No. 26 is the original size, except 8 feet wide off the east side; said lots so divided are in the N.E. ¼ of S. 5, T. 29 North, of Range 7 E. Witness my hand and seal, this 14” day of October 1878. John Shallenberger.”

January 14, 1879. John Shallenberger & Eleanor M. Shallenberger, his wife to Margaret J. Schoolcraft.Warranty Deed. Consideration $1200.00. Recorded March 28, 1879. Deed Record #27 Page 304. Conveyed 21 feet and 4 inches off of the west side of Lot #2 in John Shallenberger’s Subdivision of Lot #24 in the Original Plat of North Manchester.

March 7, 1890. Margaret J. Schoolcraft & Rufus A. Schoolcraft, her husband to Henry Mills. Warranty Deed. Consideration $7,000.00. Recorded March 8, 1890. Deed Record #50, Page 93. Conveyed 21 feet and 4 inches wide off of the west side of Lot #2 in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot #24, in the Original Plat of North Manchester.

May 13, 1890. Henry Mills & Rachel Mills, his wife to Rufus A. Schoolcraft. Warranty Deed. Consideration $7,000.00. Recorded May 26, 1890. Deed Record #50, Page 388. Conveyed 21 feet and 4 inches wide off of the west side of Lot #2 in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot #24.

June 23, 1904. Rufus A. Schoolcraft & Margaret J. Schoolcraft, husband & wife to Sarah Sickafoose. Warranty Deed. Consideration $5,000.00. Recorded July 7, 1904. Deed Record #85, Page 60. Conveyed 21 feet and 4 inches wide off of the west side of Lot #2, in John Shallenberger’s sub-division of Lot #24.

Sarah Sickafoose, unmarried, to Rufus A. & Margaret J. Schoolcraft. Warranty Deed. Consideration $5,000.00. Recorded October 23, 1909. Deed Record #95, Page 331. Conveyed 21 feet, 4 inches wide off of the west side of Lot #2 in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot #24.

Rufus A. Schoolcraft, unmarried, to George Burdge. Warranty Deed. Consideration $6,000.00. Recorded July 28, 1920. Deed Record #116, Page 165. Conveyed 21 feet and 4 inches off of the west side of Lot #2 in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot #24.

NOTE: Margaret J. Schoolcraft, one of the former grantees (October 23, 1909) died March 1, 1919, intestate. Rufus A. Schoolcraft was the only heir of Margaret J. Schoolcraft, deceased.

LOT 24 O.P., 132 East Main:

July 24, 1882. John Shallenberger & Eleanor M. Shallenberger, his wife to Johnson M. Burdge & Caroline Burdge. Warranty Deed. Consideration $7,600.00. Recorded August 7, 1882. Deed Record #35, Page 6. Conveyed 24 feet (more or less) fronting on First (or Main) Street and 100 feet deep on Walnut Street (being the balance east of Schoolcraft’s purchase) in Lot #24. Note: John Shallenberger was living in 1882 in Appanoose County, Iowa, while Eleanor M. Shallenberger was living in Wabash County IN, when the conveyance was signed.

June 9, 1887. Johnson M. Burdge died, intestate.  Caroline M. Burdge and son George Burdge had letters of administration upon the estate of Johnson M. Burdge.

November 5, 1891. Quitclaim Deed. John & Eleanor M. Shallenberger to Caroline Burdge, surviving widow of Johnson M. Burdge, deceased. Recorded February 3, 1892. Deed Record #54, Page 296. This deed was intended to make more definite the description of the real estate described in earlier (July 24, 1882) conveyance. Revised description: “…begin at south east corner of said Lot #1 [Shallenberger Sub-division]; thence west along the south line of lots 1 & 2 (& north line of Main street) 22 feet 8 inches more or less, to a point in south line of lot #2, distant 21 feet 4 inches east from south west corner of said lot #2; thence run from said point north 100 feet to north line of said lot #2 (& south line of an alley 10 feet in width; thence east along north line of said lots to northeast corner of said lot #1; thence south along east line thereof (& west line of Walnut street) 100 feet to the place of beginning, in Wabash County, Indiana.”

January 18, 1904. Quitclaim Deed. Clara E. Brown, unmarried; Levi J. Burdge & Laura B. Burdge, his wife; Jennie M. Stemm & John R. Stemm, her husband, being the legal heirs and all the legal heirs of Caroline Burdge, deceased to George Burdge. Recorded February 18, 1904. Deec Record #84, Page 64. Conveyed Lot #1 in Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot #24. Note: Grantors Levi J. Burdge and Laura B. Burdge his wife lived in Cass County IN in 1904. Grantors Jennie M. Stemm and John R. Stemm lived in Tippecanoe County Indiana in 1904.

July 20, 1889. Article of Agreement made and entered into by and between Margaret J. Schoolcraft and Caroline Burdge, both of the Town of North Manchester. Miscellaneous Record “O”, Page 47, in office of Wabash County Recorder. “Witnesseth;--That whereas, the said Margaret J. Schoolcraft is the owner of in fee simple 21 feet and 4 inches in width off of the west side of Lot (2), (the east line of said premises to be parallel with the west line of said lot 2), and to extend the entire length of said lot; and the said Caroline Burdge is the owner in fee simple of the remainder of said Lot #2, being 8 inches in width off of the east side of said Lot, and extending the entire length thereof; and all of Lot #1, all being situated in the sub-division of Lot #24, in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lots #24, 25 & 26 of the Original Plat of said Town of North Manchester, in said county, and state, and
“Whereas;--the said Margaret J. Schoolcraft is about to erect a brick wall upon the line dividing her said above described premises from those owned by the said Caroline Burdge, and last above described; said wall to be 100 feet long, two stories high, and 12 inches thick, with stone footing and that one-half of said wall is to be built in and upon the west 6 inches in width, and extending the entire length thereof to the premises so held by said Caroline Burdge;
“And said Caroline Burdge hereby agrees to pay the said Margaret J. Schoolcraft the one-half of the cost of said wall, to-wit;--three hundred, fifty five & 50/100 dollars; the one-half of said sum to be paid within thirty days after the completion of said wall, and the other half on the first day of January, 1890; and the said Margaret J. Schoolcraft agrees to erect the said wall in a good workmanlike manner and further agrees that the said Caroline Burdge or her heirs or assigns shall have the right to construct a third story on said wall, if she or they so desire.”

December 30, 1925. Warranty Deed. George Burdge (unmarried) to Jennie M. Stemm. Recorded January 8, 1926. Deed Record #124, Page 325. Conveyed 21 feet and 4 inches wide off of the west side of Lot #2, in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot #24, in the Original Plat of the Town of Manchester; also-Lot #13 in Cook’s Addition to the Town of Manchester. “With all interest in any easement ten feet in width to the north end thereof; Being the real estate upon which is erected the building in which my bookstore is located, with reference to the first described tract, and the easement herein mentioned refers to said first described tract.”

January 4, 1929. Jennie M. Stemm & John R. Stemm, her husband to C. Virginia Cheney, married. Warranty Deed. Recorded January 4, 1929. Deed Record #128, Page 423. Conveyed 21 feet and 4 inches off of the west side of Lot #2 in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot #24 O.P. of Town of Manchester. “Being the real estate upon which is erected a two story brick-building, also all interest in any easement 10 feet in width to the north thereof, also any and all my right and title to the two story brick building thereon of which I am possessed.”

October 15, 1929. C. Virginia Cheney & John C. Cheney, her husband to Jennie M. Stemm, married. Warranty Deed. Recorded October 16, 1929. Deed Record #129, Page 405. Conveyed same real estate as described immediately above. Note: The Cheneys were living in Tippecanoe County IN.

May 15, 1943. Jennie M. Stemm and John R. Stemm, her husband to Thomas M. Wetzel. Warranty Deed. Recorded May 18, 1943. Deed Record #148, Page 75.  Conveye twenty-one (21) feet and four (4) inches off of the west side of Lot Number Two (2) in John Shallenberger’s Sub-division of Lot Number Twenty-four (24) in O.P. of the Town of Manchester, now called North Manchester, in Wabash County IN; also all interest in any easement ten (10) feet in width to the north thereof.

RESEARCH NOTE: The attorney for Thomas Wetzel pointed out in a communication dated May 7, 1943, that in the deed from George Burdge to Jennie M. Stemm, some reference was made to an easement 10 feet in width to the north end of the above described real estate. “This is the first reference made to this easement. When Lot 24 was subdivided, an alley 10 feet in width was apparently dedicated to the public use and extended from Walnut Street to the north and south alley between Walnut and Market Streets. Since this dedication, it is apparent that part of the alley at least, has been closed. I have observed nothing in the abstract to disclose the situation.”

RESEARCH NOTE: At the time that Harry Wible purchased the property from Thomas Wetzel, Wible’s attorney Eldon M. Wright made the following observation, dated March 18, 1965: “From my examination of this abstract of title, I am of the opinion that a good and sufficient marketable title rests in THOMAS M. WETZEL, in fee simple absolute, as of the date of the first paragraph [March 8, 1965]. This is subject to: Some early defects of conveyancing, which due to the passage of time, I am willing to waive, as being no threat to this title.”