OLD GROUND RENTSPLAGUE TO REALTY

Long Forgotten Charges OftenRise Up to Entangle

Modern Progress

Ground rents, the original form of encumbrance on real estate in Philadelphia, whichwere used by William Penn in almost every transaction into which he entered, continuedto be for many years after his death a favorite form of investment, particularly thoseground rents which are inaccurately described as “irredeemable.”

All of these rents were originally made for a period of ten or twenty years, generallythe former period, with the stipulation that they should be paid off at or before theexpiration of the term. If the owner of the property on which the rent was securedneglected or was unable to pay the principal of the rent within the prescribed term, itbecame thereafter “irredeemable,” which meant that the owner of the property had lost theright to pay the principal of the rent, except on such terms as the owner of the rent choseto accept.

This price, if accepted, was in almost every case much in excess of the originalprincipal of the rent. An annual ground rent of $40 a year, the interest on a principal of$100 at 4 per cent, which had been allowed by the owner of the property to get into the“irredeemable” class, could not be extinguished, as It was known, except by the accept-ance by the owner of the ground rent of a payment of $200 or more, instead of the originalprincipal of $100.

There is or was till recently an irredeemable ground rent of $400 on a Market Streetcorner, which was created almost two centuries ago, the original principal of which was$10,000. The owner of this rent refused $20,000 in payment, even at a time when he couldhave accepted this payment and reinvested the money in a 6 per cent mortgage offeringequally good security, which would have earned him an annual income of $1200.

Long-forgotten ground rents, occasionally dating back to William Penn or his daughter,Letitia Aubury, to whom he gave large tracts of ground in the older section of the city,now included in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eleventh Wards, occasionally turn up in thesearch of old titles. These rents were probably paid off many years ago, but no record wasmade of such payment. In such cases application is generally made to the courts forextinguishment of the rent. After due advertisement, in which the original owner of theground rent, dead in most cases for many years, is called upon to appear in person or bycounsel and show cause why the rent should not be marked “extinguished.” About twelveor fifteen years ago the name of Letitia Aubury was called by a court crier in the corridoroutside Quarter sessions Court, in City Hall, in such a procedure. The crier, according toage-old formula, reported that no answer had been received either from the original holderof the rent or from any representative of hers, in consequence of which the court made anorder that the rent, as it appeared in the deed books, should be marked “extinguished” orcanceled.

For years after the Penn family had severed all connection with Philadelphia and theirvast possessions in Pennsylvania had been confiscated, old Penn ground rents, made byhimself or his descendants in the second generation continued to turn up from time to timeto be declared extinguished. The court’s presumption in every such case was that they hadbeen paid off years ago, or probably forgotten as the right of Penn’s descendants to sellout on them was at best questionable.

In purchasing ground two or three years ago at Franklin and Race Streets by theDelaware River Joint Commission several old ground rents on property in that vicinity,made over 100 years ago by Zion Lutheran Church on Franklin street, north of Race, weredisclosed in the search of titles. The Delaware River Joint Commission had to pay largeprices for three old rents, which were all created for a period of 999 years about the years1832-34. The heirs of the late David Lane, for many years a powerful political factor inPhiladelphia, who bad purchased a number of these rents many years ago, were amongthose who benefited by their sale to the Joint Commission. Zion Lutheran Church ownednone of them, having sold the rents years ago. Now that there is talk of widening VineStreet on the south side from Franklin to Broad Streets, some more of these 999-yearground rents will probably be brought to light, as the church originally owned the wholeblock of ground from Race to Vine Streets and from Franklin to Eighth Streets, which wassold off in lots many years ago, subject to these rents.

The latest forgotten ground rents secured on the site of the garage 301 to 309Richmond Street, in a very old section of the city, will be before Common Pleas Court No.2 on March 22 in extinguishment proceedings brought by the Suburban Building andLoan Association of Philadelphia., present owner of the property. Samuel Howell andDavid R. Garrison owned the ground rents. The former had purchased in 1754 a yearlyground rent of £12 secured on part of this lot. This rent was reserved by the original ownerof the ground, Thomas Boride, when he sold it in May, 1751 to John and BenjaminKoster. David R. Garrison purchased many years later a yearly ground rent of £1, securedon another part of the lot. This ground rent had been reserved by Michael Apt and wifewhen they sold the lot in May, 1788, to George Kremer; the Apts also reserved a groundrent of 20s, secured on another part of the lot, when they sold this part to George Kremerin 1795. The proceedings for the extinguishment of three ground rents are directed againstSamuel Howell and David R. Garrison, last recorded owners of the ground rents, and theirheirs.