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When Sarah Schultz gave Jackson Kemper and other former slaves land more than a century ago, she unknowingly set off a series of events that now presents Rappahannock’s supervisors with a minidilemma posing legal and ethical questions.
According to the deed books, Mr. Kemper sold his little two-acre lot in Schultz Town to James H. Robinson in March 1898. Mr. Kemper, who apparently could neither read nor write, signed the deed with anr“X." But somehow, the parcel continued to appear on the tax rolls under a twisted version of his name. No one knows today what happened to those old tax bills sent to Champer Jackson. If Jackson Kemper couldn’t read, it would explain why he never caught the error and never came to the courthouse to set the record straight.
But for whatever the reason, Champer Jackson’s taxes were ignored and unpaid. Under laws since amended, property could be sold for back taxes and the new owners could then apply to the court for a deed to the land after a specified number of years. So in 1967, the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors advertised Champer Jackson’s two acres for sale. L. A. Greeson bought the parcel at tax sale for $.‘17.84 and has . been paying the levies on the property ever since.
The problem? “Apparently, the county, sold a piece of land that doesn’t exist,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Peter Luke told the board on Monday. “The people who bought it have b«;n paying taxes since 1967, but there’s no piece of property, so what they want is their money back.””
The error wasn’t discovered by the county until Mr. Greeson tried recently to obtain a deed for the land
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