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DEED 



DEEMSTER 



confer with angels by means of Dee's magic crystal 

 (see CRYSTALLOMANCY), and talked him into con- 

 senting to a community of wives. In 1604 Dee 

 petitioned James I. to let him clear himself by 

 public trial of the slander that he was a ' caller of 

 divels, ' but half a year later he was back at his in- 

 vocations. He died wretchedly poor, in December 

 1608, and was buried in Mortlake church. 1 ' A 

 mighty good man he was,' by Aubrey's showing, 

 ' a great peace-maker, a very handsome man, with 

 fair, clear, sanguine complexion, and a long beard as 

 white as milke.' His eldest son, Arthur (1579- 

 1651 ), was likewise an alchemist, a friend of Sir 

 Thomas Browne. Of Dr Dee's seventy-nine works, 

 only thirteen have ever been printed : the rest are 

 in MS. at Oxford, Cambridge, and the British 

 Museum. They deal with logic, mathematics, 

 astrology, alchemy, navigation, geography, the 

 ' Rosie Crucian Secrets,' and the reformation of the 

 calendar ( 1583 ), in which at least he was much in 

 advance of his countrymen. See his Private Diary, 

 edited by J. O. Halliwell (Halliwell-Phillipps) for 

 the Camden Society (1842), and a thirteen-page 

 article in Cooper's Athence Cantabrigienses (vol. li. 

 1861 ). 



Deed, EXECUTION OF, the performance of the 

 ceremonies required by law in order to make a 

 deed binding and effectual. These ceremonies in 

 England consist in signing, sealing, and delivering. 

 Signing is usual in practice, but it is open to doubt 

 whether it is strictly necessary in law. When a 

 party, from any cause, is unable to write, it is 

 usual for him to place his mark in the place of 

 signature. But a mark is unnecessary, and signa- 

 ture by another, at request of the party, is enough. 

 Sealing is the most ancient form of authentication 

 of deeds, and comes from the Norman usage. A 

 seal is absolutely essential to the validity of an 

 English deed, but any species of seal is sufficient, 

 and in practice a common wafer is usually affixed. 

 Delivery is the third requisite. Delivery may be 

 made either to the grantee or to another person for 

 him. In the former case, the deed becomes abso- 

 lute ; in the latter, it is called an Escrow, and does 

 not yet acquire its full effect. Witnesses are not 

 absolutely required to a deed in England, but in 

 practice it is usual that one witness should attest. 

 Before execution, a deed must be read, if required, 

 by a party to it ; and if not read, it is void as to the 

 party requesting. A will (except that of a soldier 

 or sailor in active service) must be in writing, and 

 signed by the testator or by some other person in 

 his presence and by his direction ; and two wit- 

 nesses must attest the signature. 



In Scotland, sealing was once essential, but has 

 long fallen into disuse. A deed is now probative 

 on the face of it (i.e. is received as the authentic 

 act of its grantor) if it is signed by the grantor on 

 each sheet, and attested by two witnesses who are 

 either designated in the deed itself, or in a designa- 

 tion added to their subscriptions before the deed is 

 recorded or founded on in court. In case the maker 

 of the deed cannot write, the deed is validly 

 executed by one notary public or justice of the 

 peace signing it for him in his presence and by his 

 authority, and reading it over to him, all in the 

 presence of two witnesses. A parish minister may 

 act in his own parish as notary for signing a will. 

 Holograph deeds i.e. deeds written throughout in 

 the handwriting of the grantor, are exempted from 

 the rules as to execution ; as also, out of favour to 

 trade, are mercantile writings, such as Bills of 

 Exchange. 



In the United States, the formalities required for 

 the transfer of real estate are governed by local 

 laws. Generally throughout the states, signing, 

 sealing, attestation, acknowledgment, and delivery 

 are the essential requisites of a valid deed of con- 



veyance. The usual form of attestation being 

 ' signed, sealed, acknowledged, and delivered in the 

 presence of us witnesses,' then follow the names of 

 the subscribing witnesses. The grantor must him- 

 self sign the deed, or if it is signed by his agent he 

 must adopt the signature as his own in the presence 

 of the subscribing witnesses and the commissioner 

 or other qualified officer. In the United States, 

 a 'deed,' technically speaking, is an instrument 

 under seal ; hence a seal, although a mere formality, 

 is essential, except in those states in which 

 seals have been abolished by statute Alabama, 

 Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, 

 and Iowa. Neither wax nor wafer is necessary 

 for a seal, although a wafer is generally used. A 

 scroll with a pen inclosing the letters 'L.S.' is a 

 seal within the meaning of the law, if it is the 

 intention of the party appending it to adopt it as 

 his seal, and by its use a specialty is created, the 

 same as by the use of wax or wafer. It is not 

 necessary to refer to the fact of sealing in the 

 attestation clause. The number of witnesses re- 

 quired is governed by statutes in most of the states. 

 Generally two are required, but in some of the 

 states only one witness is necessary if the grantor 

 can read ; and it is believed that in any state a 

 deed otherwise properly executed with but one 

 subscribing witness would be good as between the 

 parties themselves. It has also been held that 

 independent of any statute, a deed signed, sealed, 

 and delivered, without being acknowledged or 

 recorded, is valid as between the parties and 

 their privies, but the provisions of a local statute 

 as to the execution of a deed must be strictly 

 followed, or the deed is inoperative. Delivery, 

 although essential to the execution of a deed, 

 need not be formally made in the presence of 

 witnesses, but may be a matter of circumstance. 

 A deed takes effect from the date of actual de- 

 livery, or the date of record. Everywhere in the 

 United States it is the law that deeds of convey- 

 ance must be recorded either in the proper office of 

 the county in which the land lies or if the convey- 

 ance be by grant or letters patent from the state or 

 United States, the record must be made in the land 

 office of the state or United States. The recording 

 of a deed has the force of seisin and possession 

 under the English law. Any estate less than a 

 fee may be conveyed by deed with single acknow- 

 ledgment, but if the estate sought to be conveyed 

 is a fee, the husband and wife must join in the 

 deed and acknowledge it separately. Deeds 

 of conveyance of lands sold at judicial sale, 

 or for taxes for several successive years and un- 

 redeemed made by the sheriff' of the county, and 

 deeds made in pursuance of a decree of court by 

 the officer appointed for that purpose, are as 

 effectual as if made by the grantor and his heirs, 

 and must be executed with the same formalities 

 and recorded within fifteen days ; neither is it 

 necessary to set forth in the deed as a part of the 

 title the proceedings which culminate in the decree 

 of sale. Federal decisions as to the formalities 

 necessary to the execution of a deed are apparently 

 conflicting. This arises from the application of the 

 principle that land or property must be governed by 

 the law of the place in which it is situated, and the 

 lack of uniformity of state laws upon this subject. 

 The United States laws are applicable only to 

 lands belonging to the United States and those 

 located within the territories. See also CON- 

 VEYANCING, CONTRACT, CHARTER, TITLE-DEEDS, 

 WILL, ERASURE, REGISTRATION, &c. 



Deemster is the title of the two chief judges 

 in the Isle of Man (q.v.). In Scotland, Dempster 

 or Doomster was the name of an officer formerly 

 attached to the High Court of Justiciary in Scot- 

 land, who pronounced the doom or sentence on 



