Willcox v. Stroup

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 2007 · Property

467 F.3d 409 (4th Cir. 2006)

Updated July 23, 2026

Propertypersonal propertypossessionpresumption of ownershipsuperior titlepublic recordsgubernatorial papersSouth Carolina law

Facts

The dispute concerned approximately 444 Civil War-era documents from the administrations of South Carolina Governors Francis Pickens and Milledge Bonham, concerning military, police, and other gubernatorial duties. The papers appear to have entered the Law and Willcox families through General Evander McIver Law around February 1865, though there is no direct evidence showing exactly how he acquired them and no suggestion that he did so illegally. The papers remained in family possession for more than 140 years, surfacing in an 1896 letter by General Law, in Annie Storm’s efforts in the 1940s to sell them, and then when Willcox found them in his stepmother’s closet in 1999 or 2000. South Carolina claimed the papers were public property, while Willcox claimed they belonged to his estate.

Issue

Whether South Carolina rebutted the presumption that the longtime possessors of the papers owned them by proving that, under South Carolina law during the Civil War era, the gubernatorial papers were public property belonging to the State.

Rule

Under South Carolina law, possession of personal property is prima facie evidence of ownership, and the party not in possession bears the burden of proving title superior to that of the possessor. The out-of-possession claimant cannot prevail merely by attacking the possessor’s title or by showing the property was created in an official context; it must produce satisfactory evidence of superior title, including, where relevant, proof that the property was public property under the governing law.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Charleston, Maya Benton discovers a nineteenth-century survey ledger in her family attic. Her family has kept the ledger openly for more than ninety years, and a nearby county archives office sues, arguing only that the ledger probably originated from county business because it contains tax notations and survey markings.

Who has the better claim under the governing rule?

Explanation. Possession of personal property creates a rebuttable presumption of ownership. The out-of-possession claimant bears the burden of proving title superior to that of the possessor. Merely showing that the document appears to have been created in an official context does not establish public ownership.