This is a list of cases reported in volume 139 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1891.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 139 U.S.

The Supreme Court is established by Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which says: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court . . .". The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress originally fixed the number of justices at six (one chief justice and five associate justices). Since 1789 Congress has varied the size of the Court from six to seven, nine, ten, and back to nine justices (always including one chief justice).

When the cases in volume 139 U.S. were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:

Portrait Justice Office Home State Succeeded Date confirmed by the Senate(Vote) Tenure on Supreme Court Melville Fuller Chief Justice Illinois Morrison Waite (41–20) –July 4, 1910(Died) Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly created seat (Acclamation)–December 1, 1897(Retired) Joseph P. Bradley Associate Justice New Jersey newly created seat (46–9) –January 22, 1892(Died) John Marshall Harlan Associate Justice Kentucky David Davis (Acclamation) –October 14, 1911(Died) Horace Gray Associate Justice Massachusetts Nathan Clifford (51–5) –September 15, 1902(Died) Samuel Blatchford Associate Justice New York Ward Hunt (Acclamation) –July 7, 1893(Died) Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar Associate Justice Mississippi William Burnham Woods (32–28) –January 23, 1893(Died) David Josiah Brewer Associate Justice Kansas Stanley Matthews (53–11) –March 28, 1910(Died) Henry Billings Brown Associate Justice Michigan Samuel Freeman Miller (Acclamation) –May 28, 1906(Retired)

Citation style

Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 the federal court structure at the time comprised District Courts, which had general trial jurisdiction; Circuit Courts, which had mixed trial and appellate (from the US District Courts) jurisdiction; and the United States Supreme Court, which had appellate jurisdiction over the federal District and Circuit courts—and for certain issues over state courts. The Supreme Court also had limited original jurisdiction (i.e., in which cases could be filed directly with the Supreme Court without first having been heard by a lower federal or state court). There were one or more federal District Courts and/or Circuit Courts in each state, territory, or other geographical region.

The Judiciary Act of 1891 created the United States Courts of Appeals and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district and circuit courts to these appellate courts. The Act created nine new courts that were originally known as the "United States Circuit Courts of Appeals." The new courts had jurisdiction over most appeals of lower court decisions. The Supreme Court could review either legal issues that a court of appeals certified or decisions of court of appeals by writ of certiorari. The change resulted in an immediate reduction in the Supreme Court's workload (from 623 cases filed in 1890 to 379 in 1891 and 275 in 1892).

Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions. "# Cir." = United States Court of Appeals e.g., "3d Cir." = United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit "C.C.D." = United States Circuit Court for the District of . . . e.g.,"C.C.D.N.J." = United States Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey "D." = United States District Court for the District of . . . e.g.,"D. Mass." = United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts "E." = Eastern; "M." = Middle; "N." = Northern; "S." = Southern; "W." = Western e.g.,"C.C.S.D.N.Y." = United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York e.g.,"M.D. Ala." = United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama "Ct. Cl." = United States Court of Claims The abbreviation of a state's name alone indicates the highest appellate court in that state's judiciary at the time. e.g.,"Pa." = Supreme Court of Pennsylvania e.g.,"Me." = Supreme Judicial Court of Maine

List of cases in volume 139 U.S.

Case Name Page and year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company v. Northern Pacific Railway Company 1 (1891) Field none none C.C.D. Minn. affirmed MSt. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company v. Greenalgh 19 (1891) Field none none C.C.D. Minn. affirmed St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company v. Wenzel 23 (1891) Field none none C.C.D. Minn. affirmed Central Transportation Company v. Pullman Palace Car Company 24 (1891) Gray none none C.C.E.D. Pa. affirmed Pullman Palace Car Company v. Central Transportation Company 62 (1891) Gray none none C.C.E.D. Pa. reversed Logan County National Bank v. Townsend 67 (1891) Harlan none none Ky. affirmed Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad Company v. Pullman Southern Car Company 79 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.E.D. La. reversed Clark v. Bever 96 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.S.D. Iowa affirmed Fogg v. Blair 118 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.E.D. Mo. affirmed Covington Stock Yards Company v. Keith 128 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.D. Ky. affirmed Guaranty Trust and Safe Deposit Company v. Green Cove Springs and Melrose Railroad Company 137 (1891) Brown none none C.C.N.D. Fla. reversed Stout v. Mastin 151 (1891) Brewer none Brown C.C.D. Kan. affirmed Johnson v. Powers 156 (1891) Gray none Brown C.C.N.D.N.Y. affirmed King v. Doane 166 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.D. Minn. affirmed Stockmeyer v. Tobin 176 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed Callan v. Bransford 197 (1891) Fuller none none Va. dismissed Howard v. Stillwell and Bierce Manufacturing Company 199 (1891) Lamar none none C.C.N.D. Tex. affirmed Bayne v. Wiggins 210 (1891) Gray none none C.C.W.D. Pa. affirmed Northwestern Fuel Company v. Brock 216 (1891) Field Brewer none C.C.N.D. Iowa affirmed British Queen Mining Company v. Baker Silver Mining Company 222 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.D. Colo. affirmed St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway Company v. Commercial Union Insurance Company 223 (1891) Gray none none C.C.E.D. Ark. reversed Manchester v. Massachusetts 240 (1891) Blatchford none none Mass. Super. Ct. affirmed Etheridge v. Sperry 266 (1891) Brewer none none Iowa affirmed United States v. Brewer 278 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.W.D. Tenn. certification East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company v. Frazier 288 (1891) Brewer none none Tenn. affirmed Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine Company v. Skinner 293 (1891) Brown none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. dismissed Mutual Reserve Fund Life Association v. Hamlin 297 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.D. Conn. affirmed United States ex rel. Boynton v. Blaine 306 (1891) Fuller none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Hoff v. Iron Clad Manufacturing Company 326 (1891) Brown none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed The Sydney 331 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. dismissed Worthington v. Robbins 337 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed Peake v. City of New Orleans 342 (1891) Brewer none Harlan C.C.E.D. La. affirmed Timmons v. Elyton Land Company 378 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.N.D. Ala. reversed Underwood v. Dugan 380 (1891) Brewer none none C.C.N.D. Tex. affirmed Dolan v. Jennings 385 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. dismissed Mellen v. Buckner 388 (1891) Bradley none none C.C.E.D. La. reversed Handley v. Stutz 417 (1891) Brown none Fuller C.C.M.D. Tenn. reversed Talbott v. Silver Bow County 438 (1891) Brewer none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Mont. affirmed In re Duncan 449 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.W.D. Tex. affirmed Leeper v. Texas 462 (1891) Fuller none none Tex. Civ. App. affirmed Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company v. Converse 469 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.D.N.J. affirmed Snyder v. Fiedler 478 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed Electric Gas Lighting Company v. Boston Electric Company 481 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed Electric Gas Lighting Company v. Tillotson 503 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed In re Manning 504 (1891) Gray none none Wis. affirmed Davis's Administrator v. Wiebbold 507 (1891) Field none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Mont. reversed Union Edge Setter Company v. Keith530 (1891) Brown none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed Brown Chemical Company v. Meyer Brothers and Company 540 (1891) Brown none none C.C.E.D. Mo. affirmed - style="background: white" colspan=7 Surnames cannot be trademarked, but neither can they be used to deceive the public; Infringement requires evidence of fraudulent intent. In re Ingalls 548 (1891) per curiam none none not indicated dismissed Fowler v. Hamill 549 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. dismissed Inland Seaboard Coasting Company v. Tolson 551 (1891) Gray none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad Company v. United States 560 (1891) Harlan none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Interstate Land Company v. Maxwell Land Grant Company 569 (1891) Lamar none none C.C.D. Colo. affirmed Shelton v. Platt 591 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.E.D. Tenn. reversed Western Electric Company v. La Rue 601 (1891) Brown none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed Seeberger v. Farwell and Company 608 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed Magone v. Luckemeyer 612 (1891) Blatchford none Brown C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed Wilson v. Everett 616 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.D. Colo. affirmed Natal v. Louisiana 621 (1891) Gray none none La. affirmed Mason v. Robertson 624 (1891) Gray none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed Bock v. Perkins 628 (1891) Harlan none none C.C.N.D. Iowa affirmed Sanford v. Sanford 642 (1891) Field none none Or. affirmed Davis v. Texas 651 (1891) Fuller none none Tex. Civ. App. dismissed Allen v. Pullman's Palace Car Company 658 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.M.D. Tenn. reversed Bybee v. Oregon and California Railroad Company 663 (1891) Brown none none C.C.D. Or. affirmed Boone County v. Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company 684 (1891) Blatchford none none C.C.D. Neb. affirmed Redfield v. Bartels 694 (1891) Fuller none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed

Notes and references

External links Case reports in volume 139 from Library of Congress Case reports in volume 139 from Court Listener Case reports in volume 139 from the Caselaw Access Project of Harvard Law School Case reports in volume 139 from Google Scholar Case reports in volume 139 from Justia Case reports in volume 139 from Open Jurist Website of the United States Supreme Court United States Courts website about the Supreme Court National Archives, Records of the Supreme Court of the United States American Bar Association, How Does the Supreme Court Work? The Supreme Court Historical Society