This Supreme Court case involves four plaintiffs in error, John Campbell, William Ellison, George Steece and Hiram Campbell. They are suing John Doe as the executor of The Trustees and Treasurer of Original Surveyed Township No. 1 in Range No. 19. The dispute is over a land claim that was made by the plaintiffs but rejected by the defendants on grounds that it was not properly surveyed according to their standards for such claims at the time. This case will determine whether or not these standards were reasonable enough to reject this particular claim and if so, what should be done about it going forward with regards to similar cases involving disputed land claims in this area.

In the dissenting opinion of this case, Justice McLean argued that the original surveyors had no authority to create a township out of public land. He believed that it was up to Congress alone to determine how and when public lands were divided into townships. Furthermore, he argued that even if the surveyors did have such authority, they could not bind future purchasers with their decisions since those purchasers would be unaware of any restrictions on their property rights. Finally, he noted that there was no evidence in this case showing whether or not Congress had approved the creation of Township No 1 in Range 19 before it was sold by John Doe as part of his estate. Therefore, Justice McLean concluded that John Campbell et al should prevail in their suit against John Doe and The Trustees and Treasurer for Original Surveyed Township No 1 in Range 19 &c