Daily AncestorEjectment
Ejectment is a lawsuit to recover possession of land from someone who is holding it, in which the plaintiff has to prove the better title.
At common law ejectment was full of legal fictions: the claimant professed to lease the land to a fictitious tenant, often named John Doe, who sued in his own name. The real issue was who held the better title, and it became the usual way to try title to land.
If you see "Doe dem." followed by a real name in an old case title, it is an ejectment, and the real name is the person claiming the land.
As seen in a recordCircuit court docket, early 1800s
John Doe, on the demise of Eli Tuttle, vs. Isaac Vane, tenant in possession. Ejectment
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Daily Ancestor. "Ejectment." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/ejectment. Last checked 2026-10-12.