Color of title “May” be a requirement in an Adverse Possession case but, as in all Legal cases it is not a hard fast rule. Especially since you are talking about an unbroken chain of possession dating back to the late 1800’s...
Had you said that originally, I would have agreed with you. You didn’t.
You said 20 years of occupation without paying rent gave someone the right to lay legal claim to it.
That’s when I played the ‘color of title’ trump card.
If by ‘laying legal claim,’ you mean paying the filing fee for a complaint, you are correct, but you don’t need a single day of occupation.
If by ‘laying legal claim,’ you mean having a legitimate legal claim because of ‘20 years of occupation,’ I’m playing the second ‘color of title’ trump card.