Sterling v. Richmond
Sterling v. Richmond
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
John Berry by his- last will devised to each of his sons a tract of land as follows, viz.: “I give and bequeath to my eldest son, Rutledge Berry, 200 acres of land to- be laid off, etc.” “I give and bequeath to my son, U. G. Berry, 200 acres of land,' etc.” “I give and bequeath to my son, Leander Berry, 200 acres of land, etc.” He also
Mrs. Sterling, at the time of the devise to her had two children, one, the appellant, Samuel Sterling, and the other Ferdinand Sterling. The last named died some years since childless and of age, leaving his mother, Mrs. Sterling, and the appellant his only heirs. The husband of Mrs. Sterling died after the devise and his widow intermarried with Ebenger Rondeau, and after this marriage in conjunction with her husband sold this land to Richmond and Mentyell, the present appellees; The appellant, Samuel Sterling, insists that by the will of his grandfather, he ánd his brother were joint devisees, with 'his mother, and that she had no right or title at the time of the sale to the appellees except to the one-third of the land. If the words “lawful heirs” in the devise to Mrs. Sterling mean children, then'the claim of appellant is well founded. It must be understood as having been used by the devisor in its legal sense, unless there is something else in the will indicating that the devisor gave it a different meaning. The only argument in favor of the position assumed-by the appellant is “that the devisor in the various devises to his other children used no such language, thereby imparting that the rights of Mrs. Sterling were restricted by the use of the words “lawful heirs.” It may have been the purpose of the devisor in using this language to exclude the husband from the benefits of the devise or give to the children an interest equal to the mother in the property, but this intention must appear from the will itself. The devisor was doubtless a man of ordinary intelligence, or if ignorant and unlettered, as insisted upon by counsel, it is hardly probable that in writing his will, when he intended that his daughters’ two children should be vested with an interest equal to her in the property devised, he would use the words “lawful heirs” instead of children, or in preference to making a devise directly to them. If written by an attorney we would have known the legal significance of the words, and with the instruction from' the devisor to vest the children with an interest would have used other words than “lawful heirs” for that purpose. In the latter part of the will
Judgment of the court below is affirmed.
-, for appellee.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.