Flowers v. Franklin
Flowers v. Franklin
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
A correct solution of the question presented here js only to be got at by a proper construction of the will of the testator. In the construction of wills, the first thing to be sought after, is, the intention of the testator, which must be collected from the terms .of the will itself, ex vjceribus suis. The intention being fhus ascertained, such construction ought to be put on the will, as .shall be best adapted to carry it into effect, so far as shall be consistent with the rules and policy of the law. It is admitted by the case stated that all that is claimed by the plaintiffs here was derived by Mrs Franklin tfi.e intestate of the defendant, from the will of the testator her husband John Franklin. The first gift to her, after giving fo his grandson Amos Franklin a part of his farm, on which he resided, is the residue thereof, together with the dwelling house, half of the sawmill and other privileges and improvements not before excepted, which he gives and bequeathes to her during her life, to be improved, for the use of the family. He also gives all his farming utensils to his wife, to be used in improving the farm; likewise his horse and old mare together with the saddle, waggon, cutter and harness thereunto belonging, to be kept and used for the use and benefit of' the family: Also his oxen, and the residue of his cattle and sheep, to be kept on the farm for the use of the family: also his swine and the grain and corn, which he then had, to be used for the benefit of the family. After which, he gives and bequeathes to his daughter Kezia Bp.eb.e, at the decease of his wife, the one-third part of the estate, both real and personal, which he by his will had given and thereby (}id give to his wife during her life: and the remaining two.-thirds of the personal as well as the real estate bequeathed as before to his wife during her natural life, he thereby gives and bequeathes, at her decease, to the children of his son Billy Franklin and his grandson Henry Franklin, to be shared by them and shared alike. He then further gives his wife, for the use of the
The devise of the residue of the farm, with the dwelling house, half of the sawmill and other privileges and improvements not before excepted, appear to be the only things given to his wife, among those just mentioned, which are expressly limited to her for life, except the clause in the will, by which he gives thqse things over after the death of his wife, whereih he directs that “ the one third part of the estate both real and personal which I by this my last will and testament have, and do hereby bequeath to my wife, Abigail Franklin during her natural life” is to be considered as being used by the testator for the purpose of limiting all the personal estate, given to her by his will, for the use of the family, to the term of her life. That the testator must have intended that the personal property given by his will to his wife, which should not have been consumed by use in her lifetime, should go over, at her death, to his daughter Kezia, the children of his son Billy and his grandson Henry Franklin cannot be questioned; for he has in so many words declared that it shall be- so. And as the several bequests of personal property to his wife, are made without any limitation, being immediatély annexed to them or any of them, the limitation for life introduced into the devises and bequests over to the plaintiffs, if it is t.o .have any application and effect at all, must be referred to and embrace all the personal estate bequeathed to his wife for the use of the family, and operate as a limitation of it to her for her life. And as this does not seem to be inconsistent with any other part of the will, but rnay well comport with every part thereof, and we are bound to give effect to all the words of the will according to their usual import if we can, and this being the only construction by which it appears that any operation can be derived from these Words of limitation for her life, it follows that the several bequests of personal property, not otherwise expressly limited; which are given to the wife for the use of the family, must be considered as given to her for her life only. This construction is strengthened also by the consideration, that these bequests were not made to the wife exclusively for her own use, but for the use of his surviving family at his death, whomsoever they might happen to be, that should compose it, provided she were still living to form the head of it. It is evident that he contemplated his wife being the head or chief of it; and to her, he, therefore, 'confided the management and direction of the property, trusting in her discretion and fidelity, that she would discharge the trust fairly and not abuse it. Doubtless he intended, too, that his wife should be the principal beneficiary in this trust; and did not intend that it should have any
It has, however, been objected against the claim of the plaintiffs, that the property is not identically the same with that given by the will to the widow; that, it is only the product or increase from it, and therefore does not fall within the terms of the bequest over to the plaintiffs, after the death of the widow. This objection, unless supported by what may reasonably be considered to have been the intention of the testator, ought not to prevail. • The great object of the testator, in giving his wife the farm whereon he had lived himself with his family as the head of it, and the personal property already specified with it, was that she might continue to live thereon, during the remainder of her life, in the same manner, as nearly as possible, that she had done with himself previously thereto. This is made, in some degree, apparent from his furnishing her with the means, appropriated by him expressly too to that end, of keeping the family together around her upon the farm as long as she lived: and still further, from the circumstance of the most of the personal property given to her, being immediately connected with the farm, and almost indispensably necessary to a proper and advantageous enjoyment of
. The judgment is reversed and a judgment rendered for the plaintiffs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.