Burke v. Wilder
Burke v. Wilder
Opinion of the Court
Curia, per
In this case I cannot conceive how a doubt could arise as to the intention of the testator. In the first clause of his will he gives absolutely and unconditionally four slaves to his wife. In the fourth he gives four negroes to the child with which his wife was then pregnant, which, he says, are to be kept together, with the bequest to his other children. And in the fifth he directs, that certain negroes be sold and others bought, which, with his slaves Jesse and Molly, should be equally divided between his wife and all his. children now born or to be born, and then adds, that the part or portion of the negro slaves last mentioned, which may fall to his children, is to go with the rest of their estate, and be equally divided when they marry or arrive at the age of twenty-one. So far, there is, certainly, nothing which conveys the idea that he intended the share given to the wife should be kept with those given to the children for any length of time. On the contrary, in the last clause referred to, he seems most clearly to distinguish between that which he has given to the wife and that which he gives to the children, and directs the latter only to be kept together. In the next and subsequent clause of the will he does direct that the property therein bequeathed should be kept together until his son Ransom should arrive at age. I can perceive no reason then, why that part of the testator’s property which is specifically given to his wife should not now be delivered to her. Some difficulty seems to be presented, in determining' what portion of the property mentioned in the fifth clause the wife is entitled to, arising from the words
CeRtxficate. In this case the Court being of opinion that the posthumous child, Wade Washington Tisdale, does not take under the will, and that the complainant Nancy Burke, late Nancy Tisdale, is entitled to the fifth part of the property bequeathed in the fifth clause of the testator’s will. It is ordered that a writ of partition do issue to divide the property contained in said clause between the said Nancy and her four children, Ransom, Mary Ann, John and Munford, and that her part or portion be delivered to her, and that which belongs to the children be kept together as directed by the will. It is further ordered and decreed that the four negroes named in the second clause of the will and left to the said Nancy be immediately delivered to her. In other respects the decree of the Chancellor is affirmed.
Concurring Opinion
I concur in this opinion except as to that part relating to the youngest child, on which I give no opinion.
Decree reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.