Silknitter's Appeal
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Appeal from tbe Orphans’ Court of York county. This was an appeal by Samuel Silknitter and others, the children and grandchildren of Henry Silknitter, deceased, from the decree of the Orphans’ Court, in the matter of the distribution of the estate of deceased, under his will. Henry Silknitter died, having made a will in which he provided for the sale of his real and personal estate, and for the distribution of the proceeds among his children, “ or their heirs or assigns.”
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Appeal from tbe Orphans’ Court of York county. This was an appeal by Samuel Silknitter and others, the children and grandchildren of Henry Silknitter, deceased, from the decree of the Orphans’ Court, in the matter of the distribution of the estate of deceased, under his will. Henry Silknitter died, having made a will in which he provided for the sale of his real and personal estate, and for the distribution of the proceeds among his children, “ or their heirs or assigns.” At the time of his death he was seised of two separate and distinct tracts of land. He gave to his widow one of these…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered,
by
THOMPSON, J.
We have enough, I think, in the plain language of this will, to enable us to interpret it accurately, without drawing heavily on what are sometimes called artificial rules of construction, or aids to interpretation. In the first place, it seems clear that the testator intended to dispose by his will of his entire estate; for he directs the real and personal estate devised to his wife to be sold after her death by his executors, and “the proceeds to be distributed among all my children, their heirs and assigns, in equal shares,” and then he…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Schriver v. CobeauSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1835
3Cited by5 opinions
- Estate of BoiesSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1896
- Fitzgerald v. FitzgeraldPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Bradford County · 1950
- National Live Stock Bank of Chicago v. HartmanSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1898
- Semple's EstatePennsylvania Orphans' Court, Northampton County · 1924
- Shaffer v. Hummel, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Schuylkill County1930