Public Administrator v. Watts
New York Court of Chancery
This was an appeal from the decree of the surrogate oi the city and county of New York, establishing an unexecuted paper propounded by the respondents as the will of John Gr. Leake. The father of the decedant was a British officer, who came to this country about sixty years since, with his two sons, Robert W. and John Gr., and died in the city of New York, in 1774. He had one daughter, who died before her father, and without issue.
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This was an appeal from the decree of the surrogate oi the city and county of New York, establishing an unexecuted paper propounded by the respondents as the will of John Gr. Leake. The father of the decedant was a British officer, who came to this country about sixty years since, with his two sons, Robert W. and John Gr., and died in the city of New York, in 1774. He had one daughter, who died before her father, and without issue. Robert W. married the sister of John Watts, the respondent, and died in 1788, leaving his wife and one child him surviving. The child died a few years afterwards,…
1Opinion of the Court
The Chancellor:—The barrenness of our books on the subject of testamentary law has compelled me to bestow much labor upon the investigation of this case, and much time has been employed in obtaining those books which were necessary to be examined by me before I could, in justice to the parties in this cause, bring that investigation to a close. It is but a few years since any thing like regular reports of testamentary causes were attempted even in England, and in this state not more than half a dozen cases are to be found in the forty-six volumes of our own reports, and very few in the…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Nelson v. McGiffertNew York Court of Chancery · 1848
- Osgood v. BreedMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1815
3Cited by7 opinions
- Clemens v. PattersonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1863
- Blott v. RiderNew York Supreme Court · 1873
- Trapnall v. Byrd's Adm'rSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1860
- In re BlankNew York Surrogate's Court · 1877
- Butler v. PerrottNew York Surrogate's Court · 1882
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