Merrill v. Wisconsin Female College
Wisconsin Supreme Court
APPEAL from the Superior Court of Milwaukee County. Action by the executor of the last will and testament of Alcy E. M. Downer, against all legatees, devisees, or claimants of an interest in the estate of the testatrix, to obtain a construction of said will. From the judgment construing the will the Wisconsin Female College, one of the legatees, appeals.
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APPEAL from the Superior Court of Milwaukee County. Action by the executor of the last will and testament of Alcy E. M. Downer, against all legatees, devisees, or claimants of an interest in the estate of the testatrix, to obtain a construction of said will. From the judgment construing the will the Wisconsin Female College, one of the legatees, appeals. To the point that when the time in which a condition is to be performed has been prescribed by a testator, ignorance of the existence of the condition does not excuse nonperformance, they cited 2 Jarman on Wills (Bigelow’s ed.), 10; Powell v.…
1Opinion of the CourtCole, C. J.
The particular clause in the will of Mrs. Downer, which the executor asks the court to construe, reads as'follows: “ Item Ninth. I give and bequeath to Wisconsin Female College, located at Fox Lake, Wis., five thousand dollars ($5,000), provided that the trustees have changed the name before my decease to Downer College, in memory of my husband.”
What is the meaning of this clause? The language is so plain and precise as to hardly admit of discussion. Five thousand dollars are given on the condition, or “ provided,” the trustees shall have changed the name of the institution before the death…
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