Pettigrew v. Pettigrew
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Appeal, No. 36, Oct. T., 1903, by plaintiffs, from decree of C. P. Armstrong Co., June T., 1901, No. 195, dismissing bill in equity in case of S. H. Pettigrew et al. v. Margaret J. Pettigrew et al. Bill in equity for an injunction. The court stated the facts to be as follows : Matthew Pettigrew in his lifetime was the owner of a lot in the cemetery at Whitesburg, Pa. After his death he was buried there as were also his wife and two daughters.
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Appeal, No. 36, Oct. T., 1903, by plaintiffs, from decree of C. P. Armstrong Co., June T., 1901, No. 195, dismissing bill in equity in case of S. H. Pettigrew et al. v. Margaret J. Pettigrew et al. Bill in equity for an injunction. The court stated the facts to be as follows : Matthew Pettigrew in his lifetime was the owner of a lot in the cemetery at Whitesburg, Pa. After his death he was buried there as were also his wife and two daughters. We have no testimony as to the size of the lot. On June 17, 1900, James Pettigrew, a son of Matthew, died, leaving to survive him a widow, Margaret J.…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Mr. Chief Justice Mitchell,
When a man dies, public policy and regard for the public health, as well as the universal sense of propriety, require that his body should be decently cared for and disposed of. The duty of disposition therefore devolves upon some one and must carry with it the right to perform. It is commonly said, being repeated from the early cases in England where the whole matter of burials was under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts, that there can be no property in a corpse. But inasmuch as there is a legally recognized right of custody, control and…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- Larson v. ChaseSupreme Court of Minnesota · 1891
- Renihan v. WrightIndiana Supreme Court · 1890
- Weld v. WalkerMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1881
- O'Donnell v. SlackCalifornia Supreme Court · 1899
- Enos v. SnyderCalifornia Supreme Court · 1900
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3Cited by87 opinions
- Koerber v. PatekWisconsin Supreme Court · 1904
- Brown v. Matthews Mortuary, Inc.Idaho Supreme Court · 1990
- Spiegel v. Evergreen Cemetery Co.Supreme Court of New Jersey · 1936
- Whitehair v. Highland Memory Gardens, Inc.West Virginia Supreme Court · 1985
- Linda F. Seals v. H & F, Inc.Tennessee Supreme Court · 2010
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