Britton v. Thornton
Supreme Court of the United States
IN ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. This was an action of ejectment brought on April 12, 1880, in the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Payette and State of Pennsylvania, by John Russell Thornton, a .citizen of that State, against George A. Wilson,' a citizen of Ohio, and William Britton and George.
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IN ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA. This was an action of ejectment brought on April 12, 1880, in the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Payette and State of Pennsylvania, by John Russell Thornton, a .citizen of that State, against George A. Wilson,' a citizen of Ohio, and William Britton and George. E. Hogg, citizens of Pennsylvania, his tenants at will'; and removed by Wilson into the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Pennsylvania. At the trial in that court, before a jury, both parties claimed title…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Gray
He recited the facts as above stated, and continued:
The question which lies at the foundation of this case is what estate Eliza Ann Thornton'took in the land which Joseph Thornton specifically devised to her, “ provided that, should the said Eliza Ann die in her minority, and without lawful issue then living, the lands hereby devised shall revert and become part of the residue of my estate hereinafter disposed of.”
By. this specific, devise, Eliza Ann Thornton took an*estate in fee, defeasible by -an executory devise over.
That the estate devised, to her, though without words of inheritance,…
2Cases cited8 opinions
- Miles v. CaldwellSupreme Court of the United States · 1865
- Mercer v. WatsonSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1833
- Merryman v. BourneSupreme Court of the United States · 1870
- Barrows v. KindredSupreme Court of the United States · 1867
- Equator Company v. HallSupreme Court of the United States · 1882
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3Cited by54 opinions
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