Conner v. Shepherd
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
This was a writ of dower, in which it was agreed that the demandant’s husband was seised, during the coverture, of the premises described in her writ, in fee, and in the year 1802 conveyed the same to the tenant; that, after the death of her said husband, viz., in May, 1816, she duly demanded her dower to be assigned to her, which the tenant refused to do; that the premises consist of two hundred acres of land, which were, at the time of'the said conveyance, wholly…
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This was a writ of dower, in which it was agreed that the demandant’s husband was seised, during the coverture, of the premises described in her writ, in fee, and in the year 1802 conveyed the same to the tenant; that, after the death of her said husband, viz., in May, 1816, she duly demanded her dower to be assigned to her, which the tenant refused to do; that the premises consist of two hundred acres of land, which were, at the time of'the said conveyance, wholly uncultivated, and covered with wood and timber, in which state they still remain, and the land is valuable only for the purpose…
1Opinion of the CourtParker, C. J.
Upon this question we have had considerable difficulty. By the common law, the widow is dowable of all the real estate of which her husband was seised during the coverture, with the exception only of a castle erected for public defence, of a common in gross, and some other kinds of estate not known in this country. The question whether forests, parks, and other property of a similar nature, are also exceptions, seems never to have occurred ; probably because there is no instance, in Great Britain, of any such property held separately and distinct from improved and cultivated estates.
In this…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Jackson ex dem. Beekman v. SellickNew York Supreme Court · 1811
- Crouch v. PuryearSupreme Court of Virginia · 1822
- Jackson ex dem. Van Rensselaer v. AndrewNew York Supreme Court · 1821
3Cited by14 opinions
- Cannon v. BarryMississippi Supreme Court · 1881
- Wilkinson v. WilkinsonWisconsin Supreme Court · 1884
- Seminole Tribe of Florida v. FloridaSupreme Court of the United States · 1996
- Wallingford v. FiskeSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1844
- Leavitt v. TaskerSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1910
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