Williams v. White
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the District Court of Philadelphia. This was an action of assumpsit by John White against Samuel Williams, in which the parties agreed upon a case stated, in the nature of a special verdict, wherein the following facts were embodied:— Jonathan White died intestate, on the 23d July 1825, seised in fee of divers pieces of real estate, and among others of a lot of ground on the north side of Callowhill street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, in the city of…
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Error to the District Court of Philadelphia. This was an action of assumpsit by John White against Samuel Williams, in which the parties agreed upon a case stated, in the nature of a special verdict, wherein the following facts were embodied:— Jonathan White died intestate, on the 23d July 1825, seised in fee of divers pieces of real estate, and among others of a lot of ground on the north side of Callowhill street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, in the city of Philadelphia, leaving a widow, Catharine White, and six children. On the 17th February 1826, under proceedings in the Orphans’…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Lowrie, C. J.
We are very sure that the partition laws do not intend to make a man a debtor to himself; and that, when an heir takes land in partition, subject to the widow’s thirds for life, and to the distribution of one-third of the valuation at her death, he does not become debtor to himself for his share of that third, but only to his co-heirs for theirs. The Act of 11th April 1799 is quite clear in conveying this thought, for it declares that such heir shall take subject to a lien thereon in favour of the other parties for their shares, and it has…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Englebert v. BlanjotSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1837
3Cited by3 opinions
- Beck v. SchekterSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1912
- Smith v. DanielsonSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1911
- Beck v. SchekterSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1913