Tayloe, Ex'r v. . Johnson
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Bill, by an executor, praying for advice, and the construction of a will, filed to Spring term 1868, of the Court of Equity for Bertie, and at the same time transferred by consent to* this Court. The testator died in the early part of 1861, leaving four children, the eldest, Anne E., of full age, then and still the wife of Edward Watson; Hellen R Lee, then under age, who in 1863, intermarried with Jas.
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Bill, by an executor, praying for advice, and the construction of a will, filed to Spring term 1868, of the Court of Equity for Bertie, and at the same time transferred by consent to* this Court. The testator died in the early part of 1861, leaving four children, the eldest, Anne E., of full age, then and still the wife of Edward Watson; Hellen R Lee, then under age, who in 1863, intermarried with Jas. P. Johnson, and died leaving issue, which has since also died; William Joseph Lee, and Mary Jane Lee, who are still under age. The value, at the death of the testator, of his personal estate,,…
1Opinion of the CourtReads, J.
In construing wills the paramount object is to ascertain the meaning of the testator. To accomplish this, words may be supplied or abstracted, grammatical arrangement disregarded, and clauses transposed. Sometimes this is necessary to be done to such an extent as to cause it to be carelessly said, that the Court makes the will. But, so far from this being true, there is nothing about which the Court is more careful than to ascertain and declare the exact meaning, and to give •effect to the slightest wish of the testator.
The scope of the will in this case evidently is, that the bulk •of the…
2Cited by7 opinions
- Gordon v. . EhringhausSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1925
- Howerton v. . HendersonSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1883
- Bell v. . ThurstonSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1938
- Sutton v. QuinerlySupreme Court of North Carolina · 1950
- Barbara Alexander v. . Peter A. SummeySupreme Court of North Carolina · 1872
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