Burnham v. Porter
Superior Court of New Hampshire
Writ oe Entry, dated August 21, 1849. The plaintiffs demanded one undivided eleventh part of a piece of land in Chester, which was set off to Abigail Hall, widow of Benjamin Hall, as her dower in the lands of her said husband. Plea, nul disseisin.
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Writ oe Entry, dated August 21, 1849. The plaintiffs demanded one undivided eleventh part of a piece of land in Chester, which was set off to Abigail Hall, widow of Benjamin Hall, as her dower in the lands of her said husband. Plea, nul disseisin. It appeared that Benjamin Hall died seized of a farm in Chester, of which the demanded premises were parcel, in the year 1806, and left the plaintiff, Dolly Burnham, and ten other children, his heirs at law, and Abigail Hall, his widow. Abigail Hall remained on the farm with the children, without any partition or assignment of dower, until the 19th…
1Opinion of the CourtPerley, J.
The statute of 1789, which remained in force till 1822, provides as follows: “ The judge of probate shall appoint five freeholders to make distribution of the real estate, which being made and returned to the judge, under their hands, or the major part of their hands, upon oath to their impartiality therein, and accepted and allowed by said judge, shall be valid.” Statute of 1789, § 4; Laws, Ed. of 1815, p. 208.
This statute has always been held to authorize the judge of probate to cause partition to be made among heirs, and dower *578to be assigned to the widow. Pinkham v. Gear, 3 N. H. Rep. 167.
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2Cases cited5 opinions
- Hoit v. UnderhillSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1838
- Bolte v. Van RootenNew York Supreme Court · 1809
- Newton v. SwazeySuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1835
- Orvis v. KimballSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1825
- Inhabitants of Wilton v. HarwoodSupreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1843