Collagan v. Burns
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
Appeal from a decree of tlie judge of probate for this county, disallowing what was propounded as the last will and testament of tlie late William Collagan, formerly tlie husband of tlie plaintiff, on tlie ground that he in his lifetime revoked it, by tearing it in pieces.
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Appeal from a decree of tlie judge of probate for this county, disallowing what was propounded as the last will and testament of tlie late William Collagan, formerly tlie husband of tlie plaintiff, on tlie ground that he in his lifetime revoked it, by tearing it in pieces. The will was dated February, 1854. The case came up for trial at the April term, 1867. The alleged will had been destroyed, together'with all the probate records of the county, in the great conflagration of July 4,1866. The appellant introduced a copy of the alleged will; and it was proved that when the will was presented…
1Opinion of the CourtAppleton, C. J.
This is an appeal from a decree of the judge of probate, disallowing what was propounded as the last will and testament of William Collagan, the appellant’s husband, on the ground that he in his lifetime revoked the same, by tearing it in pieces.
The will, when produced' for probate, had been torn in pieces and pasted upon another sheet of paper ; the names of the testator and of the witnesses had been tom off separately, as well as the seals ; and the will was otherwise torn. The appellees claimed that the tearing bore prima facie marks of design, raising the presumption, that it was tom by…
2Cases cited12 opinions
- Shailer v. BumsteadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1868
- Comstock v. Hadlyme Ecclesiastical SocietySupreme Court of Connecticut · 1830
- Betts v. Jackson ex dem. BrownCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1830
- Jackson ex dem. Coe v. KniffenNew York Supreme Court · 1806
- Dan v. BrownNew York Supreme Court · 1825
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3Cited by10 opinions
- Throckmorton v. HoltSupreme Court of the United States · 1901
- Luis v. MuhrbackOregon Supreme Court · 1907
- In re Valentine's WillWisconsin Supreme Court · 1896
- Ewing v. McIntyreMichigan Supreme Court · 1905
- Managle v. ParkerSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1908
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