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North Carolina, Supreme Court, Raleigh : Simpson's executors v Boswell, December 1844

Published:
Raleigh, North Carolina : North Carolina Supreme Court, 1844.
Physical Description:
1 online resource
Additional Creators:
Adam Matthew Digital (Firm) and North Carolina. Division of Archives and History
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In 1826, Aaron Simpson gave four slaves to James Boswell, the husband of his daughter Nancy. In 1832, Simpson made his will and died. The will specified that Simpson's wife enjoy title to his estate whilst she was alive, and that at her death all his personal property be sold and the proceeds divided equally amongst his eight living children and the heirs of a ninth who had predeceased him. Nancy Boswell was therefore bequeathed a ninth part of this estate; after the death of Simpson's wife, his executors conveyed Nancy's share to her. In calculating Nancy Boswell's share, Simpson's executors did not take into account the value of the slaves that had been given to Nancy's husband since 1826 and which had been uninterruptedly in his possession since then. Nancy Boswell died in 1837 and James married his second wife, Lucetta Boswell, the present defendant. On James's death in 1843, the slaves were conveyed by his executors to Lucetta, but were then claimed in a suit by Aaron Simpson's executors as Simpson's property over and above the value of one ninth of his estate. The court found for the plaintiffs and Lucetta Boswell appealed. The Supreme Court found that all the Simpson children, one of whom was an executor, had acquiesced for twelve years in treating the slaves of Aaron Simpson that they variously held as not being part of his residuary propery, but rather separate from it for the purposes of evaluating that residue. This established the clear title of James Boswell to the slaves that he had held. Nonsuit declared.
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Reproduction Note:
Electronic reproduction. Marlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital, 2007. Digitized from a copy held by the North Carolina State Archives.
Location of Originals:
North Carolina State Archives
Copyright Note:
Material sourced from the North Carolina State Archives
View MARC record | catkey: 41984939