Contested will of Allen Tooke. His widow, having remarried in 1841, filed a petition with her new husband, Timothy Mason, in 1846, for dower in tract of land which had been sold to Abraham Shivers in 1839. The executor said that Tooke's widow had been offered the choice under the terms of the will of electing to take her dower or to take the alternate provisions set out for her in the will. It was argued that she chose the latter and was therefore barred from getting her dower as well. The lapse of time was also argued as a further bar, more than 7 years having elapsed. Pending resolution of this issue, Joseph Tooke (executor of Allen Tooke's will), the heirs and executors of Shivers, filed a bill in equity setting out the facts of the matter. Seven slaves had been bequeathed to his wife. Two remained on the plantation. She received a quarter of the profits of the plantation up to the point of her re-marriage and was also given a house in Vineville, near Macon. The executor contended that these items in any case far execeeded the value of her dower and were definitely instead of her dower. The dispute was whether or not the widow had a right to claim her dower under the terms of her husband's will even though see had benefitted from the other provisions of the will for many years and had not, in the past, indicated that she would claim dower. The Supreme Court held that as Allen Tooke died 2 years before the passage of the Act of 1839, which put a 7 year time limit on applications for dower, this restriction did not apply because the Act came into law after her husband's death. It also held that she had not claimed her right to dower because she was ignorant of it. She contended that she had never agreed to the sale of the land to Shivers. It was held that the wording of the will was not clear on the matter of choosing between the dower and other bequests. Verdict in favour of the widow.
