Budd v. Williams

Goldsborough, J., delivered the opinion of this Court. The appellant filed his bill of complaint in the Circuit Court for Charles county, to recover a legacy of $3,000, conditionally bequeathed by the will of William Budd to him, his brother, William, and his sister, Sarah Ann Budd, to be equally divided between them. William and Sarah survived the testator, but have since died, leaving the appellant, as he alleges, their only next cf kin. “It is agreed by the parties litigant that their object is to ascertain whether, by the true construction of the will of William Budd, the land willed to William F., Burgess, under whom the appellees claim, is liable for, or chargeable with, the legacy of $3,000 left to the appellant and his brother and sister ; all questions as to how the appellant is to receive or to be entitled to the portions of his deceased brother and sister, whether by survivorship or ctherwise, is waived, as that is a matter in which the respondents have no interest or concern.” The Circuit Court, upon final hearing of bill, answer, exhibits and agreements, dismissed the bill, and from its decree this appeal is taken. In reviewing William Budd’s will, we find that he says he is desirous to settle his worldly affairs, and with that intent he gives to his wife all his estate, both real and personal, during her life, she to be at liberty to devise all the negroes and their increase, that came by her with the plantation on which his uncle, Lott Mason, lived and died, together with the stock, furniture left by him, and the cro'p ²⁷¹ on hand.

After her death, he devises the several tracts of land named in the second clause of his will, to William F. Burgess and his heirs. By the fourth clause, he gives to his brother, John Budd’s children, viz: William, John and Sarah Ann, after his wife’s death, all his negroes, (except one given to Ann Burgess,) to be equally divided between them ; and then provides “in case the title to the land willed to William F. Burgess should prove a valid one, I give, devise and bequeath to the aforesaid William Budd, John Budd and Sarah Ann Bndd, the sum of $3,000 to be equally divided between them or their heirs, but should the title to the land as aforesaid bequeathed and given to William F. Burgess, called Honesuch, or to laud attached thereto constituting the Ferry Plantation, prove not valid, the above legacy of three thousand dollars is not given to the said William, John and Sarah Ann Budd, as aforesaid.” Lastly, the testator constituted his wife and his friend, William F. Burgess, his executors. Burgess survived the testator, but died in the lifetime of Iris widow. After her death, the real estate descended to the appelleo, Elizabeth Ann Williams, as the heir-at-law of Burgess.

After the death of the widow of the testator, the appellee took possession of the estate. The title thereof was in litigation at the time of the execution of Budd’s will in 1840, and was finally settled in 1853, in favor of the testator or those claiming under him. It is agreed that on the final settlement of the personal estate of William Budd in 1842, there was a balance of $12,316.89, subject to distribution amongst the next of kin of the testator, and that the children of John Budd named in the will were the next of kin. As the true construction of the will can be arrived at more certainly by an analysis of it, it may conduce to thai end to noto the items seriatim. ²⁷² The testator expresses his desire to settle his worldly affairs.

He then gives all Ms estate, both real and personal, to his wife during her life. Here, it is to be observed, that with the exception of his negroes, he gave to her the power of disposition of the general personal estate, and the most of that would be embraced by the principle laid down in the case of Evans vs. Iglehart, 6 G. & J., 171 , viz., when any article of personalty bequeathed to a legatee for life, is of such a nature that its use is its consumption, the legatee takes the absolute property in the thing bequeathed. In the absence of any inventory of the personal estate of William Budd, we are left to infer that the negroes bequeathed to the Budds, and the one to Ann Burgess, constituted the bulk of the personalty embraced in the balance for