Several distributees of the late William H. Garrison ask the court to ascertain their distributive share of Garrison's estate. They complain that, after Garrison's death in 1843, his widow, Mary Garrison, took possession of his "large real and personal estate" and "continued to move from place to place, so as to defeat the appointment of an admr who could legally settle up the estate." During this time the widow "sold or disposed of" two of Garrison's four slaves. They argue that William Johnson assumed administration of the estate "finally in 1844" and returned an inventory showing the two remaining slaves as "being in suit, or [their] title litigated." The petitioners charge that Johnson has "failed and neglected to compel said Mary to account for and pay over the value of said property." They contend that his suit is an effort "to protect himself against the payment of their just demand against him" and that he and Mary have reached a compromise in said suit in order "to defraud them." They ask that an account of the estate "be taken by and under the direction" of the court. They seek their respective portions, "which would be one ninth each after accounting for advancements."
Result: Dismissed.
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Repository: Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee
