Lawson Hathaway, former sheriff of Lancaster County and administrator "de bonis non" for the estate of the late Elizabeth F. Downman, asks for the court's assistance in clarifying a clause in Downman's will. Hathaway claims that all wishes of the will have been carried out with the exception of the effect of the following clause which states "as to all other property I may die possessed of I desire that it may be used as far as it will go in purchasing the following slaves & setting them free, & I wish each of them to have $100 to enable them to settle themselves comfortably any where they choose, & if it can't be used in this way, I wish it to equally divided between my Brother Walters children." Hathaway prays that the court decide in what manner he should execute the clause. We learn from related documents that the court eventually decided in 1844 that the money should be divided between the children of Elizabeth's brother, Walter. This decision was reached because the slaves that Elizabeth wanted to purchase were not available for sale. At the time Downman made her will, four of the five slaves were owned by one Allyson A. Currie and the fifth slave by Alice Smith. When Smith married and moved to Missouri with her new husband she took her slave with her, and she purchased the slave's husband from Currie. Currie is unwilling to sell the remaining three slaves. .
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
