Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-08-05
LEGAL WIDOWHOOD.
A Husband I'm the PenItenffary CivfIIy
Dead and His Wife n Widow.
From the San Francisco Bulletin.l

From the San Francisco Bulletin.l
Judge Myrick yesterday delivered
his opinion on the application of Mrs.
Anna King for the distribution of the
estate of her father, William StOtt. In
his viii Mr.. Stott gave to his daughter
$500, and ordered that in case she be-
came widow all of his estate should
be given to her. Mrs. King and her
husband lived in this city for several
years. King quarreled with his father
in-law, Mr.. Stott, and shot him. MIR.
StOtt lived two years after the shooting.
King and his wife went to New York,
and there they disagreed. She insti.
tuted a suit for a divorce, and while
the case was being heard before a
referee, King shot and killed one
o Neil, who was a witness in the case,
and was tried and convicted and
sentenced to the State Prison at Sing
Sing for life. Mrs. King, through her
counsel here, recently made application
for the distribution of her fathers es-
tate on the ground that she was a
widow. The executors of the estate
strenuously opposed her application.
Judge Myrick took time to study tie
fine points IN the case and yesterday
gave bis opinion. He referred to the
fact that in New York a person
sentenced to Imprisonment for life is
civilly dead. and said that there were
two points IN question:
THE POINTS IN QUESTION.
l. What is the present status of
Mrs. King and of King in New York?
,. Do they respectively occupy the
same status elseShere?-
His Honor continued as follows:
Evidently she is not his wife; but
Is she widow? Has the contingency
arrived which the testator in
tended? Nearly all the dis
tinguished English photographers
define a widow to be a woman
whose husband IL dead The words
from which the word is derived are:
UidUO, bereft, deprived Of; UiduQ, a
woman bereft of her husband. Sre
certainly is not his wife; he is not Ier
husband; she has been bereft, deprived
of her husband; he is dead to her; he is
dead to the STATE; he has no civil
rights; he can make no contract; he
cannot sue nor be sued; he cannot in
herit property; if ne had estate, It is
subject to administration; If he had
children, he has lost their guardianship
and they owe no duty to him. It seems
70 me that under such circumstances 1t
would be doing no violence to the tes-
tatOr's intention to say that she is in
every sense a widow.
Is SHE A WIDOW HERE?
SecOnd--Sbe being then a widow in
New York, the place Of dOmicil, is she
to be regarded here as a widow?
Story, in his work on "The Conflict
of Laws section IS, says the personal
capacity or incapacity attached to a
party byh lawofthe'place Of his domicil
is deemed to exist IN every other coun-
try, even In relation to transactions in
any foreign country. Thus a minor,
a married woman, a prOdigal, a spend
thrift, a person non cOmpOs meHtis.
or any other person who is deemed
incapable of traEsacting business (slii
jgris) in the place of his or her domi-
ell, will be deemed incapable every
where, not only as to transactions IN
the place of his or her domicil, but as
70 transactions in every other place
SHE Is A WIDOW HERE.
A qualification TO the rule is that the
incapacity should no. . inconsistent
with the policy Of IL. country where
the rule is invoked. So far from the
principle that King is civilly dead
being contrary to the policy of the law
Of the State, we have a similar statute
applying 10 similar sentences here. In
my opinion Mrs. King is entitled un-
der the will, to have distribution to her
of the estate. Let a decree be entered
Mrs. King will receive about $4,000,
and it is thought probable by those
who k ow her that she will use much
Of that amount to secure, IL possible, a
new trial for her husband. King firmly
believes that if he was granted another
trial he would be liberated.