The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1881-11-25
PROBATE COURT.-HILroS, JUDGE.

In the matter of the estate of Michael
Heath, deceased.
Hearing on the petition of George f.
Heath, son of the deceased, praying for the
appointment of an administrator of the es-
tate of said deceased.
On the hearing of this application made
by the son of the deceased, the reputed wild
ow of the deceased appears and contests the
same on the ground that she Is his lawful
widow and as such, entitled, under the
statute, first to administration of the estate.
The facts as shown on the hearing, are that
the deceased lived in the township of Ant
werp, III this county, for about 81 years
previous to his death that he married the
| contestant i'll 1867, in Chicago, whittier he
went for such purpose, and that they lived
and cohablted together as husband and wife
up to nearly the time of his death. There
is some evidence tending TO show that by
reason of cancerous sore and other physi-
cal ailments, the contestant ceased to so CO.
habit with the deceased, and on the other
| hand it is claimed that contestant knew, and
had admitted the marriage to be illegal. and
on this account had withdrawn from such
cohabitation. The contestant, ii is further
shown. lived with deceased for period OF
about % years and bore him two children
both OF whom are now deceased. It is ad
mitted for the purposes of this hearing, that
! the contestant was the niece of deceased
and ii is further admitted that under the
statute of Illinois, such marriage was abso-
iIitely void and under our statute prohibited
1t is contended by the counsel for the petit
toner that the lea loci contrdctus governs
and that consequently the marriage was void
| in this State. On the other hand the con-
testant maintains that although prohibited
by our statute, yet that such prohibition does
not deprive the wife her property rights in
and to the husbands estate that the So
called marriage cannot be attacked in this
collateral proceeding, and that as such wife
she is entitled to administration of the estate
such cohabitation constituting q valid mar.
riage at common law. After careful ex.
animation of the authorities produced by
counsel, l am led to believe that the only
question in this case is, whether the marriage
was voidable simply, or void and if the
first, there can be no doubt but that the con
testant would be entitled to administration
but, if the latter, that she would not. Mar
riages between persons in the direct linea
line of consanguinity are clearly unlawful
and void by the law of nature, Independent
of any statutory prohibition and for obvious
reasons; but as we leave this lineal line ant
come to the relationship by blood or afiinit,
in the collateral line, las in this case), it il
not SO easy to determine at what point sucl
natural law frowns upon such union as de
structive of the purity and happiness of do
nestle life, and 1 am not prepared to stat
that in this case the contestant would not b.
entitled to administration in the absence o
the statute in force at the time of sucl
claimed marriage in the State of Illinois
Such statute made the contract absolutel,
void, db Sniti0, and ii seems to me, dispose
of the whole matter very quickly in any cas-
where such bar exists. Suppose the deceaset
J had, after such ceremony in the State o
Illinois, removed to this State and married
again, could he have been convicted of tn
crime of bigamy? Plainly not as the fac
of such marriage would be shown at ono
incestuous and invalid and barred any sucl
prosecution. This same law that forbids
marriage incestuous, would, L apprehend
sustain q marriage by mere consent wbicl
the common law permits and sanctions, bu
: l do not understand that any conduct of tn
parties, such as cohabitation and reception
of them as husband and wife in any com
|, munity, or any failure of our statute to NOR
than prohibit such marriage would rende
any marriage that in any State is void b.
statute. valid in this. The marriage. j
seems to me. was utterly void and no subse
quent acts of the parties changed the fact
and however painful. such conclusion ma
be to the contestant, / am satisfied tina
! the prayer of the petitioner must be allowe'
and administration granted to the person q
therein prayed.