The San Francisco call., 1895-12-20
The Supreme Court Has Decided
the PearSonS Will
Case.
NICE QUESTION OF KINsH1P
Judge Coffey's Order of Distribution
Set Aside and a New Rule
Established.

the Mathewson people, one-seVenth OF
the whole property will go to each of the
relatives, or his or her estate.
The estate was worth between $3.50. 900
and $40O, 900. 1t was left almost entirely
to the sister and half-sister of the testator,
with the proviso that should they die be-
fore inheriting the property bequeathed TO
them it was to go to certain charities to be
named by the Judge of the Probate Court.
The sisters died, and the bulk of the estate
reverted to the charities suggested. But
the law allows but one-third of an estate
to be left in charity, and therefore, so far
as two-thirds of his estate was concerned,
Pearsons died intestate. Pearsous inher-
tied 1929, ,376 80 from his father and $685.,
676 O5 from his mother. 1t was this dual
inheritance which so complicated the dis
tribution of the estate.
Deceased's father, Hiram Pearsons, was
the son of Parker Pearsons, who had been
twice married, his two wives being sisters,
Polly and Emma Bartlett. From the mar
riage of Parker Pearsons and Emma Bart
lett, Lucy Valentine was born; and from
his marriage with Polly Bartlett, Clarissa
?. Wheeler and Hiram Pearsons were
born. Hiram Pearsons married Ann
Charity Mathewson, and Hiram A. Pear
sons was the result of this union. By his
will Hiram A. Pearsons LETT his estate to
his two aunts, the sister and half-sister of
his father, and the contestants are the five
brothers and sisters of his mother, Ann
Charity Mathewson.
The particular point involved was an
order distr buting $3.50, 900 to the asylums
and the heirs. This amount, it was
thought, could be distributed without en-
barrassing the estate. Of. this $150,000,
one-third or $50. coo was allowed to the
asylums and the remainder, $780, 900, or
dered distributed to the relatives Of the
father and the mother in the same pro-
portion as it had been inherited. The
proportion was $S6,0 600 to the relatives of
the father and $15,909 to those of the
mother, Ann Mathewson. Clarissa 2.
| Wheeler and the estate of Lucy Valentine
therefore received $45,045 each, and Ira
Mathewson, Daniel Mathewson, Henry
Mathewson, Rhoda Smith and Lucy A.
Angel were allowed $27S2 each. This
order has been set aside, and the Supre me
Court orders that each one receive one
seventh OF the entire amount, and directs
that the remainder OF the estate be SINH
liarly distributed when possible.
In rendering it's decision, the Supreme
Court announces that the estate OF Hiram
Pearsons. or that part of it in question on
appeal, should be distributed just as if he
had died intestate.
1.-THE rule which governs here" the Su-
preme Court says, ''iS as follows: If the de-
cedent had been without issue, husband,
wife, mother, brother or sister. the estate
must go to the next of kin in equal degree.
In the case at bar the next of kind were
the seven aunts and uncles of the deced-
ent, and they were in equal degree; there
fore, the estate goes to them in seven equal
parts"
The respondents contention rested al
most entirely on section 139 of the Civil
Code, which is as follows: kindred of the
half blood inherit equally with the whole
blood in the same degree unless the inher-
itance came to the intestate by descent,
or gift of some OF his ancestors, in which
case all those which are not of the blood Of
such ancestor must be excluded from such
inheritance"
The Supreme Court says:
The words "all those" clearly refer to their
antecedents in the sentence "kindred of the
half blood" kindred of the half blood being
the su1 1ject OF the main proposition OF the Sec
ton which follows the word "uniess." The
section simply means that kindred of the
half blood shall inherit exactly with those of
the whole blood, except in certain case, and
in that kindred of the half blood shall rot in
herit. And who are the kindred of the half
blood? Why, OF course, Kindred of the half
kin OF equal degree OF the intestate
be some of the whole blood and some
of the half blood of the intestate the
half bloods shall not inherit if they are not
OF the blood of the person from whom the in
testste inherited the property to be distrib-
uted; but if oil be kin of the whole blood of
the intestate, or if the half bloods be of the
blood of the ancestor, then all share alike.
Kindred of the whole blood, ii next of kin,
share in all of the estate of the decedent no
matter from what source it came.
We think the plain grammatical construc-
tion of the clauses under consideration is that
the kindred of the intestate of the half blood
shall inherit equally with those of the whole
blood except that if the estate is ancestral only
such kindred of the half blood as are of the
blood OF ancestor from whom the estate came
shall inherit.
There is similar case peHding before
Judge Slack--the estate OF Frank M. Bee
and this decision in the Pearsons case will
probably decide that case also.
Frank Bee died intestate. He survived
his father, the late Colonel Bee, Chinese
Vice Consul in tnis City, and Colonel Bee
survived mis- wife, the mother of the intes-
tate. The property was the separate prop
erty of Colonel Bee, and came to the in
testate by gift, devise or descent from his
father. The intestate left uncles and an
aunt on his mothers side, and children of
unces and aunts on his fathers side. The
situation is the same as in tae Pearsons
estate.
There is an appeal before the Supreme
Court now involving the rights OF GER
tain charitable institutions to inherit, but
the main question regarding the estate is