Case Name: The Missionary Society of the M. E. Church v. Calvert's Am'r & al.
Court: Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Decision Date: 1879-11
Citations: 32 Gratt. 357
Docket Number: 
Parties: *The Missionary Society of the M. E. Church v. Calvert’s Am’r & al.
Judges: 
Reporter: Virginia Reports
Volume: 73
Pages: 128–131

Head Matter:
*The Missionary Society of the M. E. Church v. Calvert’s Am’r & al.
November Term, 1879,
Richmond.
C, owning several tracts of land and personal estate, by his will says: 3. I give to my wife Theresa, during her natural life or widowhood, all my estate, real and personal, except as hereinafter excepted. But if she should marry again, then she is to have the same portion of my estate as if I died intestate. He directs his executors to sell his lands and personal property; and then says the home place is for my wife to live on as long as she may remain my widow, and then it is to be sold. He then says: I wish the proceeds of the sales of my real and personal estate, and the debts due me after paying my debts, to be put at interest by my executor, and my wife to receive the interest. But so long as she remains my widow, she is at liberty to receive from my executors or from my estate such part of it as she may choose and to appropriate it as she believes to be just and right. And he then directs that all such part of his estate as she does not thus appropriate, and all the rest of his estate, shall be given and paid over to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, incorporated by an act of the legislature of the state of New York, passed April 9, 1839. All so paid to the said Missionary Society shall be paid to the India mission by that society — Heed :
1. Construction of Will — -Repugnancy. —That under the provision that his wife Theresa is to be at liberty to receive from his executors such part of it as she may choose, and appropriate it as she believes to be just and right, all the estate directed to be sold and invested by his executors, passed absolutely to his wife.
2. Same — Same.—The Home place, which was to be sold after the death or marriage of his wife, did not pass absolutely to the wife, but the proceeds of the sale thereof passed to the said Missionary Society.
*3. Validity of Bequest to Missionary Society. — The testator directing the Home place to be sold by his executors, the bequest to the Missionary Society though a foreign corporation is valid; they taking the proceeds of the sale.
t. Same — Same.—The direction that the Missionary Society shall expend it on the Indian mission does not avoid the bequest for uncertainty.
This case was heard at Staunton, but was decided in Richmond. It was a suit in equity In the circuit court of Frederick county, brought by Wm. F. Clark, administrator de bonis non with the will annexed of Jesse Calvert, deceased, against the widow of said Calvert and the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a New York corporation, to have a construction of the will of his testator, and a settlement of his accounts.
Jesse Calvert died in 1863, leaving a widow but no children, and leaving a will, which was admitted to probate in the county court of Frederick on the 4th of January, 1864. The will, just as it was written, is as follows:
in the Name of God Amen the East Will and Testament of Jesse Calvert of Mill Brook Frederick County and State of Virginia and I Jesse Calvert Considering the uncertainty of this Mortal Fife and Being of Sound Mind and Memory Blessed Be Almighty God For the same Do Make and Publish this My Last Will and Testament in Manner and Form Following to wit that is to say 1 1 Direct that after My Decease My Body Shall Be Decently intered in the Grave yard at Mill Brook at the spot Which I have selected and Suatable Grave stones thare 2 I Direct that all My Debts Be Paid as soon as Can Be after My Death. 3 I give to My Wife theresa Calvert During Her Natural life or Widowhood all My Estate Rale and Personal Except as Hereinafter Excepted But if she should Marry a Gain then she is to Have the same Portion of My Estate as if I Died intestate.
*My Will is that all of My Estate shall Be appraised as soon as Convenant after My death Bouth Rale and Personal stocks Merchandise and Household Furniture &c My Merchandise and such of My other Personal Estate as My Wife May not want to Keep shall Be sold By My Executors after My Death as soon as Convenant But What My wife Wants to keep need not be sold at that Time. I want My Executors to sell My Lands at Timber Ridge Two Tracts one of 200 acres and one of 120 acres as soon as Convenient alter My Death to the Best advantage Eather at Public or at Private sale as they May think Best and if it Cannot Be sold to advantage they May Rent it out until they Can Sell it as they think Best so do and one Small Tract of Land Lying y¿ Mile West of Mill Brook of some More than 33 acres May Be. sold When it Can Be Sold to advantage if My Wife Do not Want to Keep it and the. Home Place of about 230 acres is For My Wife to Live on as Long as she May Live or Remain My Widow and then in Either Ca=e all is to be sold. and if the Home House and What Land May Be to it Can Be sold Without Mutch Loss I Wish it to Be sold to a Member of the Methodist Church Who Will keep the Preachers and attend to the church and Grave Yard I wish the Proceeds of the Sale of My Real and Personal Estate and the Debts due to Me after paying My Debts to Be Put at Interest By My Executors and My Wife to Receive the Interest But so Long as she Remains My Widow she is to Be at Liberty to Receive From My Executors or From My Estate such Part of it as she May chose and to appropriate it as she Believes to Be Just and Rite. But such Part of it as She May not thus appropriate is to Pass as Directed By My Will at the Death of My Wife all the Remainder of My Estate Real and Personal shall Be Given and paid over to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal church Incorporated by an act of the Legislature of the State of New York Passed April 9. *1839 and the Receipt of the Treasurer of the society shall Be a sufficient Discharge therefore to My Executors, and it is My Will that all My Executors shall Pay to the Missionary Society a Buve stated shall Be Paid to the India Mission By that said society of New York and the Receipt of the Treasurer shall Be to that Effect and the Better to Effect this Purpose My Executors are to sell My Real and Personal Estates and if My Wife shall Mary again then such Portion of My Estate as she Will not Be entitled to under My Will is to Be Disposed of and Paid over to the said Missionary Society as son as convienet after Her Mariage.
and the Real and Personal Estate or the Proceeds of them Witch she shall Hold as her Dower shall Be Paid over at Her Death to the Said Missionary Society at New York For the Benefit and applied to the India Mission. 4 I appoint My Friend Charles L. Wood and Dear Wife Theresa Calvert My Executors to Carry out this My Last Will and Testament. In Witness Whereof I Have Hirunto set My Hand and seal this 2lst day of March, 1861.
Jesse Calvert. [Seal.]
Signed Sealed Published and Declared by the above named Jesse Calvert to Be His Last Will and Testament in the Presence of us Who at His Request and in His Presence Have subscribed our Names as Witnesses Thereto.
Jesse Wright, Moses W. Shipe.
Both the defendants answered the bill, and the cause coming on to be heard at the June term, 1879, the court decreed that the will of Jesse Calvert vests in the legatee Theresa Calvert an estate in fee simple to all the property, both real and personal, left by the decedent, except in the tract of land therein described as the home farm, and as *containing about two hundred and thirty acres; as to which the said legatee is only entitled to an estate for life or widowhood. And thereupon the Missionary Society applied to a judge of this court for an appeal; which was awarded.
Holmes Conrad, for the appellant.
Wm. L. Clark, for the appellees.
Validity of Limitation Oyer after a Devise, witli Unlimited Power of Disposal in tlie First Talcer. — The principal case is cited, and its holding on this subject is sustained in Cole v. Cole et al., 79 Va. 253; Hall v. Palmer, 87 Va. 358; Bowen v. Bowen, 87 Va. 440; Farish v. Wayman, 91 Va. 435; Davis v. Heppert, 96 Va. 776; Wilmoth v. Wilmoth, 34 W. Va. 431. See also Shermer v. Shermer’s Ex’ors, 1 Wash. (Va.) 266; May v. Joynes, 20 Gratt. 692; Carr v. Effinger, 78 Va. 197; Reddick v. Cohoon, 4 Rand. (Va.) 547; Melson v. Cooper, 4 Leigh. 409; Brown v. George, 6 Gratt. 424; Milhollen v. Rice, 13 W. Va. 519; 2 Min. Inst. (4th Ed. 251 et seq., and 443 et seq., 444, and 1074.
Religious Use — Requests.—The holding that the bequest to the Missionary Society was valid is sustained by the doctrine of Trustees, etc., v. Guthrie et al., 86 V. 150, citing the principal case. See also 3 Min. Inst. (2nd. Ed.) 585.

Opinion:
BURKS, J.,
delivered the opinion of the court.
Intention, it is often said, is the polar star to guide in the construction of wills, and when discovered effect must be given to it unless it violates some rule of law. The difficulty lies in the discovery of that intention where the instrument is obscure and ambiguous, as in the present case.
It does not appear who wrote the will of the testator, Jessee Calvert. It was probably written by himself. In framing it, the draftsmen, whoever he was, paid very little attention to the rules of grammar. To say nothing of the errors which abound in the orthography, every other word, upon an average, I would say, commences with a capital letter; what little punctuation is attempted is generally in the wrong place, and' in parts of the will there is more or less incongruity in the language employed.
Still, I think, by scrutinizing the whole instrument and carefully comparing one part with another, we may get at the meaning with sufficient certainty.
The testator was the owner of several tracts of land, as the will shows, and some personal property. The value of his estate does not appear with any distinctness. He was childless, and his wife and the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, incorporated by the legislature of New York, were the sole objects of his .bounty. *It was evidently his intention to provide for both, but chiefly for his wife. Hence, at the outset, after directing the payment of his debts, is this clause (some obvious grammatical errors being corrected) : "3. I give to my wife, Theresa Calvert, during her natural life or widowhood, all my estate, real and personal, except as hereinafter excepted; but if she should marry again, then she is to have the same portion of my estate as if I died intestate."
Under this clause, taken alone, it would appear to be the obvious intention to give to the wife during her life or widowhood the whole of the estate, save such part or parts thereof as should be excepted from the bequest by the subsequent provisions of the will. We therefore naturally look for and expect to find these exceptions in what follows. But a careful examination does not enable me to discover any such exceptions, either express or implied-. The intent, in what follows, to the end, is that she is .to have without exception the entire estate until the termination of her widowhood by marriage or death. Whatever may have been the design in the use of the language, "except as hereinafter excepted," in the connection in which it is found, it could not have been intended thereby to except from the bequest to the wife any of the testator's property. She was to have all during widowhood. The phrase must have been used with some other intent, and that intent. I think, as disclosed in a subsequent part of the will, was to qualify the estate given to her, as expressed by the words "during her natural life or widowhood," so as to give her a larger interest in a portion at least of the property bequeathed to her.
He manifestly intended that she should hold a portion of the property in specie, namely, the tract of land which he called the "Home Place," and such of the personal property, except his merchandise, as she might wish to keep. The residue of the property, real and personal, .he directs to be sold, and the proceeds of the sales and of *the debts owing to him to be invested by his executors, and his wife to receive the interest. If there had been no other direction, it is plain that the estate intended for the wife was, as expressed in the clause of the wiTi already referred to, an estate "during her natural life or widowhood." But just here comes in the provision which, I think, qualifies and enlarges the estate already given, at least to the extent of the fund directed to be invested. After directing the sales to be made, the language is, "I wish the proceeds of the sales of my real and personal estate and the debts due me, after paying my debts, to be put at interest by my executors, and my wife to receive the interest; but so long as she remains my widow, she is to be at liberty to receive from my executors or from my estate such part of it as she may chose, and to appropriate it as she believes to be just and rite." The grammatical corrections which I have made in copying- do not alter the sense.
Now, here is a right, not only to the interest on this fund, but to the fund itself. It is not a mere naked power to appoint or to dispose of, but a right to "receive" such part 'of the fund "as she may choose," and further "to appropriate it," when received, "as she believes to be just and right."
The language imports absolute dominion, and absolute dominion is one of the best descriptions of absolute property.
It was with reference to this absolute right of disposal, I think, that the expression "except as hereinafter excepted" was used in the clause of the will first commented upon. The testator meant to declare that, although he had given in general terms to his wife his whole estate during her widowhood, which terms, unqualified, would limit her interest to the use merely of the property, yet as to the fund ordered to be raised by sales to be made soon after his death, she should not only be entitled to the interest *thereon, but also have the right to dispose of the principal subject. I do not think, however, that this right of disposition extends to the "Home Place," which she was to occupy, and which was not to be sold until her widowhood was determined, either by marriage or death. From the connection in which the language giving the right of disposal is used, I think this right was intended to be confined to the fund already mentioned.
I am of opinion, therefore, that Mrs. Calvert is entitled absolutely to all the estate devised and bequeathed, except the plantation called the "Home Place," and perhaps such of the personal property, if any remains, as she kept in specie under the will; for, with these exceptions, all the property was designed and directed to be sold soon after the testator's death, and the proceeds, together with the debts owing to the testator, constituted the fund on which she was to receive the interest, with the right, also, to receive and appropriate the principal during her widowhood.
The limitation over to the Missionary Society of such part of the fund as she should not appropriate is' void as well for uncertainty as on account of its inconsistency with and repugnancy to the estate already given to her. May v. Joynes & others, 20 Gratt. 692, and numerous cases there cited in argument.
As to the "Home Place," Mrs. Calvert is entitled to the use of that during her life or widowhood. If she never marries again, it is to be sold at her death, and the proceeds paid over to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. If she marries, she will be entitled, from the date of her marriage only, to an estate in it equivalent to dower; and subject to this, the place goes to the Missionary Society, or, rather, the proceeds of sale; for it is directed to be sold either after her marriage or death, whichever event first happens. The direction for sale, in either event, is peremptory, and therefore the *property is equitably converted into money, which the Missionary Society, although a foreign corporation, is competent to take as legatee.
The judge of the circuit court, in the decree appealed from, does not expressly declare that the "Home Place," or proceeds of the sale of it, must go to the Missionary Society, but he does declare that Mrs. Calvert has an estate in it only for her life or widowhood.
It seems plain to me that there is no partial intestacy in this case, and that the testator intended that whatever of his estate his wife did not get the Missionary Society should have.
Some question is raised by the appellee as to the validity of the bequest to the Missionary Society, on the ground that the bequest is to the society in trust for the "India mission," and that the trust is too indefinite.
I do not think this objection well founded. The real legatee is the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church incorporated by the legislature of New York. No trust is created by the bequest. Among the various missions to which the funds of the society are applied is the India mission mentioned in the will, and the testator merely indicates a preference for that mission over others in the application of the property bequeathed.
Tn the case of Cozart & wife & others v. Manderville's ex'or & others, lately decided by this court at Wytheville, Judge Anderson delivering the opinion, the bequest of the residuum of the testatrix's estate to the "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America," incorporated by the state of New York, "to be equally divided between them," the latter words being taken as directing one-half of the legacy to be applied by the corporation to domestic and the other half to foreign missions, was not regarded as too uncertain, and was sustained. 1 am of opinion that the decree of the circuit court *should be modified, so as to declare more explicitly the right of the Missionary Society to the proceeds of the sale of the "Home Place," subject to the interest of Mrs. Calvert in said property, as hereinbefore indicated, and that the decree thus modified should be affirmed.
The decree was as follows:
This cause, which is pending in this court at its place of session at Staunton, having been fully argued but not determined at said place of session, this day came again the parties by their counsel, and upon mature consideration of the transcript of the record of the decree aforesaid and the argument of counsel, for reasons stated in a written opinion filed with the record, it is decreed and ordered that the said decree be so far modified, and so far only as to declare that the appellant is entitled in absolute right to the-tract of land called the "Plome Place" in the will of the testator, Jesse Calvert, deceased, and that said appellant is entitled! to the same as personalty, into which it is equitably converted under said will at the termination of the estate of the appellee, Theresa W. Calvert, therein, as indicated in said written opinion; and it is further decreed and ordered that said decree, as so modified as aforesaid, be affirmed, and that the appellees, as the parties substantially prevailing here, recover against the appellant their costs by them expended, in the defense of the appeal aforesaid here; which is ordered to be certified to the said circuit court of Frederick county.
Decree modified and affirmed.