Harland v. Eastman

Citations

• 107 Ill. 535
• 1883 Ill. LEXIS 293

Syllabus

<p>1. Evidence—hearsay—as to pedigree. Eacts involved in a question of pedigree may be established by proof of general reputation in the family, or by proof of what deceased members of the family may have said.</p> <p>2. The husband of a grandchild will not be allowed to swear to any specific thing which his wife, or either of her uncles, still living, has said in his hearing as to the death of the wife’s grandfather, and what heirs survive him; nor can he be allowed to state his conclusions from such unsworn statements, unless all of them taken together, with their surroundings, enable him to say such was the accepted state of the case in the family, or such was the uncontradicted repute in the family.</p> <p>3. Where a witness called to prove pedigree and heirship, (a relative of the deceased by marriage,) in his testimony shows that his association with the family was so slight that the presumption of his knowledge arising from that relation is entirely rebutted by his own statements, and there are other living members of the family, or relatives, living and within the reach of the process of the court, his testimony as to facts he has heard from his wife will not suffice to prove the heirship.</p>