Weathersey v. Weathersby

Citations

• 21 Miss. 685

Syllabus

<p>The following clause in the will of Lewis Weathersby, to wit: “ I give and bequeath to my son Ludovick, my servants Tom and Lucy, and their children, Matilda, Sylvester, Andrew, and Dicey, in trust and under the following conditions, viz : I do hereby enjoin it upon my said son to make the said slaves as comfortable in life as possible ; that he furnish them and their children with a house separate from others; that he provide a horse, farming utensils, and a small tract of land for their use ; that he sell their crops,' furnish them with a milch cow, and two hundred pounds of sugar, and one hundred pounds of coffee yearly; and that in consideration of these things, he require of them reasonable service; and should Tom and Lucy at any time be able to raise a sum of money ■ sufficient to compensate said Ludovick, say three hundred dollars for each of their daughters, Matilda and Dicey, then he shall give up said Matilda and Dicey to said Tom and Lucy, to serve and comfort them in their old age: ” it was held to be void, so far as it purported to impose a condition upon the unqualified bequest to Ludovick ; the condition was an attempt to secure freedom to the slaves, or part of them, and was therefore illegal; but the devise was valid, and the property passed absolutely to Ludovick.</p>