Monday, November 21, 2016

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1805 - 1863) - Probate Records, Part 9, A Petition, Not a Lawsuit (Yet)

I'm still sorting through various unindexed records for my fifth great grandmother Timney P. Watts Warren Phillips but below is a petition filed with the Probate Court on behalf of the heirs of her Phillips property in October of 1863.*

[Description : Probate Records, Vol 10, 1863-1866; Probate Records, Vol 11, 1866-1868. Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]


Timney Phillips
The State of Alabama     }  To the Hon C A Stanton Judge
     Macon County           }  of Probate Court.
The petition of Thomas H Phillips, and Jeremiah D Phill-
ips, respectfully shows, that your petitioners, and William
R Phillips, and Littleberry B Phillips who reside in the
State of Georgia, Mary E Lane wife of Alexander Lane, Martha 
Adams wife of James O A Adams who reside in said County
of Macon, and all of whom are of full age, Elizabeth Lockwood
who resides in Said County of Macon, Elizabeth Phillips, Eugene
Phillips, Columbiana Phillips & John Henry Phillips, who
are minors and children of Thaddeus Phillips, and represent
their Fathers Interest, and who resides in Georgia and
Joint Owners of Certain lands Situate in Said County of Macon
and known as the South half of the North West quarter of Section
Eighteen (18) Township Fifteen (15) Range twenty four (24) and
Eighty acres of the west half of the South half of the Said
Section Eighteen (18) being the Dower Interest of Timney
Phillips, and that Said lands cannot be equitably fractioned
or divided between Said Joint Owners without a Sale
                  Your petitioner therefore prays that proper notices
may be given, and that your Honor would grant an order to sell  Said
Lands
                             Clopton & Ligon atts for Petitioners

The above petition isn't dated but it is immediately followed by this entry which is.

[Description : Probate Records, Vol 10, 1863-1866; Probate Records, Vol 11, 1866-1868. Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]


              The State of Alabama
To W F Hodnett, Know you that we, having full faith in your
Prudence and Competency have appointed you Commissioner, and by these
presents do authorize you at Such time and place as you may appoint,
to call before you and examine H Lockwood and William H Stanton
as witnesses in behalf of Plaintiff in a case pending in our Probate
Court of Macon County wherein J D & T H Phillips are Plaintiffs,
and William R Phillips Et al are Defendants, on oath to be by
you administered, upon Interrogatories annexed to this Commis-
sion; to Take and Certify the deposition of the witnesses, and return
the Same to our Said Court, to be held on the 2nd Monday in 
November next, under your hand and seal, witness C A Stanton
Judge of the Said Court at office, this 20th day of October AD one
thousand Eight hundred and 63.
                                                          C A Stanton Judge of Probate
Issued the 20th day of Oct 1863


Paging through the Probate Court records, I saw that naming a Commission to gather depositions from witnesses was a common practice. Next time we'll look at the questions to be asked of the witnesses and the Interrogatories themselves as filed in the Probate Court by W. F. Hodnett.**

And there's still the matter of the suit filed in 1866 which we'll get to in time.





*Note that no mention is made of her oldest son, my great great grandfather J.T.S. Warren, who had already received his inheritance from his father's estate and had moved to Texas in 1852.
**He's been described as a near neighbor of Timney's and we know from bill presented to the court for payment, that he was a doctor who treated her entire household for several years before her death.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

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