In this season of goodwill, I will mention a case where goodwill lost out and the family took their problem to court, actually to two courts. The decision in the first or lower court was not accepted by one of the sides and they appealed. The final decision was made by the Virginia Supreme Court after independence. The case started during the Revolution while laws were in transition from the English system of jurisprudence to the Virginia statutes. This note will only present the facts and you can be the judge or jury.
In May 1781 Christopher Blankenbeker died leaving, by his will, his Culpeper County, Virginia, estate to his wife, Christina Finks Blankenbeker for the rest of her life. Upon her death, the estate was to be divided among his three sons, Ephraim, Lewis, and Jonas. In May 1783, Ephraim, the eldest son who was still a minor and unmarried, died intestate without any heirs. Christina lived many more years until December of 1815 when she died in Madison County, VA.
Lewis felt, that as the eldest surviving son, he should get Ephraim's third of the estate in addition to the third willed to him by his father. Jonas, the youngest son, and his six sisters disagreed. In their opinion, the original third that was to go to Ephraim should be divided equally among all of the eight surviving children. Lewis brought suit against his siblings and husbands.
A decision was reached in the lower court which was appealed. I will omit, for the present, the decision in each court to give you a chance to mull over your decision. Genealogically, the case is important because it details all of the children of Christopher and Christina and the husbands of the daughters. They were:
Ephraim (the eldest, he died as a minor, unmarried, with no will)
Lewis Blankenbeker
Jonas Blankenbeker
John Deer and Molly his wife, late Molly Blankenbeker
Joseph Carpenter and Catherine his wife, late Catharine Blankenbeker
Samuel Carpenter and Peggy his wife, late Peggy Blankenbeker
Sarah Blankenbeker
Michael Broyles and Betsy his wife, late Betsy Blankenbeker
Henry Haines and Hannah his wife, late Hannah Blankenbeker
These lawsuits were found by Gene Dear and he presented the material in Beyond Germanna in May 1991. (The German name of Hirsch is spelled as Deer and Dear by descendants.)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.