Diana Powell
office@hswcv.org
Overview of the Beatie vs Clarke case (interpretation)
David Beattie wrote his will in 1805 but lived until 1814. During this interim period 9 additional slaves were born on his plantation; one died, one he gifted to his son David Beattie Jr., before his marriage and one he gifted to his daughter, Mary (Beattie) Clark prior to her marriage. David never updated his will so the remaining 6 slaves were never specifically devised.
David did not leave his wife Mary the typical dower third of his estate, but rather made specific bequests to her. Following David's death his 6 children met with their mother to divide the undevised slaves. They agreed that she should receive a share equal to their own. The total value of the slaves was divided by 7 and each person then either contributed additional cash or received cash from the others so that all the shares were equal (one share was strictly cash). Mary (the widow) received a slave named Delilah. John Clark (daughter Mary Beatie’s husband) was administrator of the estate.
In October 1818 Mary wrote her own will. One son, John Beatie, had died and he was not mentioned in the will. Mary had written a previous will, probably before John’s death. Her final will was written at the home of Thomas Edmiston who was married to David Beatie’s niece, Margaret Buchanan Edmiston. Mary apparently was unsure of her status in regards to Delilah. She wanted to specifically devise her, but Thomas Edmiston, apparently thinking that her share of David’s estate had been received under the rights of dower, told her that she only had a life interest in Delilah and therefore could not devise her. Hence Delilah was not specifically mentioned in Mary’s will. Mary named her son James Beatie as her executor.
Following Mary’s death in January 1820, James sold Delilah to his brother David. David made a partial payment and executed a note for the balance. About this time James began making plans to move to Missouri. Just before leaving in the fall of 1820 he filed suit in the court of Chancery in Wythe County, Virginia. The suit appears to have been precipitated by a disagreement over the purchase price of Delilah and David's repayment of that amount.
James argued that after his mother’s death Delilah should have become a part of his father’s estate, not his mother’s. However, the court, in the notes accompanying their decision, pointed out that at the time of Mary’s death James must have been in agreement that Delilah belonged to Mary’s estate, since James, as her executor, sold Delilah. Had Delilah belonged to David Beattie’s estate, the responsibility for her sale would have fallen on John Clark, as David’s administrator.
The court also pointed out that James received a larger share of Delilah’s value if she was part of Mary’s estate than if she was part of David’s estate (since there were less heirs by the time of Mary’s death). Therefore the court felt that James’s real purpose in the suit was to force David Jr. and Mary (Beattie) Clark to “pay back” their father’s estate for the value of the slaves they received before their marriages. The court dismissed the suit.
copyright Diana Powell 2004