APPEALANTS.

• WALTER WILLIAMS, , and • And ELIZABETH his Wife  RICHARD REED the Younger, RESPONDENT. The Appeal is to be relieved against two Decrees, the first made by the Lord Keeper Coventry, Anno 1639. (46 Years since) the Second by the Earl of Nottingham, late Lord Chancellor, 32 Car. II.
The CASE of the RESPONDENT.

10 Jacob. JOhn Reed seized of the two Meadows in question, demiseth them to Katharine Reed, his Sister, for 99 Years, and after con­veys the Inheritance to Edward Reed, his Brother. Katharine enters, and by Will deviseth the Profits, being 100 l. per An­num in this Manner.

  • To the Poor of Breeden 20 l. per Annum.
  • To Elinor, Daughter to her Brother John Reed 20 l. per Annum.
  • To Edward, her Brother, 15 l. per annum.
  • To her Brother Foulke Reed 15 l. per annum. And
  • To her Brother Richard Reed, the Elder, 30 l. per annum, to whom she gave the Lease to dispose of accordingly.
  • And after the Decease of these Legatees, she gave the Lease to the GENERAL HEIRS.

An. 1639. Edward Reed questions this Lease in Chancery, as a Mortgage for 1000 l. and it was Anno 1639 decreed accordingly, and the 1000 l. divided amongst the Legatees, whereof Elinor, now married to Rich­ard Reed the younger, was to have 140 l. for her share.

1652.And after divers Endeavors to reverse this Deecree (but in vain) Richard Reed, the Younger, who had married Elinor, who was the GENERAL HEIR of the whole Family, buyes in this Decree of Edward, to secure the Lease to Elinor and her Children, and that Katharine's Will [...]ight be performed in kind, and paid 250 l. for it, and lost the 140 l. which was to come to him by the Decree, which considering that Elinor, and the other Legatees were all living, was more than the Lease was worth.

1662.Afterwards Richard Reed, the Elder, who had the Estate in Law, assigns it to Richard Brent, Ann Brent, and others in trust for Wil­liam Reed (Son of Elinor, who was now dead) which William Reed was then the GENERAL HEIR.

1670. William, the Son, assigns his Interest to Richard Reed the Younger (his Father) the now Respondent.

Note, Richard Reed the Younger, the now Respondent, had now both Interests in himself.

1671. Richard the Younger (soon after) settles the said William in Mar­riage with the Petitioner Elizabeth, and thereupon settles 500 l. per Annum (the best of his Estate) upon him, and a Joynture of 250 l. per Annum to the Petitioner Elizabeth.

The Petitioner Elizabeth, after the Death of William, which was about four Years after, and being his Executrix, not content with her Joynture of 250 l. claims this Lease against this Assignment of her late Husband.

26 Junii 32 Car. 2.And thereupon arose cross Suits in Chancery, upon hearing where­of it was decreed for the Respondent Richard Reed the Younger, and the Assignment of William decreed to be good.

22 April. 33 Car. 2And upon Re-hearing the Decree is confirmed.

And afterwards a Bill of Review is brought, which upon Hear­ing was dismiss'd.

Oct. 33. Car. 2.Then at last the now Petitioners do assign all their Interest in the said two Meadows to the Respondent Richard Reed the Younger.

All which the Petitioners do endeavor to avoid by this their Appeal upon Suggestion.

That the first Decree made 46 years since was unjust, and that all the other Proceedings were in pursuance of that Decree, and there­fore to be laid aside.

To which is Answered.

1. That Suggestion appeares to be a plain mistake; for the last De­cree was chiefly grounded upon the Assignment made from Richard the Elder to the Brents, and from them to William, and from him to the Respondent Richard Reed the Younger, which Assignments were made in performance of the Will of Katharine Reed, which was made in the year 1623. and not in pursuance of the first Decree, but ra­ther contrary to it.

2. The Respondent hopeth, that a Decree made in the year 1639, and no Appeal from it in any Parliament since that time until now, will be presumed to be just and not disparaged by the Petitioners, alleadging it to be unjust, or saying, that the Lease was absolute.

3. But whether that Decree be just or unjust, it cannot affect this Cause: For if it were unjust, it was so only against William, who had the legal Interest in the Lease. But William by his Assignment made to the Respondent Richard Reed, (who had purchased the be­nefit of that Decree,) hath purged that wrong, and hath thereby dis­abled himself and his Executrix from Appealing from it.

4. Richard Reed the Respondent, in the settlement of his own Estate of Inheritance upon his Son William, at his Marriage gave his Son a recompence to more then ten times the value of this Lease.

So the Case in short is,

The Lease is devised to Richard the Elder, in trust (after some Annuities for life) for the GENERAL HEIR.

This GENERAL HEIR is William Reed, Eldest Son of Elinor, who was Daughter of John Reed, and the Wife of Richard Reed the Younger.

This Lease Anno 1639, is Decreed to be a Mortgage for 1000 l.

Richard the Younger to preserve this Lease for his Family, bought in this Decree and quieted the Estate.

Richard Reed the Elder in pursuance of the Will, assigns the Lease in trust for William the GENERAL HEIR.

William afterwards assigns to Richard the Younger (his Father) the now Respondent.

So here is a clear Title in Richard the Younger.

And William hath by his Assignment barr'd himself, and by con­sequence his Executrix from having any Appeal, and both the E­states (the legal Estate from Richard the Elder, and the equity of Redemption by the Decree from Edward) are vested in the Respon­dent Richard the Younger.

It is to be observed that Katharine by her Will, intended to keep this Lease in the Name and Family of the Reeds, and so did Richard Reed the Elder, and Richard Reed the Younger, and so it now conti­nues and is like to do.

And the Petitioners being Strangers, endeavour to wrest it out of the Family only by Title of Executorship, without any other con­sideration against their own, and her Husbands Acts and Deeds.

  • Giles Reed, had Issue.
    • 1. John Reed, had Issue.
      • Elinor Married to Richard Reed the Younger, had Issue.
        • William Reed, the GENERAL HEIR.
    • 2. Edward Reed, dead without Issue.
    • 3. Foulke Reed, dead without Issue.
    • 4. Richard Reed, dead without Issue.
    • And 5. Katharine Reed, dead without Issue.

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal licence. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.