During the early 1830s, John J. Funchess possessed "a small estate" worth about twenty-five hundred dollars which included a tract of land he had contracted to purchase and three slaves -- a woman, a boy, and "a very old man of little or no value." When John Funchess died intestate in 1834 or 1835, his widow Elenor took possession of "the entire Estate managed and controlled the property and converted all the property of the Estate to her own use." At her husband's death, Elenor had three "infants of tender years." No administrator was appointed to control the estate and Elenor took over its management. She hired out the slaves, bought and sold various items, and rescinded her husband's contract to buy the land. She later married one William Smith. By 1853, Elenor only has one surviving child, a girl named Martha, who around 1853 married one William Conaghy. Around that time, William Conaghy was appointed administrator of his late father-in-law's estate, but resigned within a few months without having rendered an account. The petitioner, Thomas Williams, was then appointed administrator de bonis non. He was given possession of one of the slaves, Abram, for whom he received hiring wages and whom he later sold. However, Williams was forced to sue Elenor and her new husband, William Smith, "for the conversion of Patience," another of the three slaves in the estate. He won a judgment of $1,416.60, but was unable to collect on it, because Elenor and William Smith were reported to be insolvent and with no property. Funchess seeks an injunction against the Smiths to restrain them from ever claiming their share of the estate of the late John Funchess, and prays that their share be instead granted to him.
Result: Granted pro confesso.
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Repository: Lowndes County Courthouse, Hayneville, Alabama
