William Edwards, executor of the will of the late John S. Edwards, states that the heirs of the estate have received the legacies specifically bequeathed to them in the last will and testament of the deceased. The petitioner states, however, that there is not enough property remaining in the estate to satisfy the $800 to $1,200 debt still outstanding. William Edwards states that when he told the legatees that they must either surrender a portion of their legacy or contribute money toward the debts, one of the legatees, Andrew J. Castleberry, ran his slaves out of the state and now threatens to leave the state as well. Richard Abercrombie, another legatee, also refuses to pay and threatens to leave the state. The petitioner asks the court to summon the legatees, their husbands, and Juliet G. Edwards, widow of John S. Edwards, and compel each of them to give $400 bond, or order the sheriff to confiscate $400 worth of property from each defendant. A related petition reveals that John S. Edwards died in 1840, and his widow had already sold one of her slaves, at the request of the executor, in order to protect her children's inheritance. In addition two other slaves, not disposed of in the will, were sold to satisfy the debts.
Result: Referred to next term of court.
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Repository: Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama
