Joseph Story

“ That if the jury believed that the said John B. Chirac the elder had by his first wife a daughter, who married a certain Samuel Bonfils, by whom she had a son named John Baptist Bonfils, who married Ann Coton, who had a daughter named Maria Bonfils, who married Desportes, one of the plaintiffs; it is incumbent upon the plaintiffs before they can entitle themselves to recover, to show the death of the great grandfather, grandmother and father, before the impetration of the original writ in this cause; and that the plaintiffs have offered no evidence of these facts. ”

“ It is well known that in cases of pedigree, the rules of law have been relaxed in respect to evidence, to an extent far beyond what has been applied to other cases. This relaxation is founded upon principles of public convenience and necessity. In a case between the parties to the suit, in which this bill of exceptions was taken, the evidence would have been conclusive. Although Reinecker was not the defendant in that suit, yet he was the real landlord and party in interest, and conducted the suit ”

“ But a still more decisive reason against it is, that by the law of descent of Maryland, a person claiming as heir, must prove himself heir of the person last actually seised of the estate; and if the intestate had left a brother of the whole blood, who survived him and died without issue, and without ever having been actually seised of the estate, the plaintiffs would still have been entitled to recover, as heirs of the half blood of the person last seised. ”

“ Before proceeding to consider these exceptions, it may be proper to say a few words explanatory of that part of the former decision of this Court as it stands reported in 11 Wheaton's Reports, 280, et seq. ”