William Beverly Gates

William B Gates, of Chesterfield County, died in 1868, leaving a widow and five infant children surviving him. Of these children three were by a former wife. He left a will which was duly admitted to probate in the county court of Chesterfield, and Robert G Bass qualified as his executor. In the second clause of his will he says: "I wish my estate kept together, and managed by my executors as if I were living, for the joint benefit and common good of my wife, Bettie Gates, and my children, Blanch C., Lillie W., Judith F., Maria T., and William Beverly Gates, so long as my widow remains unmarried. Should my executors, however at any time believe that it would be to the interest and benefit of my wife, and children to sell any part of the real and personal estate, they are herby invested with full power to sell and convey any portion thereof except the homestead known as Seguine, and the mills and appurtenances thereto attached."

An he directed that all the income and profits of his estate should be used, if necessary for the common support, maintenance and education of his children. And he directed that if any of his children should marry before a general division of the estate, thereby withdrawing from her support from the general income of the estate, such child should receive $1000 within ninety days after the marriage, and $1000 in five years thereafter, to be accounted for, without interest, on a final division of the estate.

In a subsequent clause he says: "if, however, my widow shall at any time marry again, thereby making it necessary for a general division of my estate, my will desire is that after taking her thirds, the balance of my estate shall be equally divided between my children, each accounting for what money they may have drawn from the estate. I further will and desire that no general division of my estate shall take place until my youngest (then living) child shall attain the age of twenty years, or at the death of my widow, or in the event of her marriage again."

The widow of William B Gates renounced the provision made for her by his will, and she on her own behalf and as next friend of her two infant children, instituted a suit in equity against the executor and the other children. In the bill the real estate left by William B Gates is set out and the prayer of the bill is for a settlement of the accounts of the executor, that dower may be assigned to her; that the will may be construed; that a sale of the real estate, except that called Seguine, may be mad and Seguine may be kept together, &c, &c.

The three children by the first marriage, and Bass, the executor, answered; a commissioner was directed to take the account and make enquiry; which was done; and one of the defendants having married J.M. Gregory, and another John C. Goode, they filed a cross bill in the cause.

The questions of controversy in the cause were first, whether the widow having renounced the will, that authorized a division of the estate, she not having married and the youngest child not having attained the age of twenty years. Second, whether there was a case of election on the part of the three children of the first marriage. It appears that the place called Seguine had been the property of Thomas Belcher, who died intestate and that it descended to his three children, of whom the first Mrs. Gates was one; and that William B Gates purchased the shares of the other two. He lived upon the place, and during his first wife's life remodeled the dwelling house, rebuilt the mill upon it and added a sawmill, all at the expense of $9,492.20. The third question was as the liability of William B Gates estate for wood cut off the Seguine land. It appears that in 1864, the Confederate government, through an agent, proposed to Gates to purchase the wood standing on a part of the land, but he refused to sell it. It was then impressed by the government, and the price at which it was to be taken being agree, Gates received $48,167 in Confederate treasury notes, and $24,083 in Confederate bonds. He added of his own money to the treasury notes enough to make the sum of $60,000, with which he purchased two farms in the county of Chesterfield, one named Archer and the other Winfree, which constituted a part of his estate when he died. The bonds perished on his hands. It appears further that much of the timber cut and sawed by the Confederate government, was on the ground when the Confederacy failed, and that the United States government seized it and converted it to their own use. They also seized the timber yet standing on the two hundred and eighty nine acres which had been impressed, and it was sold for $675. The commissioner estimates the damage done to the Seguine farm by the cutting and removal of timber at $600, of which one third is $200.

The two causes came on to be heard on the 20th of May 1873, when the court held that the testator William B Gates disposed of the farm known as Sequine, by his will, and thereby put his children, Blanch C., Lillie W., and Judith F. Gates to their election, either to confirm the will as to its disposition of one third of Seguine, or to claim against the will; and in the latter event they were to compensate the other two children out of the property devisied to them by the will for what they would lose by said election to claim against the will. And it was further held that the said three elder children could not follow the fund derived from the wood which was invested in the Chesterfield lands, and that they were "not entitled to a division of the estate at that time; no one of the contingencies indicated by the testator as making a general division of the estate necessary, having occurred. And the parties all agreeing that the shares of the said three eldest children in the estate of their father under his will were much more than the one third of Seguine, an enquiry on that question was waived by them, but their waiver was to be without prejudice to their defence against the plaintiffs claim of election. From this decree Gregory and wife, Goode and wife, and Judith F Gates applied to a judge of this court for an appeal; which was allowed.

Source: Virginia reports: Jefferson--By Thomas Johnson Michie, Thomas Jefferson, Peachy Ridgway Gratta, 1730-1880. Section 83 through 93.