Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 7.djvu/195

 MICOU V, LAMAR. 183 �taining a transfer of the stock. The defendant waa there- fore properly charged with this item. �The next question is whether the master properly charged the defendant, in the case of eaoh infant, with one-sixth of the value of these same shares of stock, and with one-half of the value of nine shares of the stock of the Bank of Com- merce, a Georgia corporation. These stocks belonged to Mrs. Abererombie, the mother of the wards, in her life-time. One-third intereet in the 10 shares of the Mechanics' Bank came to her from her husband, W. W. Sims, and the 10 ahares stood in her name as his administratrix, as above stated. The nine shares were purchased by her, and stood in her name till her death, in the spring of 1859. On her death, her husband, Mr. Abererombie, became entitled to her Personal property. The title of each of the wards in one-half of their mother's interest in these two lots of stock is derived through what is claimed to have been a surrender by Mr. Abererombie to her two children of their mother's interest in the same. The evidence that such a surrender or transfer was made is chiefly a letter of the guardian to the grand- mother of the two children, dated May 23, 1859, — soon after the death of Mrs. Abererombie, their mother, — and the acts of the parties in apparent conformity with what the letter shows had been done by Mr. Abererombie in respect to such a surrender. In this letter defendant's testator says : �" You were infoimed through Mary Jane that Rev. Mr. Abererombie had offered to surrender the property he acquired through Mrs. Sims, and which had belonged to her former husband, tb the two children. Subsequently he made a transfer, to take effect at hu death, and two notes, one to eacli of the girls, payable six months after his death, for $2,750 each. Again he changed his mind and offered to make a surretider at once, and gave me deeds to two three-story houses in Brooklyn, E. D., 17'feet only, and sub- ject to $4,500 mortgage on each, with last year's taxes and some arrears for repairs, and only one house tenanted, at $550 rent. After inspecting the houses and taking the opinion of a judicious friend, which conflrmed my own, I thought it best to decline the proposition in that shape and hold on to the notes, $2,750 each, though unsecured, becausethe encumbrances on the property might entail more outlay than income for the children. This morning I have a letter from him without anyfurther proposition, which I hoped he would have made ; so that 1 retain the two notes and a transfer of all his interest derived through his wife to the balance of the ��� �