66 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
LEGAL QUESTIONS. 
A Widow Selling Timber. 
I bought a farm and brought three of 
my boys, all anxious to see me restored 
to health and see what they could do by 
farming. I was left 12 years ago with 
five children, youngest two months old, 
to support, and no more knowledge of 
how to do it than the least of the little 
ones, but I did it somehow, worked early 
and late at any honest job until outraged 
nature took a hand and put me fiat on 
my back, inflammatory rheumatism and 
nervous prostration laid me by for over 
two years. I had managed to earn a 
home, which I sold in August as soon as 
I could be on my feet, and I came here to 
Pennsylvania. I was misled by an over- 
zealous agent, which resulted in my being 
short of the cash I had hoped to lay 
by in bank in case of need. To get some 
needed at once, I decided to sell part of 
my wood lot—a lumber company offered 
me $120 for 36 very fine hickory trees— 
I thought this a very small sum at pres¬ 
ent prices for lumber, and so wrote the 
company. They answered that “the ex¬ 
pense of cutting and hauling was great, 
so they could give no more and I must de¬ 
cide at once or they would go elsewhere.’* 
I took the offer, as the need was great. 
Now my neighbors say I should have had 
at least $300 for the trees and I am not 
coming to you to see if anything can be 
done; I signed their papers. I only 
nsk if I have been taken advantage of, 
F. M. V. 
Of course we cannot tell positively, not 
knowing the circumstances. We do not 
know the size of these trees or how diffi¬ 
cult it is to get them out. We have sold 
considerable standing timber, and the 
lumber companies always had us at a dis¬ 
advantage, unless we could cut up the 
trees and sell them the lumber. They 
usually figured to pay for the standing 
trees only one-third of their selling value 
when cut and hauled out. This is a 33- 
cent dollar forced upon the owner through 
his necessities. Hickory is scarce and 
high. If these trees were large ones they 
were worth more than you received. It 
is doubtful if this company meant to cheat 
you—they simply tried to buy just as 
cheap B8 they could. 
Ownership of the Farm. 
T WELVE years ago I bought a farm. 
It was my wife’s folks’ estate. I 
had two thousand dollars, and her 
share of the estate was $900. When the 
deed was drawn it was drawn in her 
name. I supposed that I made it clear 
that deed should be in two names. When 
I saw how deed was I told her that it 
would have to be changed; kept deed and 
did not have it recorded. Last Fall sold 
25 acres to a man next door. Then I 
told her we would have deed changed. I 
took her to a man that does such work; 
when she got there she refused to have it 
changed. There is a debt of $1,200 
against the place. She has left home and 
wants me to pay her $2,500. I told her 
that I would not, also told her that if she 
would have the deed in two names that I 
would sell the place to the first man that 
would pay what it was worth, pay the 
debts and give her one-half of what was 
left. She refused, says that she will com¬ 
mence proceedings to drive me off the 
place. Can that be done? When we sold 
the 25 acres she had the deed recorded. 
New York. H. n. D. 
As matters now stand the legal title 
to this farm stands in the name of your 
wife, and she may sell it at any time to 
any person who does not know of your 
claims, and may transfer legal title to 
him. The title then being in an innocent 
purchaser for value without notice of 
your claim you would be without hope of 
any relief from the real estate, and could 
only make claim against your wife for the 
damage. Your interest in this property 
is considerable; your wife appears to be 
unwilling to do the even thing and your 
rights are only prejudiced by delay. The 
facts warrant your taking the matter to a 
good attorney of your neighborhood for 
immediate action. The cost will be some¬ 
thing, but you stand to lose everything as 
matters now stand. You have let matters 
drift too long. The best course would 
seem to be to bring an action against your 
wife to have apportioned your equitable 
interest in the property. M. D. 
Wife’s Right in Property. 
I N this State does a widow have the 
use of one-third of her husband’s 
estate, or does she own one-third? 
Can a widow be obliged to pay one-third 
of a debt against the estate, having al¬ 
ways paid one-third of the interest? 
New York. c. L. B. 
In New York State, where the husband 
does not leave a will the wife has her 
dower interest of the use of one-third for 
life of all the real property of which her 
husband was possessed at any time dur¬ 
ing the marriage. She does not own a 
third outright. Her share in the person¬ 
al property she gets outright, and the 
amount would depend on whether there 
were children or next of kin. If the wid¬ 
ow merely paid the one-third interest of 
t’ ■« debt as a favor and without obliga- 
ti. in, she would, of course, not be obliged 
to pay one-third of the debt. The ques¬ 
tion of whether or not she should pay 
any part of the debt would depend on 
how the original debt arose. Merely pay¬ 
ing one-third of the interest on her part 
would not obligate her to pay one-third 
of (lie debt. M. P. 
Rights of Administratrix. 
I F a man dies leaving a widow and two 
children, and the widow is appointed 
administratrix, how long from the date 
of appointment has she to settle the es¬ 
tate, and must the children be cited to 
appear before the surrogate when a set¬ 
tlement is made, or who pays them their 
respective shares? mbs. o. v. s. 
New York. 
There is no special date when the 
administratrix must settle the estate, but 
after one year has elapsed and an ac¬ 
counting has not been made anyone spe¬ 
cially interested may call for her to file 
one. The children must be cited on an 
accounting. An inventory should be 
made of all the property as quickly as 
convenient. The administratrix has no 
interest as such in the real estate. All 
deeds to this must be given by the heirs, 
the children. The wife would have her 
dower interest. The administratrix 
should certainly consult with and in a 
measure be guided by the advice of her 
daughters, and both of them. They really 
have more interest in the estate than the 
wife has. It might be well on the ac¬ 
counting to have some one who under¬ 
stands such things look over the papers. 
Sale of Property by Executrix. 
M Y husband died last May leaving a 
will in which he named me as exe¬ 
cutrix. The will has been probated 
in (he Probate Court here in Michigan 
and its validity and my appointment as 
executrix has been confirmed here 
(Michigan). The estate includes two 
pieces of real estate located in New York 
State. The will expressly gives me full 
authority to sell these. Would a deed 
made by me as executrix give valid title 
to the purchaser of this New York real 
estate? If not. what steps should I take 
to make this title valid? Nothing has 
been done about the will or the estate in 
the surrogate’s court of New York or 
any other New York court or recording 
office. B. P. 
Michigan. 
]\/TY machine has netted me 
1 VJl about $15 a day and some¬ 
thing like $300 a month. My ex¬ 
penses have been about $3 a day 
including everything and all my 
customers are satisfied. 
SAMUEL MUSGRA VE 
Medaryville, Ind. 
BUCKEYE 
Jraction DITCHER 
A perfect trench at one out 
The Buckeye is built in a 
number of sizes to meet con¬ 
ditions in various parts of the 
country. We sell you the 
machine best adapted to your 
territory. 
No other farm machinery pays 
such big profits on the investment. 
There is steady demand for Buck¬ 
eye Ditches and Buckeye owners 
are always busy. 
Write today for the Buckeye 
Book of Facts No. 3 See what 
other men are doing and what 
you can do. 
The Buckeye Traction 
Ditcher Company 
Findlay, Ohio 
Bnilden alio of Buckeye Open Ditchers and 
Bnckeye Gasoline Engines for farm nsa. 
A deed given by you without taking 
any steps in New York will not convey 
a good and marketable title. To be 
able to give a valid title to the property 
in New York you would have to file an 
exemplified copy of the will and of the 
probate proceedings in Michigan in the 
county in New York in which the prop¬ 
erty is located and have yourself ap¬ 
pointed ancillary executrix there. Then 
you could convey the property. This is 
not a costly nor lengthy proceeding. And 
there is really no need of this being done 
till you have a purchaser of the property. 
He may have a lawyer near where the 
property is situated who can attend to 
this matter for you. 
Delivery of Deed in Escrow. 
What is a deed in escrow? Is it as 
sure as any deed? Could it be deposited 
in a savings bank? Can a father of two 
sons, one 20 and the other 32 years old, 
and a daughter 33 years old, arrange his 
business this way? Can he make a deed 
in escrow jointly to his two sons and give 
a paper to each son that each could take 
to the county judge and surrogate and 
get an order to get the deed when the 
time has expired? Could he make a deed 
of another piece of land to his daughter 
in the same way? Can he make these 
deeds without the signature of his wife 
so that she would retain all her rights in 
the land during her lifetime? Could they 
then sell the land without her consent 
and signature? Would this arrangement 
be all right and legal and as good as a 
will? I. L. B. 
New York. 
Delivery of a deed in escrow is the 
putting of it into the hands of a third 
person as a depositary to be handed to 
the grantee on the happening of a desig¬ 
nated event. For instance, the depositary 
may hold the instrument to be handed 
to the grantee on the death of the person, 
and when the event occurs the title and 
estate having been, as it were, in abey¬ 
ance in the meantime, then passes to the 
grantee. A deed in escrow could be de¬ 
posited in the savings bank until some 
designated event occurs. You could make 
and deliver to the savings bank a deed 
in escrow, transferring the property to 
your sons or your daughter in any way 
you wish upon the understanding that ( 
the deeds should bo delivered to the ; 
grantees upon your death, or some other 
contingency. You could make these deeds 
without the signature of your wife, in 
which event she would retain her dower 
interest in the land during her lifetime. 
After your death they might institute an 
action to have your wife’s dower right 
admeasured, in which event they would 
hold the balance of the property and 
could transfer it without her consent. 
This arrangement would be legal. It 
would seem that a will stating just ex¬ 
actly what interest in the property you 
wished your wife to take and how, ul¬ 
timately, you wished the property to be 
apportioned, would be somewhat more 
simple than this method of delivery in 
escrow. 
Fill It Only Once A Week 
Clean it only once a year—use it every night. Light 
your bai ns, sheds, feed-lots, 
cellars—with 300 candle power 
of steady, brilliant light—more 
light than 20 oil lanterns. 
Make your night work easier 
with the 
COLEMAN 
GAS LANTERN 
Makes and burns its own 
gas. Can be used anywhere, 
any time, for any kind of 
work, in any kind of weath¬ 
er. is storm-proof and bug- 
proof. Most easily operated 
lamp made—no wicks to trim, 
no chimneys to clean, no 
smoke, no soot, no ilickor, no 
danger—can’t spill, can’t ex. 
plode, can’t clog up—guaran¬ 
teed for five years. Write for 
free literature and special in¬ 
troductory price. 
THE COLEMAN LAMP CO. 
241 St. Francis Ave., Wicbita, Kan. 1000 Summit St.. Toledo. 0. 
305 East 6th St., St. Paul, Minn. 437 Akard St., Dallas, Texas 
DUPLEX GR MILLS ° 
Only mill mado with a double set of 
grinders or burrs. Have a grinding 
Surface of just double that of any 
other mill of equal size, therefore, 
Do Twice as Much 
Work. 
Grind ear corn, shelled 
corn, oats, rye, wheat, 
barley, kaffir corn, col- 
ton seod, corn in 
shucks, sheaf oats, or 
any kind of grain, coarse, me¬ 
dium or fine. Require 25% less 
power than any other mill. 
Especially adapted for gasoline 
ongines. Write for new catalog. 
Duplex Mill & Mfg. Co., Box 320Springfield, Ohio 
Just to start np the New Year right for a 
limited time we are offering to deliver 
The Little Giant 
Hanky Tom Engine 
to any reader of the Rural New-Yorker 
For 40 Days’ FREE TRIAL 
It’s a Krami little engine, that runs true and smoothly 
and without any attention, and just the thing for a 
dozen ami ope jobs where it doesn’t pay to run your 
large and expensive engine. It’s the smallest real 
engine and we guarantee it for Zi years. 
JUST FILL OUT THIS COUPON 
I)eyo-Macey Sales Co, 
40 Wash. St., Binghamton, N. Y. 
Mail me at once a larger picture of the “Hanky Tom” 
with full description and price, with the understanding 
that the engine itself is not to he shipped to me even 
on trial unless after reading your priuted matter I 
send you an order. 
Name... 
Postofflce.../.State. 
iy 2 h. p. 
Portable 
Gasoline 
January 16, 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
For Fcrm or Factory 
BABY 
term a 
TO 
RELIABLE 
PEOPLE 
PORTABLE OR 
STATIONARY 
Wood Sawing Outfits, Three Styles, All Sizes 
MAKE MO RE MONEY— DO LESS WORK 
"you need on your farm an engine that starts 
x when you want it to and that keeps going until 
the work is done. That means EXCELSIOR. 
Hundreds of farmers who have used the best other 
makes say they never knew what a real enginecould 
do until they bought the EXCELSIOR, but we do 
not ask you to take any man’s word. We say, 
"Try the EXCELSIOR on your work without the 
payment of a cent until you are satisfied thatit is 
what wo say—the best running, most durable, and 
most economical engine you ever saw. If we do not 
prove that to your satisfaction, send the engine 
back.” You can have the engines on wheels with 
saw attachment or without or on skids, and we 
make all sizes from lhs-H. P. up. Tell us the size 
of your farm and how big an engine you need and 
get our offer. Write today for catalog and other 
information. 
R. CONSOLIDATED GASOLINE ENGINE CO. 
202 Fulton Streat New York City 
Century Rubber Roofing, 
best roofing made, GUAR¬ 
ANTEED 15, 20 and 26 
years, laid down at your 
railroad station at lowest 
wholesale prices. 
Price per roll, FREIGHT 1-ply 2-ply 3-ply 
PAIDon 3 rolls or more 36 lb. 46 lb. 66 lb, 
N.Y., Pa., O,, N.J. A Md. 3 1 . 10—31.30—31.60 
Maes. Vs. & W. Vs. ■ 31.16—31.36—31.60 
Conn. Vt.,N.H. A Maine 31.20—31.40-31.66 
Low delivered prices to other States on request. 
These prices for IMMEDIATE shipment. Write, 
for FREE SAMPLES or order direct from this ad. 
SAVE 254 to 404. No mill ends. Every rol 1 ONE 
PIECE, 108 sq. ft. Satisfaction or money back. 
CENTURY MFG. CO. 
904RX Tribune Bldg., New York, N. Y. 
121E Katherine Bldg. East St. Louie, Ill, 
Write for FREE buggy catalog. 
20,000 
SKUNK 
WANTED 
AT THESE TOP PRICES 
LARGE MED. SMALL 
BLACK (No. I) $2.50 $2.00 $1.50 
SHORT (No. 2) 2.00 1.25 .90 
NARROW (No. 3) 1.00 .65 .40 
BROAD (No. 4) .65 .35 .20 
Quotations above are for prime skins from N. 
Y., N. J,, New England States and Eastern 
Canada. Other sections at relative value. We 
pay highest market prices and give quick cash 
rcttirnstfor Mink, Skunk, Coon and Rats, etc., 
from all sections of America. Express your 
furs at once and take advantage of our quota¬ 
tions. Our Fur List containing guaranteed 
prices mailed free to any address. REFER¬ 
ENCES: The Greenwich Bank, N. Y. 
H. A. SCHOENEN 
138-140 W. 25th St., New York City 
ALl) FASHIONED BUCKWHEAT FLOUR 
—- Prompt attention given to mailorders. An¬ 
drews Bros., Millers, Owego,Tioga Co., N.Y. 
nWF nm I AD buys 150 envelopes and letter- 
UHE UULLHn heads. Cards, tags, labels, either, 
125, 50c.; MO, 9(>c. ; 500, $1.40; 1,000, $2.40. Wo prepay 
express. Chatham Courier Co., Chatham, N.Y. 
Standard Fruit Books 
Successful Fruit Culture. Maynard... .$1.00 
The Nursery Book. Bailey. 1.60 
The Pruning Book. Bailey. 1.50 
American Fruit Culturist. Thomas.... 2.60 
Citrus Fruits. Hume.2.50 
California Fruits. Wickson. 3.00 
Dwarf Fruit Trees. Waugh.50 
Plums and Plum Culture. Waugh. 1.50 
Fruit Ranching in British Columbia. 
Bealby . 1.50 
Farm and Garden Rule Book. 2.00 
Live Stock - Poultry 
Types and Breeds of Farm Animals. 
Plumb .$2.00 
Principles of Breeding. Davenport.2.60 
Swine in America. Coburn.2.50 
Diseases of Animals. Mayo. 1,50 
Farmers’ Veterinary Adviser. Law.... 3.00 
Principles and Practice of Poultry Cul¬ 
ture. Robinson.2.50 
Hens for Profit. Valentine. 1.50 
Diseases of Poultry. Salmon.50 
FOR SALE BY 
Rural New-Yorker, 333 W. 30th St., New York 
