662
THE GREEN BAG
ye admr. is nowise oblidged to Enter into ye Law; neither has he Estate of ye Intestate to pay Cost of Courts if Cast [defeated], as by ye Province Law he must, & no Law oblidges him to subject his own private Estate. Secondly, by ye Oath prescribed in ye Act of 22 & 23 Car. 2, cap' ye 10th, ye admnr is not oblidged to Inventory y' wch ye Intestate Conveyed in his life time, vid : ye forme of ye Oath. Thirdly, should ye admr at ye request of Strangers be prevailed upon to Inventory w' is now desired, tho ye admr sees a plain Bill of Sale which transferrs ye property, ye consequence is y' ye Law would Conster [construe?] Everything in y' Inventory assetts in ye admre hands, vid. Shelly's Case, 1 Salk: 296: therefore yc admr. knows better. Fourthly, ye Province Law, p. 142, is quoted by ye Respond1 but how applicable to ye case of yc admr. is Submitted, for ye admr. neither has nor dos Conceal any of ye Intes: Estate. If ye Respond' Supposes young Mr. Mather dos, he may easily have him before ye Judge of Probate to purge himself as ye Law Directs. R. AUCHMUTY for ADMr.
1729, June 13th filed Pr. I. Boydell, Reg. The result of this attack on the admin istrator was not unfavorable to him, for no further inventory was filed, nor were any further assets needed in the settlement of the estate. The first and final account of administration, which was allowed by the Judge of Probate May 4, 1730, asks for allowance of the small sum of £3, 95. nd. paid, and shows a balance of £245, 55. lod. remaining for distribution to the widow and children. The order of distribution is dated May 25, 1730, and gives one-third to Lydia Mather, the widow, "two single shares or fourth parts of the remaining two-thirds" to Samuel Mather, clerk, only surviving son of Cotton Mather; " and the rest of his children, namely, Abigail Willard, Deceased, wife of Daniel Willard, also Deceased, their Children or Legall representatives, and Hannah Mather, Spinster, are, by Law Intituled to a single share of their said Father's Estate." The widow and son joined in a release of all their rights to the daughter, who is described, in the language of the time, " Mrs. Hannah Mather, of Boston aforesaid, spinster;" and so ended their probate troubles. Boston, Mass., October, 1907.
