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Statement of the Case.

said Emeline V. Lilburn, and they severally aver that they were informed by said attorney for the first time of the particulars. of the fraudulent practices of said trustees in buying at their own sales through said Chapman, as herein before set forth; but on the contrary aver that by the assurance of said trustees that the same were bona fide, by the suppression of the truth these many years, by the fact that they were always informed that the said trustees had plenary power under said will of their father, by the great confidence they had in the integrity of their said uncle, by their incapacity as females, entirely unused to business, these plaintiffs Elizabeth A. Early, Mary V. Wailes, Alice C. Hall and their sister, Emeline V. Lilburn, have uncomplainingly submitted to what they have often deplored as their ill fortune, while another member of the family, their own brother, and his daughter, claiming through the same ancestors, was in possession of estates worth over two hundred thousand dollars; that these plaintiffs thereupon immediately resolved to enforce such rights as they were entitled to, and authorized said attorney to take the necessary legal proceedings; that this plaintiff William B. Hopkins was a child only five years of age when said fraudulent sale wast made, and said plaintiff Anna B. Hopkins, was not born for nearly five years afterwards, and that this plaintiff William B. Hopkins on the 31st day of March last past, was for the first time in his life informed of the facts herein before recited as to said fraudulent conveyances by said trustees and Chapman; the said Anna B. Hopkins is still an infant fifteen years of age; that Emeline V. Lilburn, the grantor of this plaintiff Ida M. Stone was present on March 27 last past at the interview of said attorney with her said sisters, and heard for the first time in her life that the said sales from said trustees to said Chapman and back to said George W. Hopkins and John S. Hopkins and George W. Hopkins individually were fraudulent and void for the causes herein set forth; and the said plaintiff Ida M. Stone does aver that down to said 27th day of March. the said Emeline V. Lilburn knew nothing of said fraudulent practices of said trustees or either of them, but on the contrary discovered the same in the manner herein before set forth;

Statement of the Case.

and the said plaintiff Ida M. Stone does aver that she was ignorant of the same down to April 7, 1884, the date of the conveyance to her, said plaintiff, by her mother, said Emeline V. Lilburn.

"Whereby if these plaintiffs shall prove these facts to the satisfaction of your honorable court, they allege that they have been guilty of no negligence in the prosecution of their rights, and are entitled to relief.

"That these plaintiffs have been informed and so aver that there is yet unsold a large portion of said estate, and in the possession of said defendants, namely, sublots four and six, in square 95; subdivision lots 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 39 and 40, in square 96; subdivision lots 14 and 15, in square 94; and that the same are worth two hundred thousand dollars, and that the distributive share of each of these plaintiffs will amount to twenty thousand dollars."

Complainants thereupon prayed that the deeds "from said trustees to said Chapman, and from said Chapman to said George W. Hopkins and John S. Hopkins jointly, and to said George W. Hopkins individually, may be declared void and cancelled, and that the said estate is held by the defendants, as heirs-at-law of said George W. Hopkins, on the original trusts mentioned in said will of John Hopkins, deceased. That the said estate may be divided, as it was the duty of said trustees to have done. That an account may be stated of the sums received, with interest, on all sales made by said trustees or either of them, or by any of the defendants, and also of what these plaintiffs or either of them received, with interest, on said pretended division, and that these plaintiffs may be allowed, according to their respective interests, their shares of such sales, and that such sums found to be due to each of these plaintiffs may be declared to be a lien on the said real estate respectively held by them, the defendants." And for judgment and execution; injunction; a receiver; and general relief. Answers under oath were expressly waived.

Among the exhibits attached was a copy of the will of John Hopkins, as follows, omitting some formal and immaterial portions:

Statement of the Case.

"I give and bequeath my little slave boy Frank to my daughter Victoria Hopkins, as her sole and absolute property.

"I give and bequeath my servant woman Leah aged about twenty-seven years, and her youngest child Robert and any increase of said slave woman, to my daughter Alice as her sole and absolute property.

"I give and bequeath my slave woman Hannah and any increase she may have to my daughter Elizabeth A. Early as her absolute property, on the condition however that the sum of four hundred dollars shall be deducted from my said daughter's share in the final distribution as hereafter provided.

"I give and bequeath all the rest, and residue of my property of every description, real, personal and mixed, situate and being in the District of Columbia or elsewhere, to my brother George W. Hopkins, and my son John S. Hopkins, and the survivor of them and the heirs, executors, administrators and assigns of such survivor. In trust nevertheless and to and for the uses and upon the trusts following and none other, that is to say:

"To carry on the brick-making business as now conducted by my said brother George W. Hopkins and myself in Washington city, D.C. Said business to be under the direction of my said brother George W. Hopkins assisted by my said son John S. Hopkins as clerk, for which he is to receive a regular stated salary.

"To receive the rents, profits, issues and income of said estate, and of said business, or my portion thereof, and to apply the same first and immediately without waiting for the year allowed by law to expire, to the payment of my funeral expenses, and all my just debts, which are few, next to a reasonable and proper pay or salary to my said son John S. Hopkins, as clerk in said business at the kiln, said pay to be sufficient for the reasonable and proper maintenance of my said son and his family, and then to the proper and reasonable expenses and support of my family (including my said daughter Elizabeth A. Early and her daughter) as it now exists, and the education of the younger members thereof: And the surplus of such rents, issues, profits and income, if any, shall be

Statement of the Case.

from time to time (after the payments from time to time as above) invested by my said trustees as hereafter stated, or, may [be] from time to time in such sum or sums advanced by my executors and trustees as they may in their discretion deem fit to such of my children as my said trustees and executors may think really need and deserve it, such sums so advanced to be, without interest, deducted from the share or shares of the child or children receiving the said advances, in the final distribution of my estate as hereafter provided: And upon further trust that my said trustees shall (where in their judg ment a sale of the real property owned by me and my said brother George W. Hopkins, or any part thereof, or of the brick-kilns and the materials or implements thereunto belonging, or of said business, is essential or necessary for any cause whatever or would be advantageous) sell and dispose of at public or private sale, at such time or times after such notice and upon such terms as they may deem most for the interest of my estate, and by proper conveyances convey the same to the purchasers, who, having paid his or her purchase-money to my said executors, shall be under no obligation to see to the application thereof under the trust of this, my will, nor answerable for the misapplication of the same: And upon further trust that the proceeds of any such sales, as well as the surplus proceeds or incomes as herein before stated, if any there be, shall be by my said trustees reinvested in such safe and profitable securities as to my said trustees shall seem best, whether the same be in real estate, mortgages, deeds of trust or stocks, subject, however, to the privilege of advances as already given and stated, of which the said trustees are alone to judge: And upon further trust that upon the arrival of my daughter Alice to the age of eighteen years, which will occur on or about the first day of May, eighteen hundred and sixtyfour, my estate of every kind shall be divided by my said. trustees and executors among my children, deducting from the share of each child in such division the amount of such advances so as aforesaid made to him or her, and deducting from the share of my said daughter Elizabeth A.'Early, the sum of four hundred dollars for the slaves aforesaid bequeathed

Statement of the Case.

to her, provided, however, that no deduction is to be made in such final division from the shares of those children now at home and remaining there as of my family (nor from the share of my said daughter Elizabeth A. Early for the board and maintenance of her said daughter Mary), for any amount advanced for the support of the family for the education of Alice; and in further trust that my daughter Alice's portion in such division shall be held and taken by my said trustees in trust for her until her arrival at the age of twenty-one years, or her marriage, and the interest of her share until the happening of either event shall be paid towards her support and comfort and upon her arrival at the age of twenty-one years, or her marriage, her portion shall be paid or delivered at once to her in such manner as my said trustees shall think most for her interest, and in case of her death before marriage or becoming of the age of twenty-one years, her said share be divided equally among the rest of my children.

"And upon further trust that the respective shares of my sons Isaac and Levin shall also be taken and held by my said. trustees in trust for said sons Isaac and Levin or be paid over to them by instalments, or in whole, or retained and the interest paid them as in the judgment of my said trustees may seem best and most for the interest of my said sons Isaac and Levin.

"I wish and direct that in the division of my estate as aforesaid, such of my slaves as have not been herein before bequeathed, shall be appraised, by agreement among my children, by my said trustee, or by disinterested persons elected by said trustee, and that my children shall each select for herself or himself the slave or slaves they may each desire, or, if that cannot be done, that the distribution of such slaves among my children be by lot, and that the amount of the appraisement of such slaves so selected or drawn shall be so much of the share of the child so selecting or drawing. I wish and direct that my slaves shall not be sold out of the family before such final division of my estate nor after such division by the children to whom they may be respectively allotted in such division, unless for grossly improper conduct or insubordination. I

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