Effie French

Notes:

Census:
1870 Gibson Co IN Patoka Twp p 304A w/parents
1880 Gibson Co IN Princeton p 355A w/parents

Notes:

!MARRIAGE: Gibson Co IN; SLC 977.235 V2i & SLC 977.235
V28g V.2

Census:
1850 Gibson Co IN Princeton Twp p 20 w/Joseph & Nancy Devin
1860
1870 Gibson Co IN Patoka Twp p 304A
1880 Gibson Co IN Princeton p 355A

Middle initial maybe S (1)

Nathaniel married Nancy Cordelia Devin 25 May 1854, Gibson County, Indiana U.S.A.. Nancy (daughter of Joseph Devin and Nancy Robb) was born 18 Oct 1834, Gibson County, Indiana; died 24 Jan 1886, Princeton, Indiana; was buried , Warnock Cemetery Princeton, Indiana. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

!MARRIAGE: Gibson Co IN; SLC 977.235 V2i & SLC 977.235
V28g V.2

Census:
1850 Gibson Co IN Princeton Twp p 20 w/parents
1860
1870 Gibson Co IN Patoka Twp p 304A
1880 Gibson Co IN Princeton p 355A

Notes:

See book "Evansville and Its Men of Mark" 1873 & "Nowlin
Devin", (MSS)

DOB & POB from Ancestral File

Census:
1850 Gibson Co IN Princeton Twp p 20
1860 Gibson Co IN Pinceton-Patoka Twp p 1060 & 1061......

Was State Representative in 1841; per History of Gibson Co
IN; FHC #0934905
Also prob. was County Commissioner in 1859 & 1861.

Per Tom Hughes: he died in 1864

!DEATH:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
dated 19981101; page 13

!BURIAL:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
dated 19981101; page 13

Joseph married Nancy Robb 7 Sep 1833, Hazelton, Gibson, Indiana U.S.A.. Nancy was born 8 Jun 1810, Gibson County, Indiana; died 5 Nov 1893, Bowling Green, Kentucky; was buried , Warnock Cemetery, Princeton, Gibson, Indiana U.S.A.. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

[Reports of cases decided in the Appellate Court of the
State of Indiana, Volume 48; by Indiana Appellate Court;
pages 379-383]
May Term, 1911.
Devin v. McCoy--48 Ind. App. 379.
Devin v. Mccoy, Trustee.

[No. 7,743. Filed February 21, 1911. Rehearing denied May
9, 1911. Transfer denied June 30, 1911.]

1. Wills.?Construction.?Purpose.?The object of construing a
will is to determine the testator's intention, p. 381.

2. Wills.?Trusts.?Termination.?A trust created by a will
bequeathing and devising to testator's two grandchildren
the share that their deceased father would have received,
"subject to the conditions hereinafter named," and
providing for a trustee to take and to hold such property
for such children "until the contingencies named in the
next succeeding clause of the will, in the meantime using
of the profits thereof enough only for their education and
economical support," and providing that "if [plaintiff]
dies before he has children born unto him, his share of
[testator's] estate shall go to his sister, * * * if she
survives him," is not a spendthrift trust, and terminates
upon the birth of a child to the plaintiff, pp. 381, 3S2.

3. Wills. ? "Contingencies." ? Meaning of. ? The word
"contingencies," as used in a will providing that the
trustee shall hold certain property "until the
contingencies named," imports some future event that may or
may not occur, p. 3S2.

4. Appeal.?Mandate.?Death.?Where appellant died before his
appeal was decided, the judgment will be made as of the
date of submission, p. 3S3.

From Gibson Circuit Court; Herdis Clements, Judge.

Suit by Elmer G. Devin against John R. McCoy, as trustee of
Elmer G. Devin and others. From a judgment for defendant,
plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

M. M. Bachelder, W. W. Medcalf and John 77. Miller, for
appellant.

John li. McCoy, 0. M. Welborn and J. E. McCullourjh, for
appellee.

Laiey, J.?This suit was brought by appellant against
appellee, for the purpose of obtaining au accounting by
John R. McCoy, trustee under the will of Nancy Devin,
deceased, and praying that said trustee be ordered to turn
over to appellant the property in his hands, upon the
theory that Devin v. McCoy?48 Ind. App. 379.

the trust created by the terms of said will had terminated
before the commencement of the suit.

Items five, six and seven of the will of Nancy Devin create
the trust here under consideration. It is necessary to the
decision of this case that a construction be placed on this
part of the will, and therefore we set out these items in
full.

"Item 5. All the residue of my estate and personal property
shall be divided equally among my children, Susan E.
Ragland and Sallie Devin, and my two grandchildren, Nellie
R. Devin and Elmer G. Devin, to receive the same share that
would have descended to James A. Devin (now deceased), who
was their father, and to take and receive under this will
subject to the conditions hereinafter named.

Item 6. 1 hereby nominate and appoint Henry L. Wallace as
trustee for Nellie and Elmer, and for each of them, who
shall take and hold and manage such of my estate as is
given to said grandchildren, until the contingencies named
in the next succeeding clause of the will, in the meantime
using of the profits thereof enough only for their
education and economical support, having view of the
probable value of their inheritance.

Item 7. If Nellie R. Devin dies before she has children
born unto her, her share of my estate shall go to her
brother, Elmer, if he survives her. If Elmer dies before he
has children born unto him, his share of my estate shall go
to his sister, Nellie, if she survives him, but if they
both die without having children born to them, their shares
shall be distributed to the other beneficiaries of item
five of this will."

The complaint sets out the will, and alleges that it was
duly probated after the death of the testator; that Henry
L. Wallace, who was named as trustee therein, died, and
that John R. McCoy was, by the Gibson Circuit Court,
appointed his successor; that appellant was lawfully
married on October 9, 1909, and that a child was born to
him, by virtue of said marriage, which was still living at
the time the suit was commenced.

A demurrer for want of facts sufficient to state a cause of
action was sustained by the trial court, and this is the
only error relied on for reversal.

Devin v. McCoy?48 Ind. App. 379.

It is contended by the attorneys for appellee that the
ruling of the lower court is correct, for the reason that
the complaint shows that the trust created by the will of
Nancy Devin had not terminated when this suit was
commenced. They take the position that the trust created by
said will was a spendthrift trust, that it was intended to
continue during the life of Elmer Devin, and that it
cannot, by the terms of the will creating it, terminate
before his death. Appellant contends that the trust was
terminated, so far as Elmer Devin was concerned, before the
action was commenced, by the marriage of Elmer Devin and
the birth of a child as shown by the complaint.

When did the testatrix intend that the trust created by her
will should terminate? This is the decisive question in
this case. In construing a will, effect should be given

1. to the intention and purpose of the testator, if this
can be gathered from the terms of the will. Was it

the purpose of the testatrix in creating said trust to
provide for the maintenance of appellant during his life,

2. and at the same time to secure it against his
improvidence and incapacity, and preserve the property
unimpaired to his heirs? If so, the trust would continue
during the life of the cestui que trust, and the position
of appellee should be sustained. We cannot think that the
provisions of the will creating this trust indicate such an
intention. Item six of the will does not expressly provide
that the trustee shall hold the estate given to Nellie
Devin and Elmer Devin during their lives, or the life of
either of them; but it does provide that he shall hold and
manage such estate until the contingencies arise that are
named in the next succeeding clause of this will, in the
meantime, using of the profits thereof enough only for
their education and economical support, having in view the
probable value of their inheritance.

A contingency is some future event that may or may not
occur. It is evident that the testatrix had in mind some
such Devin v. McCoy?48 Ind. App. 379.

event, upon the happening of which the trust was 3. to
terminate. Item seven of the will is not entirely clear as
to the contingency referred to in item six. It provides
that "if Nellie Devin dies before she has children born
unto her, her share of my estate shall go 2. to her
brother, Elmer, if he survives her. If Elmer dies before he
has children born unto him, his share of my estate shall go
to his sister, Nellie, if she survives him, but if they
both die without having children born to them, their shares
shall be distributed to the other beneficiaries of item
five of this will."

If we should hold that the termination of the trust
depended upon the death of the cestui que trust, this would
be to say that the termination of the trust depends upon
the happening of an event that is a certainty and not a
contingency. If we should give the will this construction,
the contingency that appellant might or might not have a
child or children born to him before his death would have
no effect in hastening or delaying the time of the
termination of the trust, as the trust would terminate at
such death, regardless of whether or not he had children
born during his lifetime. .

To our mind the provisions of the will under consideration
do not evince an intention on the part of the testatrix to
create a spendthrift trust. We do not think it was her
intention to tie up the property in the hands of the
trustee during the life of her grandchildren, for the
purpose of providing for their maintenance, and at the same
time securing it against their extravagance or
improvidence. The provisions of item seven seem rather to
indicate that it was her purpose to control the ultimate
disposition of her property, so that it might not go to
strangers or depart from those of her own blood, and that
she created this trust for the purpose of securing this
end. The provisions of this item in her will indicate that
she contemplated that one or both her grandchildren might
marry and die without Dunn «. Means?48 Ind. App. 3S3.

issue, and that the property, if given to them absolutely,
would go to the surviving husband or wife, to the exclusion
of the kindred, who were of the blood of the testatrix. To
prevent this result, she placed the property willed to her
grandchildren in the hands of a trustee, and provided that
he should take, hold and manage it until the happening of a
contingency which would prevent this result. True, the
birth of a child might not absolutely prevent this result,
for such child might die before its parent, and the cestui
que trust thus die childless. This consideration does not,
however, change our opinion as to the purpose of the
testatrix in creating the trust, as she was no doubt
willing to risk the possibility of the child's outliving
the parent. She evidently intended that if either of said
grandchildren married and had a child born, this
contingency should terminate the trust as to him, and he
would be entitled to the property willed to him. We
therefore hold that the complaint shows that the trust, as
far as appellant is concerned, was terminated before this
suit was commenced, by the happening of the contingency
provided for in item seven. The demurrer to the complaint
should have been overruled.

The death of appellant has been suggested, to the 4. court,
and the judgment in this case is reversed as of the date of
submission.



Census:
1850 Gibson Co IN Princeton Twp p 20
1860 Gibson Co IN Princeton-Patoka Twp p 1060 & 1061
1870 Gibson Co IN Patoka Twp p 305A

Mother, Nancy Robb, age 75, b. DC? living w/Nancy Robb
Devin in 1850

Per Tom Hughes: she died in 1884

Possibly born in Hazelton, IN per page 13 of "Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin"; J. Nell Truitt;
19981101.

!BURIAL:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
dated 19981101; page 13

Notes:

Married:
!MARRIAGE:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
dated 19981101; page 13

Notes:

Census:
1820 Gibson Co IN p 240......
1 male >45; 1 male 16-25; 3 males 10-15
1 female>45; 3 female 16-25; 2 females <10

POB from History of Gibson Co IN p. 55; FHC #0934905
This book gave YOM as 1793. Family moved to Warren County
(near Bowling Green), Kentucky in 1798 & to Gibson County,
Indiana in spring of 1808.
Moved to Indiana Territory March 1808 (Gilbert, Polly;
Decendents of James Nowlin; updated 01.Aug.2001).

Represented Gibson Co in the Indiana constitutional
convention of 1816.
Hist. of Gibson Co IN; SLC 977.235 H2p

IGI & Ancestral File say DOB 27 Mar 1769 or 22 Mar 1769
Per Hist. of Gibson Co IN DOB = 27 Mar 1769.

Bought the first lot sold in Princeton, IN.

Was Baptist minister who along with Joseph Logan and John
Hightower, other Baptist preachers, established their
ministry and several churches in the Warren County and
Allen County, Kentucky, areas
in the late 1790s and 1800s.

Land Grant issued to Alexander Divan for 200 acres on the
Sulphur Fork of Drake Creek in Warren County, Kentucky.
Grant is recorded in Book 12 page 114. Surveyed
08.Aug.1799.

Alexander recorded a deed in Pittsylvania County Virigina
relinquishing his rights in the estate of his father,
William Devin, except for any property based on the future
estate of his sister, Sarah. Written 21.Novemer.1803;
recorded in Deed
Book 13 page 537 on 16.January.1804. Witnessed by James
Nowlin, John Emmerson, George Thomas, and James Devin.

!NAME:Relinquishment Deed To Devin's Legatees From Alex.
Devin, Devin, Alexander: deed to Devin's Legatees, County
Clerk's Office; Pittsylvania County, Virginia,

Be it
remembered and made known to all to whom this Instrument

may Concern that whereas some doubts have arisen
respecting my
Father William Devins last will and
testament (to wit, that I have a
right to brake [break]
or revoke the said will agreeable to our Laws, on the

ground that my name is omitted, and not Inserted in
said Will
Therefore in order to remove and do away all
such doubts I do hereby
relinquish give up and forever
Disclaim all or any such right, if any I
have, not only
for my self but also for my heirs Executors and
administrators
or any other person or persons Claiming
by or from under me
or my heirs & in any Case
Whatsoever and therefore do pronounce my
harty Consent
to the Establishment of said Will and do reserve to myself

my heirs or afsigns the part to me left in said Will in
Case my Sister Sarah
Devin Should die without a Lawfull
heir, In Witnefs whereof I have
hereunto set my hand
and affixed my seal this twenty first day of November

in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
three.

Alex^r [Alexander] Devin {Seal}

Signed Seal^d & Deliver'd in the presents of
[fs]
James Nowlin    John Emmerson
George Thomas   
James Devin

At a Court held for Pittsylvania County the
16^th day of January
1804 This Relinquishment
from Alexander Devin to the Legatees of
William Devin
Deceased was presented in Court and proved by the
oath
of two of the Subscribing Witnefses hereto to be the act
and Deed
of the said Alexander and by the Court ordered
to be Recorded.

, page 537

Alexander married Susannah Nowlin 10 Jul 1795, Pittsylvania County, Virginia U.S.A.. Susannah (daughter of Bryan Ward aka James Nowlin and Lucinda 'Lucy' Wade) was born 12 Mar 1771, Pittsylvania County, Virginia; died 8 Nov 1840, Gibson County, Indiana U.S.A.; was buried , Warnock Cemetery, Princeton, Gibson, Indiana U.S.A.. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

!Questions: Spelling of Name - Nowlin or Nolan
First name maybe Susan.
POB from History of Gibson Co IN p. 55; FHC #0934905
This book gave DOD as 8 November 1840.

The Devin Family, page 37 lists her DOD as 8 November 1846.

Census:
1830 Gibson Co IN p 159A (Suckey or Sukey)
2 males 20-30 1 female 50-60; 2 females 15-20

Was a second generation American. Her grandfather came
from Ireland.

Via Ethel S. Mattingley FHC #0928908: Bible records at
Washington Co IN
Historical Society show DOB as 12 Mar 1772.
Per Hist. of Gibson Co IN p 452: DOB = 12 Mar 1771

"The Devin Family", on page 37, says Susan is the daughter
of Edward and Mary Wade Nowlin of Virginia. However, on
page 2, a quote from the will of Bryan Ward Nowlin says
Sucky is his daughter. Research by Anna Hudelson
[Nowlin-Devin missive; 1929-1977] shows Edward Nowlin and
Mary Wade to be the parents of Bryan Ward Nowlin; Susans
paternal grandparents.

!NAME:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
page 1

!NAME:Marriage Bonds Book 01, Virginia-Pittsylvania County.
Marriage Bonds Book 01, County Clerk's Office,
Virginia-Pittsylvania County., page 14

!NAME:Deed & Will Book 11, Virginia. Pittsylvania County.
Deed & Will Book 11, County Clerk's Office, Virginia.
Pittsylvania County., pages 344-246

!BIRTH:Our Families, Our Families, Anna Hudelson,
Researched and written 1929-1977, page 2

!BIRTH:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
page 1

!BIRTH:Descendants of James Nowlin, Sr., Descendants of
James Nowlin, Sr., Gilbert, Polly A, updated 01.Aug.2001

!DEATH:The Devin Family (manuscript), The Devin Family
(manuscript), Hofstetter, Dessa, circa 1962, page 37

!DEATH:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
page 1

!DEATH:Descendants of James Nowlin, Sr., Descendants of
James Nowlin, Sr., Gilbert, Polly A, updated 01.Aug.2001

!BURIAL:Ten Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Ten
Generations of Rev. Alexander Devin, Truitt, Joyce Nell,
page 1

Notes:

Married:
It is possible that 9 July 1791 is their marriage bond date
and 10 July 1795 is the date of their marriage.

!MARRIAGE:Descendants of James Nowlin, Sr., Descendants of
James Nowlin, Sr., Gilbert, Polly A, updated 01.Aug.2001

!MARRIAGE:Marriages of Pittsylvania County Virginia;
1767-1805, Marriages of Pittsylvania County Virginia;
1767-1805, Knorr, Catherine L., 1956, page 25

!MARRIAGE:Some Virginia Marriages: 1700-1799, Some Virginia
Marriages: 1700-1799, McDonald, Cecil D., Volume 5-8, page 6