| Summary: | In his will, Stith Mayes bequeathed all his personal property to his wife for life, with his ten children as remaindermen after her death. Among the property was fourteen slaves. In 1836, during the life of the widow, the testator's son James F Mayes sold all his interest in the property to the defendant Morrow. In 1844 one Hiatt McBurney recovered a judgment against Morrow and subsequently the sheriff of Cleveland county offered Morrow's interest in the slaves for sale under it, which was bought for [dollars] 250 by the plaintiff Blanton. None of the slaves were present at the sale, having been hired out by Mrs Mayes to various people in North and South Carolina. After Mrs Mayes's death in 1848 a sale and partition was agreed between Morrow, Blanton and the Mayes children, and this suit was brought to determine the respective rights of Morrow and Blanton. The court determined that Blanton's purchase was void and that title continued in Morrow, and Blanton appealed to the Supreme Court. This upheld the verdict, ruling that personal property had to be present at a sheriff's sale for title in it to pass.
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