This was an appeal from a decree of the supreme court of the District of Columbia, by which certain deeds executed by one Allison Nailor to Catharine Conley, the defendant and appellant, were declared null and void. The deeds were four in number, and under them the defendant claimed title to certain real estate, some of which was situate in the city of Washington, and the rest in Montgomery county, in the state of Maryland. The bill was filed by the widow and three of the four heirs of Nailor. The interest of the widow in the lands was as doweress, and her rights were conceded by the answer. Allison Nailor, Jr., the remaining heir, was made a defendant, and answered that he had received his share of his father's estate by advancement, and disclaimed any interest in the property in controversy. The litigation was therefore virtually between Washington T. Nailor, son, and Lizzie Trimble and Frances Clarke, married daughters of Allison Nailor, whose husbands, Matthew Trimble and James W. Clarke, were joined as plaintiffs.
The pleadings and evidence showed the following facts: In the latter part of the year 1869 Allison Nailor, who was then about 58 or 59 years of age, was the owner of real estate in the city of Washington, and in Montgomery county, Maryland, worth about $150,000, and was possessed of considerable personal estate. He had resided in the city of Washington for about 50 years. He had for many years been engaged in buying and selling real estate, in keeping a livery stable, and in farming. He was shrewd and active in business, and had the capacity for making money and accumulating property. Much of the real estate which he owned in the city of Washington he let to be used as houses of ill fame and for sale by retail of spiritous liquors. For many years prior to 1869, and at least as early as the year 1854, he had led a dissolute and intemperate life. In 1869 he made the acquaintance of the defendant, who was then about 21 years of age. There is no averment or proof that prior to that time she was not a virtuous woman. In November or December of that year Nailor left his family, took up his residence with the defendant, and lived with her in concubinage until his death. The deeds referred to in the bill were the following: The first was a trust deed, dated and executed November 27 1872, more than six years before the death of Nailor, and recorded May 27, 1873, which conveyed to the defendant, Catharine Conley, a lot on South Fourteenth street, in the city of Washington, to hold in trust for the sole and separate use of Willie Earnest Nailor, who is described in the deed as the infant son of the grantor and the grantee. By the terms of the trust the grantee was to receive the rents and profits of the lot, and apply the same to the education and support of the beneficiary. When the latter became 21 years of age the trust was to cease, and the title in fee-simple was to vest in him. But the deed provided that, should 'said Willie Earnest die before he arrives at the age of twenty-one years,' 'or without having disposed of the said piece or parcel of ground,' then the title in fee-simple should vest absolutely in the defendant. The three other deeds were all dated and executed March 29, and recorded early in April, 1878. One of these three deeds conveyed to the defendant certain other real estate in the city of Washington in trust for the sole and separate use of Mary Edna Nailor, who is described as the infant daughter of the grantor and grantee, upon trusts and uses similar to those contained in the first deed, and with a similar remainder to the defendant. The second of the three deeds conveyed to the defendant about 130 acres of land in Montgomery county, Maryland, in trust for the benefit of the said Willie Earnest Nailor, upon trusts and uses similar to those contained in the deed of November 27, 1872, and with a similar remainder to the defendant. The last deed conveyed to the defendant, in fee-simple, for her own use, about 100 acres of land in Montgomery county, Maryland. The property conveyed by these four deeds was worth about $25,000. Willie Earnest Nailor died August 6, 1878, being nearly six years of age, and Mary Edna Nailor died August 8, 1878, being nearly two years of age. Catharine Conley, therefore, claimed title in fee-simple to all the property conveyed by the four deeds above mentioned. Allison Nailor died January 6, 1879.