Anyone know what the typical delay would be for property to legally change hands, after someone died?
On the gravestone: Mary died March 16th 1864. In testimony it is said that letters of administration dated 1855, gave Clarke the property.
Does "letters of administration" mean someone dies without a will? I am wondering if there was a minimum period which would bridge this gap.
In the trial, there was another curious bit that vaguely mentioned letters of administration to Mary in 1852, without any mention of who died. But I can't make sense of this part. On the one hand, it would match the transcription on the grave for her husband's death exactly. They also oddly mention receipts from 1826-1852 (odd how this year stands out), then up to July 1863)
On the other hand, several other bits of evidence, disagree with it, two, or one depending how you count them, even from the same source. Court testimony in the same case, taken from the same day, Clarke said he knew the lands of Rathcore for about 30 years. That is vague, but he also said that Nugent (James) died about 30 years ago (from 1865.)
I had though of the possibility that he had maybe said "13", but there are two many things that seem to disagree with it. On another day, it was mentioned that the lease was taken up in 1826 and that James died soon after (which I take to mean a couple of years later.) Also, James isn't on the field books for 1838, while Mary is, which to me, would be a clear signal he was dead.
