91 Ga. 90 | Ga. | 1892
E. H. Walton had two children by his first wife, the daughter of Mrs. Twiggs. The first wife having died,
1. The court refused to allow one of the minors, who was shown to be twelve years of age, to answer the question, with which of her two grandmothers she preferred to live and which she preferred as guardian, the applicant proposing to prove that she preferred to live with the applicant and preferred her as guardian. The court ruled that this testimony was inadmissible, the child not being fourteen years of age; and refused to allow a witness to testify that both of the children, prior to the institution of this litigation, had expressed to him a preference to live with Mrs. Walton, and for her to be their guardian.
2. The court erred in charging the jury: “The law is so jealous of the rights of children in this regard, that the wishes of parents or relatives may be disregarded when their interests are at stake. In a contest for guardianship of children, if the wishes of deceased parents conflict with whatwould.be the real interest of the children, the jury may disregard the testimony and give same no weight, but on the contrary, when the wishes of parents are consistent with the best interest of the children, then such may be considered as valuable testimony in determining the guardianship of the children, and may control the jury in making up their verdict. In determining the best interest of the children, you may look to the affection the parties bear to the children, their happiness and their present and future welfare. If you should believe from the evidence that both of the grandmothers are affectionate, love the children
8. The court allowed the caveator to introduce in evidence the letters written by her to the second Mrs. E.- H. Walton, the same being correspondence with a person not a party to the suit and not competent to bind or in any way affect the rights of the applicant, it appearing that the caveator was present in court and able to testify in person. Other than as above may appear, it is not stated in this ground what objection was made to this evidence when offered.