The language of the law. Part Latin, part Greek, part law French, even part Anglo-Saxon. And all confusing.
The Legal Genealogist assures you, dear reader: the relationship didn’t morph in all the years of Clarence Wells’ life.
Joe Wells is clearly the name in the box for father’s name on the death certificate of Clarence Walter Wells, who was born in North Carolina in 1898 and died there in 1966.1
The same Joe Wells who had the two-year-old son Clarence enumerated in his household in 1900,2 and in 1920.3
The same Joe D. Wells shown as the father on Clarence’s World War I draft registration form.4
And the same Joseph D. Wells who shows up in the records of the Superior Court of Gaston County, North Carolina, in April of 1906 as the “next friend” of Clarence Wells, in an action for damages against the Loray Mills.5
No, Joe Wells didn’t stop being Clarence’s father.
So… what’s with this “next friend” bit?
The law dictionary definition of the term is a “person, usually a relative, not appointed by the court, in whose name suit is brought by an infant, married woman, or other person not sui juris.”6
Which would be a lot more helpful if it didn’t mean going off to determine that sui juris means “of his own right; possessing full social and civil rights; not under any legal disability, or the power of another, or guardianship. Having capacity to manage one’s own affairs; not under legal disability to act for one’s self.”7
Meaning the next friend is needed for somebody not competent to act for himself or herself.
Which is why it’s sometimes better to look at sources beyond the usual-suspect law dictionaries, like Wex, the “community-built, freely available legal dictionary and legal encyclopedia” of Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.
Because there the explanation is pretty straightforward. A next friend is:
Someone who appears in court in place of another who is not competent to do so, usually because they are a minor or are considered incompetent. Often the role is filled by a parent or other relative; it can be any legally-competent person whose interests do not run counter to those of the person on whose behalf they are acting. The “next friend” is not a party to the proceeding, nor are they a formally-appointed guardian. Instead, they are considered an agent of the court whose role is to protect the rights of the incompetent person.8
So Joe Wells really was Clarence’s father, not just a friend.
He was simply the competent adult representing Clarence’s interests, just as most next friends in court, land and other records we encounter as genealogists are family members of some stripe of the minors, married women, and other legally incompetent folks on whose behalf they act.9
Yes, it’s a matter of friendship.
But only in the language of the law.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “A matter of friendship,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 15 June 2022).
SOURCES
- North Carolina State Board of Health, death certif. no. 11153, Clarence Walter Wells (1966); digital images, “North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976,” Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 June 2022). ↩
- 1900 U.S. census, Rutherford County, North Carolina, population schedule, Colfax, enumeration district (ED) 132, p. 58B (stamped), dwelling/family 161, Clarance Wells in Joseph Wells household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 June 2022); imaged from NARA microfilm T623, roll 1216. ↩
- 1920 U.S. census, Rutherford County, North Carolina, population schedule, Colfax, enumeration district (ED) 156, p. 42A (stamped), dwelling/family 3, Clarance Wells in J.D. Wells household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 June 2022); imaged from NARA microfilm T625, roll 1321. ↩
- Registration Card, Clearance Walter Wells, 12 Sep 1918, Rutherford County, North Carolina; digital images, “U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 June 2022). ↩
- See Wells v. Loray Mills, Gaston County (N.C.), Superior Court, Miscellaneous Records, 1847-1910, C.R.040.928.001; North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh. ↩
- Henry Campbell Black, A Dictionary of Law (St. Paul, Minn. : West, 1891), 813, “next friend.” ↩
- Ibid., 1185, “sui juris.” ↩
- Wex, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex : accessed 15 June 2022), “Next friend.” ↩
- Yes, married women were considered legally incompetent to act on their own behalf for many years. Right into the 20th century in many jurisdictions. Really. ↩
Does the term “friend” alone (not next friend) have any specific legal meaning in 19th-century documents? For example, in a will the testator refers to an executor or other person as “my friend [name].” I have two of these, both from Pennsylvania and both for relatively older people.
Generally not a specific meaning. We see this a lot in wills (“my trusty friend”) and it as often refers to someone who is a relative of some stripe as to a mere friend.
Did this case have something to do with child labor? As I vaguely recall, there really weren’t many or any at the time, at either the state or federal level. Thanks! for more info.
Yes, but only in the sense that the child was the injured party. And there were more than a few of these.
What is the distinction between a “next friend” and a “guardian ad litem”? The Wex database seems to define them simularly.
The function is essentially the same: to represent the interests of a person not legally competent to do so personally. But a guardian ad litem is appointed by the court and serves for the purpose of a single issue or dispute, generally when a regular guardian has interests that could be adverse to the ward, and almost always to DEFEND the ward who is being sued. A next friend is generally chosen by the minor, may be approved by the court, and helps to PROSECUTE or bring a claim for a person who needs to sue but is legally incompetent to do so himself/herself.