Richmond

This is an appeal from a judgment, or order, of the trial court refusing to restore a lost or destroyed record, in conformity with appellant’s application for restoration of the records in the case of Eva F. Denny v. Orion O. Denny, a divorce action instituted by the appellant against her husband, since deceased,, in 1884, the record of which was destroyed in the conflagration of April 18, 1906. The court found, in substance, and restored the complaint, the summons, service of which was made and default entered, the findings, and the decree of divorce. It refused to incorporate in the decree an alleged provision granting the plaintiff the sum of $250 per month as and for permanent alimony, for the maintenance and support of plaintiff alone, commencing September 1, 1884. The restoration of the decree of divorce as presented would have laid the foundation for a judgment in favor of the petitioner, which could have been made the basis of a claim against the estate of the deceased.

The lower court found that “in view of the impecunious condition of the defendant [the deceased husband] in said action at the time of said trial, as disclosed by the evidence herein, that no such amount…