Ennis v. Smith (1852)

Ennis v. Smith (1852) 55 U.S. 400, involved the domicile of the Polish patriot, Kosciusko. General Kosciusko, born in Poland, served with distinction in the American Army in the Revolutionary War and later lived in France. He died leaving assets in this country undisposed of and it became important to determine the jurisdiction in which he was domiciled. The court said: "Where a person lives, is taken prima facie to be his domicile, until other facts establish the contrary. . . . But when there is a removal, unless it can be shown or inferred from circumstances that it was for some particular purpose, expected to be only of a temporary nature, or in the exercise of some particular profession, office or calling, it does change the domicile. The result is, that the place of residence is prima facie the domicile, unless there be some motive for that residence not inconsistent with a clearly established intention to retain a permanent residence in another place." In that case, the will of General Kosciusko and the genealogy of his family were in question, the United States Supreme Court held: "The documentary proof in this cause from the Orphan's Court, of the genealogy of the Kosciusko family and of the collateral relationship of the persons entitled to a decree, and also of the wills of General Kosciusko, are properly in evidence in this suit. The record from 364 Grodno is judicial; not a judgment inter partes, but a foreign judgment in rem, which is evidence of the facts adjudicated against all the world."