Sarah and Abigail Silsby brought a case against Thomas Young and Enoch Silsby in the United States Supreme Court. The two sisters argued that they were entitled to their father's estate, which had been left to them by his will. However, Thomas Young claimed he was the rightful heir of the estate due to an earlier deed made between him and Sarah’s father before his death. The court found that although there was evidence of a verbal agreement between Sarah’s father and Thomas Young, it could not be proven as valid because it lacked any written proof or witnesses who could testify on its behalf. As such, the court ruled in favor of Sarah and Abigail Silsby; they were declared rightful heirs of their deceased father's estate according to his last will.

In Sarah and Abigail Silsby v. Thomas Young and Enoch Silsby, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts was asked to decide whether a deed given by two sisters to their brother should be enforced. The majority opinion held that it should not because the deed had been obtained through fraud or undue influence on the part of their brother. However, Justice Parker dissented from this decision, arguing that there was no evidence presented at trial which showed any such fraud or undue influence on behalf of either party in executing the deed. He argued further that even if some form of coercion existed between them when they entered into the agreement, it did not necessarily invalidate its terms since both parties were competent adults who could make decisions for themselves without being influenced by others. Furthermore, he noted that courts must take care not to interfere with private contracts unless clear proof is provided showing an abuse of power or unfairness in how those agreements were made.