The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-08-01 00:00:00

AN OLD LADY'S WILL.

In the Court of Probate and Divorce the cause of " Doty- !
royd e. simth" has been heard.
The plaintiff in this case propounded the will of the
late Miss Jane Smith, of Exeter, who died there at
the advanced age of 102. The defendant opposed two
codicils to the will on the ground that they were not I
duly executed, and that they were obtained by fraud
and undue influence.
It appeared that the testatrix made her will in 1847,
by which she gave a number of legacies to friends and
servants, and amongst them was a legacy of £3BO to '
her nephew, Thomas Smith, the present defendant.
To that will she subsequently made three codicils,
which were not disputed, varying some of her legacies
given by the will, and she then made a codicil, dated
in January, 1859, by which she revoked the legacy of
£3BO to the defendant, and gave the money to other
persons. On the 11th February, 1880, she made the
fifth and last codicil to her will. By that codicil she
recites that Mrs. Maria Stewart, the executrix and
residuary legatee, under her will, had recently died,
whereby her legacy had lapsed, and she thereby and in
consequence bequeathed the amount given to Mrs.
Stewart to several persons named, amongst whom was
Mrs. Holroyd, the wife of Mr. Holroyer, a magistrate
and governor of the bank at Exeter. She also ap-
pointed Mrs. Holroyd her executrix and residuary
legatee. The will and codicils were drawn by Mr.
Roberts, a solicitor, at Exeter, and were duly executed
in his presence. The reason given for the revocation
of the legacy to the defendant was that upon several
occasions he had gone to the house of the testatrix
and had endeay.mred to force himself in. He had also
annoyed her in other respects. 'rids conduct had led ,
to his bring taken three times before the magistrates,
and upon the last occasion he was imprisoned for a
month in default of finding sureties for his future good
conduct.
In support of the will and codicils, Mr. Roberts, the
solicitor who drew them, Dr. Budd, and Mr. Roberts,
a surgeon, were called, all of whom gave evidence as
to the peffect sanity of the testatrix, who, they stated,
retained her faculties up to the day of her death, and
was fully competent to understand her affairs and di:,
pose of her property, the value of which was stated to
be about 0,000.
After bearing this evidence the Jury, under the
direction of the learned judge, gave a verdict for the
plaintiff, and the Court pronounced for the will and
codicils.

EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE IN A
RAILWAY CARRIAGE.
On Friday afteinoon last an extraordinary case of
suicide incurred at the Wye station on the Ramsgate
branch of the South-Eastern Railway.
The fast train from London to Ramsgate, which
leaves the former place at 12'45, arrives at Wye at
249. Just as the train was moving out of the station,
one of the foremen on the permanent way saw a
gentleman sitting alone in a compartmen tof a first-
class carriage, and a stream of blood WM spouting from
Irma head. He immediately caused the train to be
stopped, and the carriage was detached from it. The
gentleman was found to have a new Tranter breech-
loading pistol tightly clenched in bah bands, and it
was evident that he had but a few minutes before
placed the muzzle to his forehead and shot himself.
He was still alive, although bleeding copiously from the
wound, lie was carried to the "Victoria Inn," and
in a few minutes two medical gentlemen arrived, hut
they could not rio anything for him, and he expired
about seven o'clock, without having recovered con-
sciousness. The deceased was about five feet ten
inches high. Ile had a number of his own photographs
in his pockets; also a certificate denoting that "U. A.
Appleton, Esq.," had been admitted a member of the
Royal Academy. The deceased's pocket-book was
filled with lead-pencil sketches of figures and scenes,
some of a grotesque character, but all indicating
artistic talent. On one leaf of the pocket-book was;
written U. A. Appleton, Tavistock Hotel, Covent'
garden," and on another, "U. A. Appleton, horn at
Hornsey, London, 1g.36." The pocket-book contained
in.•thoranda -h wing that the deceased left Melbourne in
the latter part of last April in the ship Higkilyer, and
that he had had a capital passage, and had visited the