The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-17 00:00:00

A REMARKABLE WILL CASE.

A very singular will case, sufficient in itself to furnish
materials tor several sensational romances, has been heard
before Vice-Chancellor James. The proceedings, which
occupied nearly five days, were founded on the claim of a

young woman, named Sarah Angus Hay, to a share in
the estates of a Mr. Wight, of Blakely Hall, Northamp-
tonshire, who left real estates worth about £2,000 a year,
and a personalty of £60,000, He had no brother, but six
sisters, two of whom died unmarried before him. A
third has since died unmarried, a fourth is now living.
The other two, who were married, died in the lifetime of
their brother, one leaving a son and the other a daughter,
Harriet Wight Hay, who now claims her share in the
estate of her uncle, who died intestate. Miss Hay's claim
was founded on a certificate of marriage of James Hay
and Harriet Hibbit, on the 31st of November, 1843,
at Newburgh, county Orange, New York and
upon a certificate of her own baptism in May, 1845,
as having been born on the 9th of April, preceding
the child of James Hay and Harriet Wight. The genuine-
ness of these certificates was undoubted ; and it was also
proved that Mrs. Harriet Wight Hay died in America in
March, 1852. The identity of the claimant with the
Sarah Angus Hay, and the certificate, was ques-
tioned, but her history was pretty clearly made out. Her
story was that after her mother's death she continued to
live with her father until his departure for Scotland,
when she was left in charge of a German family. On his
somewhat unexpected return, circumstances, not further
stated, induced her to leave his protection, and she lived
at various residences until 1866, when her father sought
her out and succeeded in getting her into a reformatory
for young women. She afterwards obtained a situation,
but seems to have returned to the " Home," where,
upon Mr. Wight's death, she was found by Mr.
or Captain Arthur St. George Cuff, merchant, of New
York, who supported her claim, and instructed her
solicitor, Mr. Schultz, of London. Miss Hay was taken
from the Home, and after residing for a short time with
Captain Cuff and his wife at their house, was sent to
England. Her identity was not substantially in dispute.
Her father, James Hay, is still alive, and in 1869 he was
examined as to the origin of his acquaintance with Miss
Harriet Wight, but it was now stated that his mental
faculties had become too feeble to allow of his being
again examined. He was born in Glasgow, but went to
America as a silk merchant's agent. He said he was the
founder of an association in New York called the Cosmo-
politan Church. " I first saw Miss Harriet Wight in the
year 1840 or 1841. I had come home from America for
the purpose of seeking a wife. I first saw Miss Wight
when I was standing on a wharf at London-bridge, and
a boat was coming up the river. There was a number
of men and women in it ; the boat was full. I noticed
this girl ; I thought she was a sober-looking girl. When
the boat came in, and Miss Wight was coming up the
stage, I spoke to her. I had never seen her before. I
took her to have some refreshment, and conveyed her part
of the way home, and she agreed to meet me the next
day. I did meet her ; we walked and talked, and I asked
her how she would like to go to America.
She said she would like to go, and I offered
to take her at once. The next day afterwards
we met
.again. I went to the house where she
was stopping, and we made a bargain then and there that
she was to go to America and meet me at 133, William-
street, New York, and I promised to marry her then, and
I did marry her there and then by this agreement." The
marriage ceremony, however, seems only to have consisted
of striking hands, and a day or two after Mr. Hay went
to Scotland for a week, but was detained there several
months. He had not his wife's address, nor had she his, so
they did not correspond for some time. He did not return to
London to look for her, but went by Glasgow and Liver-
pool to New York. He was a long while in New York
before Miss Wight made her appearance, and he began to
give up hope when one day he met her on the road to
Williamsburgh, where she lived. He did not ask how
long she had been in America, nor what she
had been doing, but took her home and introduced
her as his wife, going through the regular ceremony
of marriage, of which the certificate was produced a few
days later. Two questions immediately arose upon this
—one, whether the woman whom James Hay married at
Newburgh was identical with the woman whom he said
he met iu London • the other, whether the woman whom
he so met, if he did meet her, wider the circumstances
stated, was Miss Wight Hibbit, the intestate's sister.
Strange to say, both facts appeared to be established.
But another difficulty arose, a prior marriage on the part
of James Hay, in Glasgow, being maintained by defen-
dants, the intestate's other relatives who resisted the
claim. Several members of the Hay family in Glasgow
supported this plea, and a letter was produced stating
that this first wife, Eliza Phillips, was en route to New
York to join her husband. After a great deal of evidence
the Vice Chancellor held that the fact of the Scotch mar-
riage was proved, and the claimant had failed to establish
her right.

A life of Charles Dickens, by George Augustus
Sala, will be published on Saturday. The price of the
volume is to be a shilling.

THE PRINCESS ROYAL'S FAMILY.—The infant
Princess born at Potsdam on Tuesday increases the
family of the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia to
seven. Their Royal Highnesses, who were married on
the 25th January, 1858, have had the following chil-
dren :—Prince Frederick William Victor Albert,
born 27th January, 1853 9 • Princess Victoria Elizabeth
Augusta Charlotte, born 24th July, 1860 ' • Prince Albert
William Henry, born 14th August, 1862 ; Prince Francis
Frederick Sigismund, born 15th September, 1864 (died
18th June, 1866) ; Princess Frederika Wilhelmina
Amelia Victoria, born 12th April, 1866 ;• Prince
Joachim Frederick Ernest Waldemar, born 10th February
1868.