Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-12-20
QUEER THINGS ABOUT WILLS.
Notes of Odd Requests and Singular
Decisions in will Cases from
Recent Papers.

Notes of Odd Requests and singular
Decisions in will Cases from
Recent Papers.
There are few more interesting subjects than
Wills as any reader OF fiction or dramatic lftera-
tUre or of the current newSpaperS-tO say moth
ing of such volumes as Mr.. John Proffat's
"Curtositles and Laws of Wtlls"-will be ready
to acknowledge ofI-band. New Workers have
supped full OF contested will cases this year, and
Il IS only couple of days since they found quite
as great curiosity as the Vanderbilt testament
in The brief buSinesS-like and uncontestedp Will
of Peter Goelet, which in two pages OF foolscap
disposed of s25 100000 OF property. There are
many OF our readers, however, that will be
interested in some brief notes OF singular wills,
such as any one who regularly peruseS con-
siderable number Of newspapers cannot fail to
accumulate in the course OF few months
experience.
New York, March 5, 1879, is notable:
This is my last viii and testament 1 give to
my beloved wife, Barbara Labmeister, all my
PUBEKSTEIN Lancaster.
Brief as this is, 1t has been emulated in brew
ity by an English testator, who wrote, Mrs.
- is TO have all when l die "Save the
pieces is alwaysa good motto for careful house
wives, and never should 1t be more imperatfvely
followed than when the fragments OF Will are
concerned. A gentleman OF means died in Lon
don on April in a state of madness, the result
of frequent and violent attacks OF delrium
tremens. In one OF these attacks while destroy
ing his furniture, articles of vertu and some
valuable documents, in moment and before
his hand could be arrested he tore his will into
small pieces and scattered them on the floor OF
his room. His wife, who was present at the
time, carefully collected the scraps, preserved
them and produced them for probate after his
Death, pasted in proper order upon background
Of paper medical certificate to the eject
the teStator was suffering from delirium was
read, and the court decided to admit the
S to probate IN h,s the .ef OF the late LORD I'd
England, the court improved on this and
did not even ask for the pieces He had drawn
up will which he regarded with pride and
affection as the will of all willS-something like
the memorable bunkum fence which was horse
high, pig-tight and bull-strOng-and this docu-
ment he kept by him to read to his heirs and
friends, to whom he would descant upon its
beauties. In due course he died, and when
search was made for his will, with that perver-
sity peculiar to wills, it had vanished. His
daughter-or granddaughter, we write from
memory-a lady of great accomplishments, and
accustomed to act as his amanuenSiS, had heard
the will repeated so often that she knew it by
heart, and, the other heirs conSenting, her
recollection of the will was admitted to probate.
1t would not do, however, for noveliStS and
eminent counsel TO depend too absolutely upon
this precedent, for the court declared that in
this exceedingly exceptional case the fact that
the lady was unusually clever and well trained
in legal and business matters counted for more
than good deal.
When the will Of the celebrated physician, DR..
Guin, OF GroSyenor square, came before Sir
James Hammer not long ago, 1t came out that
Sherlock. who appeared as an executor to prove
the will. by their united efforts succeeded in
producing teStamentary document which was
on the face OF il a far from satisfactory one.
After the will had been executed an alteration
or erasure had been made OF the attestation
clause OF an irregular character and almost en-
dangeIing the validity OF the document under
the acts OF Parliament. The learned Judge, In
decreeing probate, expressed surprise that two
gentlemen OF such emtnence in their profession
Should together have succeeded In producing
family a document and remarked that
solicitors attempted to prescribe for physicians
patients the result attained would probably be
failure to produce the desired effect similar to
that In the present case. Sir James was right,
and yet no one knows better than he how many
great lawyers when drawing up their own wills
have come to serious grief The testament Of
EEgland'S foremost conyeyancer was rejected
Tor inaccuracies of description and looSenesS of
language, and a well-known case is that of the
value of different parts of his estate. provided
that his executors should sell i. all and invest
the proceeds in consols-in his name!
A curious case arose at Sost, in Germany,
where testatriX left her money to her brothers
and sisters but added: 'I1 brother William
marries in his old age he shall have nothing" 1t
was held that William, robust sexagenarian,
could receive nothing, as until his deathit could
not be known whether he married or not. Much
more amiable in effect, II somewhat cynical in
tone, was the viii OF the rich old bachelor who,
dying at Manchester, beQueathed his property
TO the women who had refused his offers or
matrimony, because, he wrote, .'Jhey have thus
permitted me 10 lead tranquil life exempt
rom household cares" Among decidedly curl
Gus incidents OF recent occurrence may he men,
toned the death in London OF one Nicholson.
private IN the Grenadler Guards who died in
teState and left-to every ones SurpriSe-an eS-
tate OF 100000. In July last his nephewS and
nieces moved for letters OF administration
which We're granted, the most remarkable
fact coming out that his sister, who was a
nearer relative. though cited 10 appear, had re-
fused to interest herself il the matter though she
was poor. This; however, some people win think
to be after all less remarkable than the case In
January last of MIR. Kerr, OF Dundee and his
lawyer, Mr.. Thomas Thow. Mr.. Kerr died leay-
Ing Si00, eco 10 his lawyer and not penny to his
FAMILY. Although from the close intimacy
which had subSisted between Mr.. Kerr ard him
sell Tor many years. Mr.. Thow would not have
bcen surprised at being named in the will, he
had no anticipation OF so large a windfall, and
Hlly expected that the relations, and more bar
tculariy cousin. would have been among the
legatees- On learning the nature OF the settle
ment the lawyer placed the matter unreSerVeI-
ly I'm the hands OF two gentlemen and asked
them TO arrange what they considered fair and
equitable terms with Mr.. kerr'S next Of kin.
They suggested giving quarter OF the estate to
the cousin and another quarter TO another re.a-
i've, and that he should retain the remaining
nan, an arrangement that was amicably carried
f Sa 81 henry Graham OF Clyde. n " left an es
est son the same sum TO his eldest daughter
ara the remainder TO his second wife and her
ahfcG 5ooS, Inc VIII was contested and
compromise was made by which the
children OF the first wife got a fair thon1h
not an equal share OF the estate. A more main
fui family Squabble was waged bsfora the ION
don courts last winter. The widow of Mr.
Blake, or ThurSt0n House, Bury ST. EdTnunds
sought 10 ob;atn probate OF the contents of a
copy OF win made by her husband on the 9th
or July, 1873. The defendant, Coloael Blake
only surviving son OF the decelSe opposed the
VIII and alleged that IL was not duly executor
that II had been revoked and that its content
were nos as set forth In the copy OF which pro-
pate was now sought, He further pleaded That
ms mother had acknowledged that the testato .
nad died intestate. and that she had renolnca l
her right to take out letters OF administration in
answer 10 which Mrs. Blake owned to S.gn;ns
sH.h remuneration at the request of her son, ami
Jury founu for her, when Sir James Hammer de-
cnned To pronounce Judgment in hope thit
moti er ana son could come to some underSt md
10 oFtion but to give her the properly.