Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-08-22
LONDON'S WILL OFFICE.
THE GREAT DEPOSITORY OF TES-
TAMENTARY LITERATURE.

Curious People Who Visit 1t and the
| Questions They Ask-Mighty Volumes
Made of Parchment and Bound in
Leather-Searched by Fortune Seekers.
If you enter Somerset house through one
at the arches in the Strand, and go straight
across the court yard to the other side under
the cupola in what was formerly the navy
office, you will find the will office.
We stop to read the notice exhibited at one
| side of the entrance, that the officials in their
several departments will give all necessary
| Information for the guidance of the public.
and IN case of any assistance being required
in searching for and reading wills it will be
provided on application to the record keeper.
Passing through two pairs of swing doors
you enter into the public hall, and see at
once arranged on the shelves ut the side and
under the desks the calendars containing the
| lists OF the names of the testators whose wills
have been proved, and also the names of
those persons, dead intestate, of whose per-
sonal estate letters of ADMINISTRATION hive been
| granted.
LOOK LIKE BIBLES.
There are also mighty volumes made of
parchment and bound in leather with strong
brass clasps, containing the registered copies
OF Wills 1t was in respect of these big books
that the country visitor inquired of the at
tendant whether they were Bibles, connect
| ing them in her mind with the big Bible in
the pulpit of her old parish church The at
| tendant promptly replied mo, ma,am.
| they're the testaments" Only few of the
most recent of these books are in the public
hall; the Others are kept on n lower floor.
whence they are brought up when required
to be seen. The volume is placed before you
on one of the strong desks. the attendant
finds the will you have previously searched
for, and you stand there and read it, All the
original wills are kept in the strong room.
which is also on a lower floor You do not
| read these in the public hall, but go a little
way down the passage, on the left, to a room
called the reading room. The will you have
bespoken is brought to you, and you sit down
to a long table comfortably to read it, but
always in view of one or two argus eyed
officials, who watch carefully that you do
not damage the document or take surrepti-
tious extracts beyond the permitted notes.
There are many persons who believe that
If they had their rights they would be pos
sessed of considerable property, and that
their ancestors more or less remote have been
unjustly kept out of great estates or large
sums in chancery. This belief is the cause of
constant flow of visitors to the will Office
who delight in reading the will. perhaps 100
or $50 years old, wherein something has been
left TO one of their forefathers, or at least to
some one of the same name and, sublimely
obllvlous of the statutes OF limitation, thereon
build castles in the air Undoubtedly, if the
money is in the court of chancery, and if,
Notwithstanding the length of time it may
have been there, a person can show a good
title to it, he will be able to get it; but the
QdvAnfnFpFS nf har
the wrong end. They ignore the Baconian
system of philosophy, and, starting with the
family tradition that there was once consid-
erabie property in the family, look up a lot
OF old wills and waste their time and money
on speculative possibility of discovering
something they can lay claim to- The pro-
fesslonal finders out of heirs to unclaimed
property begin at the other end They start
with the property or fund in the court of
chancery or elsewhere wanting an owner
and work back until they find the person
whose claim to it can be supported Then
they 60 to him and make bargain that if
they succeed in putting him into possession
they shall receive proportion-in some cases
as much as one-half-of the money or estate
retrieved from the court or wrongful Dos
seSsor
THE FORTUNE HUNTERS.
perhaps 100 years ago or more, with the sig
nfcant addition that if he will apply as di-
rected he will hear of something greatly to
his advantage, it does not follow that if his
representatives now apply they will find
there is something to claim. The advertise
ment may have been issued in respect of
some small dividend under bankrupt's es-
tate, or on the winding up of some company,
or even TO find some person who was a wit
ness to a will or other document for the pur-
pose OF obtaining his evidence; the man him
self may have come forward at the time and
received his money or given his testimony;
but the advertisement still remains in the old
newspaper, or in the published books Of the
collectors of these things, who have no knowl-
edge that the object of its being inserted has
long since been satisfied. The unhappy for
tune seeker buys the book and finds the name
only; he then has to buy copy o. the adver-
tisement, then to expend his money and time
in making various searches to prove his de-
scent from the person advertised for, and
then to trace the people who inserted the adj
vertisement; and after all he may find that
the whole matter was settled years ago. In
some cases years have been spenca and small
fortunes wasted in these searches
Wills sometimes pass through strange vi
cissitudes before being admitted 10 probate,
and testators are often themselves to blame
for it. They either hide them away so care
fully in such secret repositories that at their
deaths they cannot be found, or leave them
about so carelessly that they get converted to
other purposes or gathered up with the waste
paper and rubbish The great Lord ST. Leon
ards, who had for several years thoughtfuly
considered how he should dispose OF his prop
erty, had left will, that was certain, but it
could not be found at his death; it had been
kept locked up in a box, but when the box
was opened the will was not there The
court, being satisfied 10y the evidence of Miss
Sugden of the contents from her recollection,
granted probate of the will as contained in
her evidence. In one case, a boy seeing his
fathers will lying about, and findng it was
writ n on good, strong paper, cut it into
strips and made it into a tail for his kite.
These were afterwards carefully placed to-
gether, the patchwork state of the will was
fully explained, and it was then admitted to
probate. In another case, after having been
lost for long time visit from the dustman
led to the will being found at the bottom of
the dusthole. One case that we know of was
not the fault of the testator; the executor, at
public dinner handed the will to his proc
tor to prove, but the will could not after