The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-02
JUSTICE is ON TOP
The Alleged Will of Sherman
Kramer is Denied Probate.
STRANGE WORK OF DOCTOR COIN
No Good Reason to Suppose That the Deceased
Intended to Disinherit His
Wife and Child.

WHICH NC took. under Amusement some days
since.
In this case Sherman Kramer, brother Of
deceased, filed a petition on the Bird day OF
March, 1891, for the probate of a certain
document purporting to be the last will
ana testament of Samuel Kramer, de-
ceased, and after setting out the usual
1urlsdlctional facts, alleges that the value
and character of the property Of the de-
,cedent are as follows: "Four certificates
OF lie policies, in the Northwestern Ma
sonic Aid association, of Chicago, num-
bered, designated and valued as follows,
Vlz;" Giving the aggregate value
at $4,000. Petition further alleges
that the estate and effects, for or
IN respect of which the probate of the
Will hereinafter mentioned is hereinafter
applled Tor does not exceed the SUN OF
elo,OVO," that deceased left will bearing
date the 4th day of November, 1890, that pc
utloner believes the same to be the last will
ana testament of the deceased; that DR.. l.
l. Conn is named executor therin; that the
subscribing witnesses to said will are Mon
helm Schwartz and Samuel Jacobsen; that
the next of kin and devisees and heirs at
law OF the testator are Esther Kramer,
aged about three and one-half years, resid-
ing at Salt Lake city, Utah: and Zemach
Kramer, aged fifty four years; Fredericka
Kramer, aged forty-five years; Herman
Kramer, aged twenty-seven; Solomon Kra-
mer, aged twenty: Leopold Kramer, aged
fourteen years, all residing at Sessmackeh
huriand, Russia; Sherman Kramer. the
petitioner, aged twenty-five and one-half
years, residing In Utah: that at the time of
the execution OF said will the testator was
OF the age OF $50 years, of sound and dis
posing mind, and not acting under re
stralnt, duress, menace, fraud, or undue
influence, or fraudulent misrepresenta-
LIONS, ana IN every respect competent, by
last Will, to dispose of his estate; that Alice
d. Kramer is the widow of said deceased
and is aged twenty-four years, and resides
Salt Lake city.
In the will no mention was made nv
Kramer OF his wife, and he left only s. to
his young child--Esther Kramer
On the 9TH day of March, 1891, Alice ].
Kramer, widow, as aforesaid, filed petit
tlon contestlng the admission to probate of
the said will, and assigned the following
grounds:
1-That the said alleged will was not
signed and executed by the said Samuel
Kramer, deceased
THAT at the time the said alleged will
is claimed to have been executed the said
Samuel Kramer was not of sound or dis
posed mind, and was not competent to dis
pose of his property"
3-That at the time the alleged will is
GAINED TO have been executed the said
Samuel Kramer was acting under undue
influence, fraud and fraudulent misrepre-
senIauons OF Sherman Kramer, Samuel
jacobson and l. E. Cohn."
The judge reviews the evidence. which
was very voluminous, at length, and gives
1t as his belief that the dead man did not
know what he was signing when he was
raised up In bed and attached a meaningless
scrawl to the will, which was claimed to be
ms signature. The judge said he did not
beneve that the deceased meant to disin-
her1t his wife and child, as was done by the
will, and there was no reason to believe
that he regarded Lis wife and child in any
Dull an affectlonate manner. The Judge ad-
ministers severe rebuke to those who
seek TO deprive the wife and child of the
property left by the deceased, and
SAID 1t was clear to him that the
mental powers OF the deceased at the time
OF signing the will were practically
oollterated, his intelligence dimmed: that
ne was unconscious of what he was doing.
and was not an accountable being. The
evidence, in brief, was to the effect that
Samuel Kramer, the alleged testator. and
Alice j. Kramer, the contestant had been
married for period of five years: that at
the time of the death of deceased they had
resided in Salt Lake City about three
years that they lived happily together:
That Esther Kramer, mentioned in Dro
ponents petition, is the child of deceased
and his said wife; that there was no diff
Guilty or misunderstanding between hus
band and wife prior to the time of his last
illness; that prior to said last illness de-
ceased appeared anxious to make provision
Tor his family; that he did make provision
Tor them by procuring the life insurance
policies mentioned in proponent,s
petition, and giving said policies
to his wife for birthday pre-
sent; that deceased was taken sick
on or about the 18th day of October. 1890:
that alter he was taken sick he directed his
wife to pay the premium on said policies,
and seemed pleased after she had done so:
that IN accordance with the wish of the de-
ceased, the wife called in DR.. r. A. Has
brouck on the 10th day of October, 1890;
that DIR. Hasbrouck attended the deceased
until the evening of the Bird Gay of Novem-
Der, 1870, and saw him on the 4th day of
November, and was on friendly terms with
him; that deceased was suffering from
typhoid fever and pneumonia, and the wife
waited on and cared for him until the 4th
day Of November, and was willing and
anxious to do so afterwards; that on the
said 4th day of November DR.. l. E. Cohn
was called in at the instance of prepayment.
and took charge of the patient; that Mrs.
Kramer, the contestant, was opposed to
this change OF physicians, but was willing
10 have other physicians to consult with
DIR. Hasbrouck; that prepayment as
sisted in waiting on the patient from the
22nd day of October to the time of his
death; that said DR.. l. E. Cohn was an en-
tire stranger to deceased, was introduced
TO him on the said 4th day of November. as
Master Mason, and on the same day said
Coin called an attorney -at-law, and told
him that he wanted a will of Dr. Kramer
drawn; that MIR. Lewis went to the house
OF deceased TO obtain data to draw the
will; that the names of the devisees were
given him by prepayment; that said Dr. |
Cohn assisted in the preparation of said |
will; that the testator was held up in bed |
by two men to execute the same after il |
had been read 70 him by DR.. Cohn: that the !
wife was not present in the room at the
time of said execution of said will and was |
not aware that will was being made and |
executed and remained in ignorance OF it
until after her husbands death, when she |
was informed by DR.. Cohn; that she
was at times asked to leave the sick room
that after the making of said will |
the deceased occasionally called for
his wife and occasionally pressed the
child TO his breast in an afTectionate man
ner; that at the time of the execution of |
said will there were present S. II. Lewis
DIR. l. e. Coin, Sherman Kramer. Mon
helm Schwartz and Samuel Jacobson: that
on the said 4th day of November, before
the execution of said will, deceased said his
wife had not treated him as wife should.
and that his child was provided for: that
no provision for the future of said child had
ever been made, except IS, the legacy in
said will; that Monheim Schwartz and
Samuel Jacobson attested said will as wit
nesses, in the presence of the testator; that
deceased was not on intimate terms with
said Schwartz. while in health, but ap
peared TO have an aversion for him; that
the testator was greatly weakened by dis
ease at the time of the execution of said
~, |