The Newtown bee., 1891-09-18
REUBEN E. BELDEN'S DEPOSITION.

My business relations with Elon Booth commenced in 1883. 1 should think saw him three or four times year from 1883 down to his death. In 1886, 1 was down nearly every month. Sometimes my visits were of business, sometimes of social nature. My letters were gen. orally addressed to Elon Booth or l.. E. Booth, until the last,probably,lS Is months of his life. The answers to them then came from Mrs Bronson, in regard to business matters. My business with him was renewing my note and paying inter est. The last renewal of my note was i'll February or March, 1880. Mrs Bronson was present, most of the time was there I had understood that ElOn had lost his notes and I asked him in her presence ill regard to it. She said, ''No, he hasn't lost them. I found them afterwards ;;
 either he or she got them, don't know which, from the trunk in which he kept his papers. I was very much worried because this note had not gone to Hart ford and had the taxes paid on 1t. made out two notes, one for the princi- pal, $5500 and another for the interest, $330 and made them due in the following September. Mrs Bronson took these notes, read them to Elon and explained their nature to him. It took quite a good deal of explanation to make him under stand why those notes were not both drawn with interest. He said he wanted interest, but Mrs Bronson and l explain ed it to him. During frequent conversa- tions with Elon in regard to his home at Mrs Bronson's, he told me he had good home there, ''as good a home as any body has got and that she took care of him when he was sick, did his mending for him, tied up his shoes and took care of him just as we'll as if he had been her brother. He told me she had been of great assistance to him in writing letters and, in fact, he always called her into the room when I went there, to hear the conversation between Elon and myself, that is during the last IS months of his life. He told me he had real estate in Toledo that he had taken on mortgage. also some town lots he had taken on 8 mortgage He told me at one time that he had some Rock Island, but I never knew the extent of his property, for he never told me. He was irritable and g hard man to do business for. He was suspicious and unreasonable and 1 have heard him very abusive to Mrs Bronson
 Once in June or September, 1889, when was there, he told me, when Mrs Bron
 son was out of the room, that she haG stolen a coupon or something that rep resented about $50; that he had missed it and that she or that old hypocrite o1 a Josiah Booth had stolen it. When Mir! Bronson came into the room, she com menced to talk and explain matters, ht cut her short and told her she didn't know anything about it and seemed t be very much irritated at her. I didn' consider him very profane man, but when he got mad, he generally sWore little and he wasn't very particular wht was around either. He was very feeble in 1888; he gas very poorly in March 1890 and told me that he had been scl nearly all Winter and had beenup Street only few times. Said that Mrs Bron son aided and nursed him and cared fol him just like baby and that he didn'
 believe he would have lived as long as he had. had it not been for her care. Ht told ne in June, 1889, that he should givt Mrs Bronson $50O0 in his will; that sht had taken care of him and that he ough
 to pay her for it. He also told me th' same thing in September, that he should give her $5000 in his will and asked m. what thought would be fair amour to give her. I told him he had bette
 ought to give her about $10,000 now, s she would have the benefit of it, for
 guessed they needed it. .sNo," he says s'I can't bear to give away anything.
 want to hang on to it long as I can.' Il March, 1S90,he told me that he had mad
 a will I asked him if he had remember ed Mrs Bronson and he said, No, I hay
 forgotten it'' I told him it was not to, late to remedy it and that, even now. h.
 could add q codicil to that will and giv
 her the money. He wanted me to explail about the codicil, which did. He said "A what ?' "A codicil," said, An ad dition to your wiIl.n He said, ssI'll d
 it.s I said to him, s.Why haven't yo, given her that 5000 that you have bee talking about, the last year and a half2
 '
 He said he would do it; ssShe has mad
 a good home for me and she shall b
 paid for it. ''The last thing I said to him as I went out of the door, was, ssDon' forget about that matter' and he said ssNo, won't His conversation abou his business was very general. He toll