The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-26
MOTHER SUES SON.
a Quarrel That Involves a Family of
Historic Fame.
From fhe Neg York Commercial

From the Eep York Commercial
a woman With a viii Of her own. and a
strong will at that. is Mrs. Mary c. Living
s.on, who resides ct the Murray Hill hotel
2.rs: Livingston is the widow of the late
Livingston Livingston and the mother Of
Fnlnp Livingston Livingston, against
whom, Jointly with his wife, she has brought
SUIT Tor thereconveyanceo of certain property
conveyed by the mother to the son under
What the mother claims was undue influence.
or as the legal papers more coarsely put it,
deception and freud.
All the parties TO the suit are connected
by birth or marriage with almost every
prominent family throughout the state.
Inc Schuylers, Livingstons, Morrises, Van
oensseiaers, De Peysters-all of them aud
more are concerned.
On April 10, 1890, the beauty, the wealth
and the fashion OF the city gathered az st.
Bartholomew's church 20 grace the mar
rage OF Philip Livingston Livingston and
Jutiet Blrchead Norris, daughter of Wil~
ham Ii. Norris Of No. Ii West Fifty-second
street. The honeymoon was hardly over
when trouble began between Mrs Living
ston, the elder, and her son and daughter
in-law,
When Livingston Livingston. the lawyer.
died in 1872 be left all his property to his
WIFE, including three houses and lots in this
city, to be- used as she saw ct, with the un-
derstanding that their soa, Philip, wes TO
be educated and cared for according TO his
position and station IN life" Mrs Livings-
ton was to have absolute control Of the
property.
She sent her son through Harvard College
and Columbia Law School, che SAYS In her
complaint, at considerable sacrifice TO her
self and to the incumbering Of her property.
Graduating from the law school the son
entered upon the legal profession and SUBJ
sequsntly married. Before he married his
mother gave him outright one of the city
houses, accompanied with the not unusual
trimming of $25, 900 mortgage.
Immediately after the honeymoon Mrs
Livingston conveyed other property to her
son, with the understanding that he was to
pay her an annuity equal to what she could
have realized had she sold the property her
self and invested the proceeds with some
life insurance company.
Her son had borrowed money from bis
wife on the decided property, and out of that
money, she affirms, he paid her first quar-
tors annuity. She thought she was going
to lose her Independence, and asked to have
the property decided back, but this the son
refused TO do, on the ground that property
mortgaged so heavily as this was would not
support her If left IN her hands.
Mrs. Livington consulted her lawyer,
Joseph H. Choate The result was the
present suit. Before the suit was brought,
young Livingston conveyed the property to
Edward L. Short. Of Davis, Short & Town
send. as trustee for himself and his mother.
and Mr.. Short is, therefore, made party
to the suit.
Philip Livingston alleged In his answer to
the complaint that. notwithstanding his
oh 80 mid ~
wife's family had anything to do with his
persuasion of his mother to convey her prop.
erty TO him, which is corroborated by the
Norris family.
Livingston, it is said, has been willing at
all times to convey the property back to bis
mother under any conditions that may as
sure her maintenance, but at present be
feels compelled to defend the suit on account
Of the imputation upon his honor.
The whole amount involved in the contro-
versy, so far as money is concerDed, will not
reach above $40, 900. Mrs. Livingston has
said that she never meant to accuse her son
of deliberate fraud and deceit, but supposed
that the term must be used for legal pur.
poses.
Nevertheless it is known that Mrs. Liv.
ingston never favored her sons marriage
with Miss Norris, and that out of this oppo.
sition has grown bitterness of feeling un.
til there has been enRendered what is per.
haps fttingly denominated a woman's
quarrel"
Mrs. Livingston, it is said, strongly OBJ
jected to an aunt of her sons wife making
one of the Norris household aztec the mar
riage. Young Mrs. Livingston did not wish
to leave her father, he being advanced in
years and her mother being dead So the
aunt came to look after the aged Mr.. Norris.
She had been for years a mother to the
motherless girl.
The Norrtses and the Livingstons have
intermarried for generations, and there is
no account on record Of any important
family feud. Mrs. Livingston, the plaintiff
in this case, is Williamson, de-
scendant of former governor and United
States senator from that state. Who the
Liviugstons and the Norrises are no one
need be told.