The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-07-27
KIN AGAINST KIN.
Where Civil War Is the Rule and
Not the Exception.
GUmpses into the Musty Volumes of New
York WiIls-Fathers Who Have Dis
inherited ChiIdren-The Leslie
Case Notable Example.
ICOPYRICHT. 1890.

This week the Astor case, in which i,
is possible that the disinherited child
Mrs. Coleman Drayton, will make
contest for her share of the great
William Astor estate, viii be adjudi
Gated.
IN little courtroom on the second
floor of the building just back of New
York's city hall Surrogate Ransom dis
penses justice. It is civil war there yea,
in and year out It is brother against
brother, mother against daughter, kin
against kin. There all ties are sun
dered in the contest over great estates,
all friendships, all loving companions
ships become bleak and barren mem.
DRY, and it is death which has dealt TOD
justly or uniustLy against one or tie
other of living kindred.
Surrogate Ransom was listening to
the testimony in a strange case while
was in his courtroom The estate in
volved was not FIVE Thousand dollars
and yet the two disinherited children
were clamoring for share against
mother and favorite child.
''Romances without end" said Capt
Mcintyre, the surrogate's clerk.
Slowed away in our musty document
rooms are the wills of all New York's
testate dead, and some day the
romancer who will found a great tale
on fact will dig up the testimony of a
noted case and will tell stranger story
than was ever conceived by human i'm
I agination."
Some time ago it was the Fayer-
weather case, in which great estate
/ was given over almost entirely to
| philanthropic ends.
/ Far back the Hammersleys were con-
! testing for what is now the property of
! the duchess of Marlborough.
/ Still farther back it was the Frank
/ Leslie will case, in which two sons
/ were distnherited
The clerk was looking over the musty
records, and each great case evoked an
interesting utterance as to its general
nature.
Richard Newcombe! All, yes. That
is a late one. He disinherited his
daughter. Alfred Bedlow. He disin-
herited his wife and daughter and
made the estate over to stranger.
Rosa V. Burnsl She was a niece of
Victoria Woodruff Disinherited her
husband and left the estate to an old
Spaniard Isaac Halsey! He disin-
herited his wife and children"
And so he went on from noted case to
case, and when l had tabled off hun
bred volumes went down INTO the old
document room and began my search
e. l.
volume of wills lies stored away in the
lower vaults. Those are the earlier
records. But the testimony in the
cases of the past fifty years is bundled
up in volumes, some so thick with dust
that the number Of the tome could not
be deciphered. But within were q
mass of interesting facts / turned
back to one OF the 1880 volumes and
conned over the viii of Frank Leslie
He had given his entire estate, then
badly tangled up and involved, to his
wife, disinheriting his two sons, Alfred
and Frank. They contested the VIII,
claiming undue influence. Then came
out the strange story of Henry Carter's
ife-that was the name of. Frank Les
Ge-of his first marriage and of his Sec
ond wedding. The story Of the life Of
Mrs. Squires, now Mrs. Frank Leslie
Wilde, was told. Here slur and there
a bit of praise.
The thrilling deathbed scenes were
detailed by sons and wife. Alfred's
story was bit of vivid romance He
had gained access to his fathers house
z day or two before the death and told
how the then speechless man had taken
the sons hand, kissed it over and over
again.
Then came the cold statements of the
Leslie attorney who had drawn up the
will. The sons, he testified, had, ac-
cording to Mr. Leslie's statements,
wronged the father and the disinherit-
ance was the consequence. They had
made his life a misery and he was clear !
minded when he dictated the Will then
in probate.
In that testimony also came a justii- /
cation for the wife. The world had +
wronged her and none but he knew of /
the noble character Of her many sacri- t
fees. All this Mr.. Leslie had mentioned /
to his lawyer. Of course the contest (
estate, now worth many millions.
The case OF Rosa V. Burns was full Of .
detail. She was the niece (
Of Victoria Woodruff and Tennie C.
Claain and had inherited quite an es-
tate from her father. who died in To-
peka, Kan. Her husband had left her
some years before her death and she
= i ~. fer
of an old Spaniard named Fernando de
Francisco Martin With him she passed |
al her time, and in her will she left
"Au the estate may die possessed OF
TO nv friend and benefactor, Fernando
de Francisco Martin" The husband
and relatives contested il vain and the
Spaniard got the estate. But the test
mony was not Of nature TO rebound TO
the credit of either the legator or the
lelatea.
There ere volumes in this old room
which must be handled terderiy. One
Of these contains tee viii Of the last Of
three famous millionaire old maids. that
Of Sarah Burr. She LEFT e, Geo. coo, all
TO charity, ignoring host Of relatives
who scrambled for the money. This
disposition had all been arranged years
before. Each sister made the other her
heir and the last was to give the &C
cumuIatcd estate over to the world So
it was done. and the contest over the
noble purpose has long since ended
The will Of the great New York law
yer. Richard NewcoEabe, who oisinher-
tied his daughter because she el0Ped