Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-07-17
ALL CAN'T HAVE EN-
Plenty of Money Needed TO
Run A Yacht.
WHAT THE soURMAHAI COSTS
The Wasp Is Worth sGz.ooo-James n.
WateTbury's Rather Expensive
Summers Outing.

Il possible that the disinherited child.
Mrs Coleman Drayton, viii make .
contest for her share Of the great
William Astor estate. win be sdjudi-
eated-
1oor of the building Just back Of New
York's city hall Surrogate Ransom dis
penses Justice. II is civil war there year
IN and year out IL is brother against
brother, mother against daughter. kin
against kin. There all ties are sun
tered in the contest over great estates,
oil friendships. all loving companion
ships become . bleak and barren mem
DRY, and il Is death which has dealt too
justly or unjastly against one OF the
other OF living kindred
Surrogate Ransom was listening TO
the testimony in a strange case while l
was IA his courtroom The estate in
VOWED was not five thousand dollars
and yet the two disinherited children
were elalnoring for a share against
mother and favorite child
'sRomances without end" said Capt
Mcintyre. the surroga.e's clerk.
Rt0N sA Nv III Jul A@-1ory aN~1k<%C%t~
rooms are the wills Of all New York s
testate dead, and some day the
romancer who viii found great tale
on fact will dig up the testimony of a
noted case and will tell a stranger story
than was ever conceived by human irn-
agination.
Some time ago IL was the Fayer-
weather case. in which a great estate
was given over almost entirely To
philanshropic ends
Far back the Hammersleys were con-
testing for what is now the property Of
the duchess of Marlborough.
still farther back IL was the Frank
Leslie will case. In which two sons
were disinherited.
The clerk was looking over the musty
records, aud each great case evoked an
interesting utteranee as to its general
nature.
4 late one. He disinherited his
daughter. Alfred Bcdlow. He disin-
herited his wife and daughter and
made the estate over TO stranger.
Iosa ". Burnsl She was a niece of
Victoria Woodruff Disinheritcd her
husband and left the estate To an old
6paniard- Isaac Halsey. He disin-
hsrited his wife and children"
And so he went on from noted case 10
ease. and when had tabled of hun
slred volumes went down INTO the old
document room and began my search
for the romances Of real life. Many a
volume Of wills lies stored away in the
lower vaults Those are the earlier
records. But the testimony in the
c.ses of the past Hfsy years Is bundled
up In volumes, some SO thick with dust
that the number Of the tome could not
Be deciphered- But within were a
rnass of interesting facts. turned
back 20 one Of the 1850 volumes and
councd 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 will,
claiming undue influence. Then came
out the strange story of Henry Carriers
1ife-that was the narne Of Frank Les
1ie--of his FIRST marriage and of his sec
Ox10 WFatAlIk- NC VA tdV AAit va
MrA squircs, now Mrs Frank leslie
Wilde. was told. Here slur and there
. bit Of praise.
The thrilling dcathbcd scenes were
detailed by sons and wife. Alfred's
story was q bit of vivid romance. He
had gained access 70 his fathers house
. day or two before the death and told
how the then speechless man had taken
the sons hand, kissed il 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-
eording to Mr. Leslie's statements,
wronged the father and the disinherit-
ance was The consequence. They had
made bis life a misery and he was clear
minded when he dictated the win then
Ia probate.
In that testimony also came q justif-
easion for the wife. The world had
wrcnged her and none but be knew of
the noble character OF her many sacri-
fres. All this Mr.. Leslie had mentioned
20. his lawyer OF course the contest
was lost and the wife inherited the
estate. now worth many millions.
The ease 81 Rosa v Burns was full of
Interesting detail She was the niece
Of Victoria Woodhall and Tennie C.
Cisfiin and had inherited quite an es-
tate from her father. who died IN To
pclza. Kan. Her husband had left her
some years before her death and she
had passed after that as the daughter
OF an cid Spanisrd named Fernando de
Francisco Martin. With him she passed
al her time. and In her viii she left
AN the estate may die possessed Of
81 my friend and benefsctor. Fernando
de Frsncssro Martha The husband
and relatives contested in vain and the
epsnisri got the estate. Eut the testi-
r,ony vas not 81 nature 30 rebound 60
che credit of either the iegstor or the
legate-.
There are volumes in this old room
which must - handled tenderly. One
az these contains the viii Of the last Of
three famous millionaire old maids. that
Of ser.h Burr. she left - coo. 600, all
~ charity. ignoring a host Of relatives
who scrambled for the money. This
disposition had all been arranged years
before. Each sister made the ether her
heir AMI ~. lsst wss 60 give the az
esar,alated estate over % the world 10