Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1892-07-23
KIN AGAINST KIN.
Where Civil War Is the Rule and
Not the Exception.
Gnmpses into the NIusty Volumes of New
York wins-Fathers Who Have Dis
Inherited Children-The Leslie
Case q Notable Example.
lcopYR1cHT, 1901

. lCOPYHlGHTs 1cSS-
This week the Astor case, in which it
is possible that the disinherited child,
Mrs. Coleman Drayton, will make a
contest for her share of the great
William Astor estate, will 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. 1t is civil war there year
in and year.out. 1t 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 companion
ships become bleak and barren mem
DRY, and it is death which has dealt too
justly or unjustly against one or the
other of living kindred.
Surrogate Ransom was listening to
the testimony in a strange case while 1
was in his courtroom. The estate in
volved was not five thousand dollars
and yet the two disinherited children
were clamoring for a 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 Yorlxs
testate dead, and some day the
romancer who will found a great tale
on fact will dig up the testimony of
noted case and will tell stranger story
than was ever conceived by human i'm
agination."
Some time ago it was the Fayer-
weather case, in which a 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 disinherited.
The clerk was looking over the musty
records, and each great case evoked an
interesting utterance as to its general
| nature.
Richard Newcombe! Ah,yes. That
is late one. He disinherited his
daughter. Alfred Bedlow! He disin-
herited his wife and daughter and
made the estate over to a stranger.
Rosa v. Burns! 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 I had tabled off a hun
bred volumes went down into the old
document room and began my search
=: for the romances of real life. Many
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
I no ~ %he %rp ~
be deciphered. But within were a
mass of interesting facts. turned
back to one of the 1880 volumes and
conned over the will 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
life-that was the name of Frank Les
lie-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
bit of praise.
The thrilling deathbed scenes were
detailed by sons and wife. A1fred's
story was bit Of vivid romance. He
had gained access to his fathers house
a day or two before the death and told
how the then speeches. 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, &C.
cording to Mr.. Leslie's statements,
wronged the father and the disinherit-
ance was the consequence. They had
made his life misery and he was clear
minded when he dictated the will then
in probate.
In that testimony also came a justif-
J cation for the wife. The world had
wronged her and none but he knew OF
l the noble character of her many sacri-
, fees. All this Mr.. Leslie had mentioned
to his lawyer. OF course the contest
l was Lost and the wife inherited the
estate, now worth many millions.
The case of Rosa v. Burns was full OF
interesting detail. She was the niece
of Victoria Woodruff and Tennie c.
Claflin and had inherited quite an es
tate from her father, who died in To
, peka, Kan. Her husband had left hel
; ! some years before her death and she
had passed after that as the daughter
of an old Spaniard named Fernando de
1 Francisco Martin. With him she passed
all her time, and in her will she lef
. "An the estate 1 may die possessed O
to my friend and benefactor, Fernando
de Francisco Martin" The HUSBAND
and relatives contested in vain and thu
Spaniard got the estate. But the testi
g rnony was not of nature to rebound tx
the credit of either the legator or the
: legatee:
There are volumes in this old room
:, which must be handled tenderly. On
= of these contains the will of the last o
v three famous millionaire old maids, tina
of Sarah Burr. She left 100000, al
to charity, ignoring host of relative
i who scrambled for the money. Thi
70 disposition had all been arranged year
% before. Each sister made the other he
l. heir and the last was to give the &C
- cumulated estate over to the world. S
it was done, and the contest over tn