Evening journal., 1893-01-24
WILLS OF RICH MEN.
HOW SEVERAL WEALTHY MEN Dis
POSED OF THEIR ESTATES.

Wife-His other Bequests.
The small bequests by Jay Gould to
his brother and sister call attention anew
to the fact that the financial results of
the creation of fortune in family are
apt to be small to the collateral branches
and heavy to the direct line of issue.
The wills of the heads of the Astor
family do not point moral in this re-
4 spect, because the family has followed q
4 rule designed for the perpetuation of q
great family estate in two parcels. Side
bequests, if considerable, would have
prevented the execution of this plan.
The distribution of the late Samuel J.
Tilden's fortune is not illustrative of the
common custom, because he was bach
elor.
A. 7. Stewart, the great merchant
4 prince, made simple will In the sec
n ond paragraph of the document opened
after his death in 1876 he wrote simply,
"All my property and estate of every
4 kind and description and wherever sit
v uated give, devise and bequeath to my
dear wife, Cornelia M. Stewart, her
heirs and assigns forever" In the next
n paragraph he appointed Henry Hilton to
manage, close and wind up his partner
ship business and affairs. He made ex-
Judge Hilton, the widow and William
Libbey his executors, and he bequeathed
to Mr.. Hilton the sum of $1,000,0 900 ''as
mark Of regard"
Z In a codicil to the will he bequeathed
II various sums of from $4,000 to $500 to
as many faithful employees in his bust
ness, and other sums of $2,500 to $500 to
seven household servants. To two sis
# ters named Marion, at whose fathers
81 house and hands he had enjoyed hospital
NJ ity, he gave$12, 900 year and house in
n this city. TG. Henry Hilton's wife he
q gave $4,000. In a second codicil he gave
II $4,000 each to four persons of the name
n OF Clinch, who were relatives of his wife,
X to two of whom he gave a house in town,
# and to Sarah Smith and her daughter he
VI gave $4,000 each. He willed that all
a persons who had remained in his employ
NJ during twenty years should have 81, 900,
= and all who had worked for him ten
years $500. A letter to his wife accom-
u panied the will, and in that he said that
he hoped to live to carry out his charita-
BILE schemes, but if he died before doing
II so he would depend on her to do so with
NJ the advice and assistance of their friend,
q Henry Hilton.
Mr.. Stewart had no children. IF he
had no relatives either, his will is not a
case in point. But, on the other hand, if
~ it is true, as many claimants assert, that
he had a number Of cousins and other
kin in Ireland, his absolute forgetfulness
of them or refusal to benefit them is re-
markably opposite.
Commodore Vanderbilt, who died in
January, 1877, made many bequests to
others than his children. To his wife he
gave $500, 900 and all the contents of his
house in Washington place, the use Of
* which was hers for life. To his brother.
Jacob II. Vanderbilt, he gave $50, 600
To his sister Phoebe he gave 81 200 year
during her life. To his nieces and neph-
ews he gave various sums, ranging
from $50, 900 and $4,000 down to $500
and $500 year. But he gave one grand
nephew $25, 900 and another $780, His
doctor got $4,000, and a faithful old
clerk got $4,000. To an uncle he gave
q $1,000, and the wife of nephew re-
ceived $25, ,00O
w AANn Al1 GulAlG W COlAnlNlbI Ills
the situation was altered To William
H., his eldest son, he handed down the
bulk of his magnificent property, the
value of this gift being estimated at $780,
g 100000. The whole property had been
considered as worth $105, 600 900, and of
the $15,000,000 that William H. did not
get one-half went to Williams sons, the
Oldest one, Cornelius, getting greatly the
largest share. He seemed thus to indi-
cate belief that young Cornelius, who
had already shown ability as a tinancier,
would become the head Of the house in
the third generation.
To his own less worthy son Cornelius
he gave merely the interest on $500, 900.
He divided 81 950,0OO equally among five
daughters, and two of these he further
enriched. the one with the interest on
100000 and the other with the interest
on $300,00O. Enriched is scarcely the
term to use, for it was evident that he
intended only to insure to each of them
the comforts of a competency.
When it came time to open the viii Of
William II. Vanderbilt it was found that
he had given to a nephew, w. W. Kissam,
$50 600; to his uncle Jacob the dividends
on 900 shares Of New York Central; to
his aunt Phoebe and to each Of twelve
other relatives annuities Of 81 200. The
great bulk Of the increased estate went
to the children. There were eight of
v them. and each got $5,0O0,0OO outright,
together with the interest during life
on another S. 900 900. the eighth part of
trust fund of sl0.OOO,O 600. The prin-
cipal in this legacy was to go to his
grandchildren when his children died.
To his eldest son, Cornelius, he gave an
additional 50 900, 900 outright. and to his
favorite grandson, William H.. the son
of Cornelius. he gave 81 ,OOO, 900 outright
The youngest son, George, was to have
the family mansion and works of art
when his mother should die. To his own
widow he left a yearly allowance of
5000, 900 and the right to give away
$500, 900 howsoever or to whomsoever she
pleased. To each Of his four daughters
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