The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-09-12
GETSTHE ENTIRE ESTATE
MRS WILLIAM p RtRRANk
AWARDED S75O,OOO
BY The California Supreme Court
History of the Case-Second Mar
rage of the Widow-WnI
IKE a Tin to Turspe

rage of the idoW-"if
T.ke n Trip to Europe.
Mrs. William +. Burbank is three
| times as fortunate as was stated by
the press kilograms few days ago.
! as We learn from the San Francisco
| Daily Report Of Sept. Sd, which gives
an account of the decision of the SUI
| preme Court in the contested will case.
| That paper places the present value
of the estate, all Of which goes to Mrs.
| Burbank, at seven hundred and fifty
| thousand dollars. There was no dis
pute over 100000 Of the estate, the
contention being oyer the remainder.
From the Report we gather the follow
ing particulars:
! HISTORY OF TIE CASE.
{! William Walkerly, the aged capital
! ist, died on September 16, 1SS7-nearly
| eight years ago-and the litigation
over his estate has been dragging
| along ever since. He left handsome
| young wife and an estate valued then
at about $780, 600, consisting of about
| S., 900 worth of personal property, the
| Pacific Union club building, known as
| the Walkerly block, and a residence
IN East Oakland.
On September Goth, ten days after
bis death, his will was filed. 1t left a
number of requests to relatives. The
first beouest was to Blanch NJ. Walk
erly, his wife, for 100000, and the
next was to any child. that might
be born unto his wife. There was
born to Mrs. Walkerly a pOsthumous
child who, by the terms of the will
inherited 800, 600 The boy was named
William for his father.
SECOND MARRIAGE OF THE WIDOW.
About two years ago Mrs. Walkerly
and William +. Burbank, an Oakland
newspaper man, were married. but
that fact made no difference so far as
the terms of the will were concerned.
Last year little Willie Walkerly
died, and naturally his 100000 rever-
ted to his mother, so that her interest
in the estate amounted undisputably
to S200,0
The other 800, 900, according to the
terms of the will, was to be divided
among various relatives of the de-
ceased. But the will was such a pc
culiar one in many respects that Mr..
Burbank, who is himself lawyer as
well as a journalist, saw what he
thought would be good opportunity
to break the will and thereby secure
The peculiar provision of the will
upon which grounds for breaking it
were laid is the instruction tC the
trustees as follows:
"TO sell and convey all the trust
property and estate at the expiration
of twenty-five years from the date of
my death, and to distribute the pro-
ceeds equally among my nephews and
nieces or their heirs-the descendants
of 6nnnnSn6
niece, taking collectively the share
which their father or mother would
take provided he or she were living;
provided that no final sale or distri-
button of the trust estate be made du-
ring the lifetime of my wife, Blanch
M. Walkerly, but only after the ex
piration of twenty-five years from
date of my death, and after her death.
Upon the distribution of the proceeds
of the sale of the trust estate among
the parties entitled, then this trust
shall cease and determine. Should
any one or more Of my said trustees
die or resign, the remaining trustees
or trustee must Immediately appoint
some suitable person to fill the va
cancy, so as to keep the number of
trustees at three"
ESTABLISHING A PEEPETUITY.
Rogers 81 Patterson, attorneys for
Mrs. Walkerly- contended in
their argument before the Supreme
Court that the provision about the
twenty five year clause tended to es-
tablish perpetuity, which was pro-
hibited by the State constitution.
The opinion which placed the whole
fortune in the hands of Mrs. Burbank
was concurred in by the entire
Supreme Court of seven Justices.
THE LUCKY NEWSPAPER MAN.
William Freeman Burbank, the
Oakland newspaper man who about
three years ago married the handsome
young widow of the late William
Walkerly, is a graduate of the Oak
land High School.and of the Law De
partment of the State University.
He is about 35 years Of age. He was
the President of his class upon grad
uating from Hastings Law School,
and was recently President of the
North Carolina State Press Associa-
tion, while he was editor and propri-
etor of THE TWIN-CITY SENTINEL at
Winston-Salem, N. q. He was one of
the founders of the Oakland Enqui-
rer, and six months ago started the
Los Angeles Evening Record, of which
he is still the editor; although de-
sire to escape the cares of business
management caused him to transfer
his financial interests in the paper TO
the Scripps- McRae Newspaper League.
He still owns the SENTINEL at Win
ston-Salem, and after a tour of Europe
he and his family will either return
to North Carolina or continue to re-