The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-06-04
JURY SUSTAINED THE WILL
DE. F. IT. HoADLEY WAS CAPABLE OF DISPOSLNG OF HIS PROPERTY.

Judge Prentice's Charge an Able One The Provisions of the Will--,Notice of Appeal Given.
 The will of Dr. Frederick II. Hoadley, which has been the source of legal controversy in the superior court, civil Pide, for eighteen days, was sustained by the verdict rendered yesterday by Bhe jury, after about two hours delib- aration. ..
 When Judge Prentice entered the court room at 10 o'clock yesterday morning the room was filled with inter ested spectators, the most of whom were members of the New Haven county bar. who had come in to hear the courts charge to the jury
 Judge Prentice read from manuscript and instructed the jury at length con- cerning the law bearing upon the case.
 He reminded the jurymen that in or der to prove that the testator was not of sufficient capacity to make will it must be shown that he was of unsound mind at the time when the will was made. "If at the time of making the will he had that degree of soundness," he said, which indicated that his mind was not influenced by an insane belief or delusion he was of testamentary ca pacity, and the will was valid.
 "You may see that at times man who is not capable of transacting busi- ness may be competent to make will. "A man may be generally insane or of unsound mind on one subject and per- fectly sane as to all others And he may be insane at times and at others of perfectly sound and disposing mind It goes without saying that the will of one who is insane at the time that he sits down to make the will is not valid But the law recognizes that in sanity and mental alteration assume different phases in different persons. One not insane generally may have delusions which would influence the mind of the testator so that the will may be the product of those delusions and not os the normal mind of the testator.
 "But the controlling influences, if there were any, which had possession of the mans mind at the time when he made the will and at no other are what you are to consider and weigh. The question is, did the delusions exist in Dr. Hoadley's mind at the time of making the will, so that the will was the product of these delusions and therefore different than it otherwise would have been? If the mind of Dr. Hoadley was so influenced, then the will was not valid but if, at the time that he sat down to make the will he was of that degree of capacity that would enable him to dispose of his prop erty in such a manner as a sound mind would direct, then the will is his last will and testament.
 "But, gentlemen, I must speak to you one word of caution. You must not go out with the idea that you are to make a will for Dr. Hoadley. It is not for you or I to make a will for him. The will has been made by him under the sacred right bestowed upon every man and we should be careful about inter- fering with this right
 'The will stands before you. and it is for you to consider the provisions of the will and see if they indicate undue influence or mental unsoundness, and in doing this you must take into con- sideration the surroundings at the time the will was made, the relations to the relatives to whom the bequests are, and to those who contest the will, and tine motives and reasons or tine lack of motives and reasons of the testator.'
 The case was given in the hands of the jury at il o'clock, and after two hours deliberation a verdict was re- turned sustaining the will. It was just q o'clock when Clerk Fowler had fin ished the call of the roll, all the jury men answering to their names. Fore man Beach answered for the jury and announced that the verdict sustained the will of Dr. Frederick H. Hoadley
 Judge Prentice thanked the jurymen for their patience in the consideration of the case and dismissed them for the term. The jurylnen refused to give out the standing of the members during their deliberations.
 The will which is sustained disposed of property of Dr. Frederick H. Hoad- ley inventoried at STA ,446.62 Dr. c. Hart Merriam of Washington and Judge w. K Townsend of this city were the executors.
 The entire property was left to the executors in trust to be invested and cared for.
 One-half the income was left to Maria Hoadley Bradley, foster sister of the testator, who lives in Machenny, Fla; Dr. Heli Hoadley of this city, an uncle of the deceased, was to have $500 annually during his life.
 On the death of the uncle and cousin one-third oe the estate was to go to the children Of the sister, Mrs. Cor melia Hoadley Kimberly of this city, by her first husband, and the other two-t thirds were to go to the executors. A $1 200 home was to be built for Pat rick Dugan, an old servant of the tes- >tator.
 Miss Cornelia Hoadley Kimberly, the sister of the testator, contested the will on the ground of incapacity and undue Influence.
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