The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-09
0~SPERRETS' IN EASTPORT.
ouEER Evidence IN THE TRIAL OF
THE HAWKINS WILL CASE.

n n NNkEVe - AhhS "NN W.
uees-Posthumous Visits OF Mrs. Hawkins.
RtyERuEAD, L. L., juno s,-Moro details Of the
peculiar beliefs OF the aged Warren Hawkins of
Eastport were developed by the testimony in
,oday's hearing before Surrogate Nathan ID.
po,ty in the matter of admitting the old mans
will to probate. The will purports to have been
made on Aug. 8, 1896, at a time when Hawkins
vas very near death. Ho died on Feb. o. 1897.
The will left all his property. amounting to
81. 500 in cash and a little real estate, to Charles
Hawkins, in trust for Harold, a little grandson.
charles lived near his father, and, the testimony
has shown, was regularly cursed by him. Tho
other son, William, ID O plumper at IL l'oeue
street, New York.
Warren Hawkins, when he invited tho neigh
bors in to hear him deprecate the existence and
WAYS OF son Charles. dismissed them with ex-
,rayagant praises OF the virtue and hlial piety of
snn William. He ovened up tho antemortem
nartiality shown to William by leaving to the
Number no share in the estate Wherefore
William hired Lawyer Timothy f. Grifiing to
break tho will. George Il. S~tackpole Is attorney
for tho heirs. Extracts from the testimony at
the hearings show what manner of man Warren
Hawkins was.
DR.. Melville Skidmore Of East Moriohes, q
graduate OF Bellevue Medical College, and eigh-
teen years u practising physician. duly sworn
and questioned by Mr.. Grifflng, testified in part
as follows:
o.-what wero Warren Hawkins's habits with
reference to Intoxicating liquorsi A.-Wen, of
course, he imbibed pretty freely. Often l used
TO pass him down there at Eastport when ho
was Observation-Disclosures very drunk, so that
he could hardly talk
By Mr.. Stackpole-You say you visited the
man on July 4. 1896; did you have any CONVEX
sation with himi Al did; yes.
p-what did he talk about do Won recollect1
' Ayes. He stopped me-. I had been down
East, I don't where, Eastport, Quogue. Atlantic
VILE, Speonk. When / came back he stopped
me and he says, Look a-here. you arc q God
damned fool" That was the FIRST remark he
made to me. He said. you are trying to poison
me. poison me- by inchos; you want to get mo
out Of tho way" I said. Flows that, Mr..
Hawkinsi That Is q pretty tough accusation to
mako to q DOCTOR" He said, II win tell you
why. You gave me n bottle Of medicine"
1t was tho same kind I had given
him q good many times before He
said, THAT medicine was very different
from the other bottles you had given me and I
thmk that was q put-up job, doctor, to poison
me. Ihad q silver spoon and 1t turnedi it black; not
only that, but it made my stomach burn" And
drove away and left him. He said: "I will
never pay you a damned cent for that medicine.
because l think you are trying to poison me. I
Will ruin your repuIotlOn among LneSe people.
He had settled up with me for all before that.
o.-Was that the effect of the medicine-that
1t would turn q silver spoon blacki Ayes.
there were two grains of muriated iron in It;
that would tarnish silver.
Q-You say the effect Of that medicine was to
make the stomach burn . Ayes; he took it
wrong. He took 1t before meals, and I told hin
a to take Ii after.
teen years a near neighbor OF the old man. was
called. Mrs. Jenkins went to the Hawkins house
p pud. ' heisabo4line thing #h sB 9 tho ol 8 m Mssk was ou sis e
q sS z;iisss d aln NJ sEsi aas sslll address hi. wife ,
Ale wasn't clever when he was drunk.
S-PiSSo sysE say that she hsS lived long
her. Sometimes he was very kind to her.
s Etsshs e. e sh. Esitt seSsen,iy. I'D Ha s aade he s't ssdu al%
bis SON William was once bewttched BY his
4QNWhat else have You heard him sayi A
the spell, of Of him. He said she had q bottle Of
GsWei. what further in that connection /,
80 a man going to sea and didn't come
back in over twenty years, and that his brother
when be would come back. and the colored man
the colored man laid down and he thought he
S vas op e and and a bun bumbiebee came rom % over @'I the
ocean and new down his throat. Six Of them
your brother viii Be- back at such a time. and he
came. And he himself asked his brother where
he was sat at that fas time time; and gnsdrh he said ne ne r ef I'M red
The Ss wa. !. large ,a's b black Sam cat around on deck and
asfed me Z fS beRdevsd d' i and II I said No; Hae
said he did because he had 1t from both OF them.
-q-Have you heard him express beiiefI A.
Yes, in roots. !, believe he could mako them dc
do YOU know whether he was able to write
or read writing Abe didn't writn
vt ss 4 Jou s; nSePP Nj. 22M aIfin. J soid So a0T IhS Sls
bumblebee storiesf Ale told me that within
two years. suppose. He told me q good many
uQ-Mr. Hawkins was a drinking mani A.
.lH Hy,ihf ike m Eei1 linking Ri Efs '1 me 1' nX4p i@y es . and 3
sH9d many times when he YVES sober.
her itls Old sentiensn saying that *. Su wi fos ap
p1Ssr nh to him after her dsathi A.IYes ..u
1Q5WhSss d5d he S Ssgi l NIB 't said. "she'.
sfSa ssG had H 4 t snia . sfS e hI%. in p Pae% SPG Fl ns ss
her" he said, cause she called to me the way
s s1s Away ~ used TO- You. Warren" She told
5sd; and told him the one he had picked out t.
II he should do like he advised.
Q-pld he believe that his wife had como bach
eter DEATH Ayes, 1 think he did. 1 an
William Jayne OF New Brighton, 6. l.. unit
Hawkins, was called. Mr.. Jayne spends hi
summers in Passport, and had opportunity t.
YAK with Mr.. Hawkins at great length wher
NE old man sat under the apple tree in front O
-Q-Did he ever say anything to you about hi
WE coming back after che died Ale sale
pine: the Old woman has been home twice Y
ne me since she was dead. She stood up besid,
we bed and said, Warren, how do you dor"
says 10 him, says, That's all imagination
SS0gET seeing your wife after she's dead an.
9Srled; You didn't really see her. did you T.
,e soS yo heS J, he says +, see her Just as plain as
.elked some time. She said she didn't want hin
9geI married. again, no matter who the woman
was. She said to him: Warren, when you
SOa,h to meet me. / don't want you to brini
lhe suIrogate.1t seems TO the Court fair u
assume that OF the two ghosts mentioned, TIN
me IN NE testimony Of Mrs. Jenkins and thi
SRhe IN me testimony OF Mr.. Jayne, Mr.. Jayne
gh9st y the most likely to have been the rea
an, authentic ghost OF tho late Mrs. Hawkins.
0ooild you ever hear him speak Of witches
iIrolsn. He said they were all the time afte