The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-19
DISPUTE GIFTS TO CHURCH.
SOME or n ~ COUSINS WANT
UIDOV JOHNSOS'S $5JO,OOr.

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she Lore Nenrly All OF II to catholic Institutions
aud tho Cousins AilcEe Undue lnnnencc
and MENTAL IucnpacitJ due to Drlnk-Thn
Money Game from tho Junk hiusineSA.
with tho Surrogale's Court mostly filled
with the cousins OF tho widow Mary Johnson,
rho suit TO contest her will, which beV-
eral OF them have brought, was begun yes
terdny with the evidence OF tho thrce suo-
pcribing witnesses. Mrs. johnson had no
oIoso relatives. and Me- will left limos all her
estate Of about $55n, 900 to Catholic charity, TO
the discontinue Of the cousins. TO the numoor
OF about forty.throe they had ensconccd them
selves in her house at GOl3 Madison avenue
for o wake, and they tarricd long thereafter UNI
iii told by Daniel j. QuiGlAn. ono of tho execu-
tors. that time was dying. and that tho property
WAS in charge Of tho executors. Six cousins
ret bc0ucsts OF from 5000 10 500 by the
will. David lecture Joseph II. Choatc. and
Rastus :. Ransom appear for the contestants,
and among the counsel for the proponents are
Frederic II. Coudert. William Hildrcth Field.
and Charles b.. Alexander.
Tho contcsting cousins rely mainly on showing
mental incapacity caused by drink. and that the
deccdent was under the control Of her pastor.
Father James W. Power, rector of All Saints
Roman Catholic Church, which she attended
and to which she was u liberal contributor. Her
estate came mainly from her brother. stephen
Iovcjoy, a dealer in secondhand materials
and junk. She gave Father Power in her
iho s ELECTS in n"G her r0'f house. n She distributed ed
100000 among eighteen charitable institutions
and, with u few other small bcquests, directed
that the residue should go: One.third to Dun:
woodic Seminary. one.third to All Saints
Church. a ninth to the Roman Catholic Orphan
for the Protection Of Destitute Children, and a
ninth to the Mission OF the Immaculate Virgin
Children. It was provided that il for any reason
any bcQucst should be declared void, the amount
Oft ill., should E then g 60 to, to A wibI sfI pt cS %6a% wore
Who is connected with the office o! Peter Condor:
Teter ar and Ed b. Gordon. Mrs. jo;hnson's
plumber. Mr.: Joyce said that he assisted IN tho
three times before she finally executed it. He
had seen her sign many papers and she al
Wien she finally signed the will the witness sat
four or five feet away. Asked il he noticed any.
thing peculiar about her, he said he smelled
lit may. not have been liquor, as 1 do not
know whether my sense OF smell was true or
not She was always sober when Mr.. Joyce
Odd you ever hear her sweari A.-on one
occasion. / heard her use the word damn" in
referring to some orders served on her by the
Board OF Health in connection with her prop
Odd she dress Hastily and show good judg-
ment as to her display of jewelry A.-Well,
she generally wore lots Of diamonds, a big pair
of earrings. u brooch. and three or four rings.
She was, he said. illiterate and eccentric, and
when asked why he considered her eccentric he
said:
"On one occasion when l called at the house I
saw her eating grapes out OF a paper bag. That
struck me as remarkable for a woman of her
wealth. Then she always had four or FIVE little
dogs running about the house barking,
with drinkl A.-No; her face was heavy, but
she was a heavy woman.
The witness denied in answer to questions
yer Choate that he believed the woman had
made her will the day after a spree and that he
did not think she was in q condition to execute
n will at the time 1t was made.
Peter Condor, Jr.- said that he collected rents
for Mrs. Johnson. He never saw her drink nor
had he smelled LIQUOR on her. He considered
made as to what he based his opinion upon, he
said that for instance he had seen her reading a
newspaper. He was sure that the newspaper
Odd you observe thai Mary Kelly, one of
her servants, exercised considerable influence
over hcrt A.-No. decidedly not.
A. Mrs. Warren had been asked to be a witness
to the will, said the witness, but she declined
unless they would tell her its contents, informa-
tion that was not vouchsafed.. Mr.. Condor de-
MED in answer to a question that he had heard
that the %testatri1 used to go about in bare feet
and diamonds at the same time.
The other witness, Edward B. Gordon, said he
had been her plumber for several years. lie
said: Her language was neither refined nor
Odd she ever swear at YOU and get mad :
A;@Oh. yes; she told me to go to hell.
Q.-And were you shocked A.-No; I was
accustomed to 1t.
He never saw her under the influence of drink.
tendance. lie denied that she had tried to ar
range a marriage for him. She had spoken
about such things. but he did not take her
quest OF Father Power to be a witness to q cod
fell to her will. He considered her sane.
The case went over to to-day.