The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-11
NATURAL HEIRS PROTEST
AGAINST THE REQUESTS TO CHAR
ITY MADE IN MRS. ALIENS WILL

Mrs. Edith Sanborn, a Niece, Alleges
That the Document Containing
Those Requests Was Afterward
RevO12ed-Her Legal Battle In
the Probate Court.
Did Julia M. Allen, who died in this
| city last summer, leave a will dispos-
| ing of her estate among various
| legatees and was the will destroyed
after her death, or did Mrs. Allen re-
| woke the will and die intestate? These
are the questions that were submitted
| to Judge Willrich in the probate court
yesterday.
If Mrs. Allen died without a will,
| then Mrs. Edith A. Sanborn, a neice
Of the deceased, will inherit half in
! terest in the estate, which is valued
at $4,000. But if the will is establish
| ed, a copy of which is offered by the
proponents, then Mrs. Sanborn will re-
ceive a legacy of $4,000, while several
! other individuals and charitable Or
| CARNATIONS will be remembered with
requests ranging from $500 to $4,000
| The main facts in the case, so far as
they are known, The g o b e has pub
| lished.
Mrs. Allen died at her home, Psi Far
rington avenue, Sunday, July 25, 1897.
| Three days before her death she sent
Mrs. Edith Sanborn, the wife of Wal
| ter j. Sanborn, down to the law office
Of Seymour &t Stringer, where she kept
her will and other private papers. Mrs.
Sanborn presented an order on Mr..
Seymour, written and signed by Mrs.
Allen, authorizing him to deliver the
will to Mrs. Sanborn. Mrs. Sanborn
received it, took it home and handed
it to Mrs. Allen. That, Mrs. Sanborn
says, was the last she ever saw of the
will.
The matter came before the court
yesterday upon the application for the
| probate of a copy of the will. The aD-
plicant is the Young Women's Friend
ly association, one Of the beneiciaries
under the will, to the extent of $1,000
Pierce Butler represented the appli-
cant and other legatees, and M l..
Couptryman appeared for the heirs to
whom the entire estate will go if the
court declares that the proponents
have failed to estab lish a will
The next of kin are Mrs. Sanborn
and Mrs. Nancy Adams, an inmate OF
an asylum in Binghampton, New York
According to the copy of the will OF
fered by the proponents, the legatees
are the Young Women's Friendly as
ISOLATION, $1,000; B. A. Taylor, Gorton
Taylor and Allen Taylor, all of New
vi SldlSi RELATIVES OIL T.. d. Alien,
the husband of the dsvisor, $4,000 each;
the Congregational Home Missionary
society of New York, $4,000; the Whit
man college of the state of Washing
ton, $1,000; Sherman Chamberlain, for
the purchase of a library, $500; Mrs
Edith A SanbOrn, S. 900; Mrs Julia
Adams, $1,000; Mrs. Nancy Adams, a
sister of deceased, $4,000, for life, to
revert in equal shares upon her death
thraa
Mrs. Julia Adams, mother of Mrs. San
born. The codicil referred to in the
testimony merely provides for the be-
quests to the Congregational society
and Of that to the Young Women's
Friendly association.
The chief witness yesterday was At
torney Mcneil V. Seymour While this
was the first hearing under the appli-
cation for the probate of the proposed
will, the testimony of Mrs. Sanborn
was received by the probate court some
weeks ago on the occasion of her pc
tition for letters of administra ton on
the estate of Mrs. Allen. But in the
present proceeding, for the probate of
the proposed WILL Mrs. Sanborn ap-
pears as an Objector.
Mrs. Sanborn was called to the stand
| first Yesterday. She related how she
| searched for the will Immediately after
| the death of Mrs. Allen, but failed to
| find any trace of the document, thor
ough as the search had been.
Mr. Seymour then took the stand
and asked to testify concerning state
ments made to him by Mrs Allen re-
garding her will and her intentions.
Mr.. Countryman objected that the
communications between client and at
torney were privileged and could not
be divulged by the attorney
Judge WillTich stated that, while he
understood the rule in question, and
! realized its Importance, this being the
first time it had been raised in the
probate court he thought the court
possessed the right to go into these
matters if found material. Mrs Allen
being dead, could not object to the in
| PRODUCTION of statements she made.
II will say right here" declared the
| court, that 1 have concluded that !
will, as far as practicable. admit all
| evidence which is material and will
further the interests of Justice"
Mr.. Countryman charged that Mr..
Butler was striving to prejudice the
court by intimating that Mrs. Sanborn
had destroyed the will.
Mr.. Seymour's testimony was, in sub
stance, as follows:
The day after the death of E. B. AL
| fen. the husband of Mrs. Allen, June
| IA, 1897, he was called in by Mrs. Allen
and became her attorney. Upon the
| occasion of his first visit, Mrs. Allen
asked that a will be drawn. She was
in such a hurry about the matter that
the will was drawn with a lead pencil
then and there. duly signed and wit