The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-05
HENRY M. TABER'S WILL
STRANGE DOCUMENT WRITTEN BY A
PROGRESSED PRESBYTERIAN.
All Religion Denounced as veriest
Sham and as Having Its Origin
in wicked Superstition.

NEW YORK, Jan. 4-One of the most re-
markable wills ever fled in the office of the
surrogate is that of Henry Morehouse Taber,
offered for probate to-day. In spite of the
fact that Mr.. Taber was president and treas
urer of the board of trustees Of the First
Presbyterian Church, in the opening clauses
of his will he denounces all religion as sham
and as having its origin in superstition. He
requests that no services be held over his
tody, and that it be cremated. Mr.. Taber
died on Christmas eve at the age of sew
enty-three years. Two children, Sidney
Richmond Taber and Mary Taber, survive
the testator, and to them the entire estate
valued at over 100000, is given absolutely
The will is in the handwriting of the testator
and contains the following:
believing that all religions including
CnrlSClanlty, are SuperStitlOnS; that the
basic doctrine of the Christian religion
the fall of man-iS utterly and absolutely
false, and that its opposite-the rise of man
from the lower OrderS-iS a scientific fact;
that beliefs in (so-called) miracles are hall
lucinations of the brain, and never had the
silghtest existence in fact that the chief
characteristics of what is termed the word
or God are injustice, cruelty, untruthfulness
ana obscenity; that the effect of orthodox
CHRISTIAN teaching is to encourage ignor-
ance, selfishness, Observation-Disclosures, acri-
moniOuSnesS, intolerance, wrong and mental
slavery sat cry that Christianity, so.called, is
etmcal culture and true morality with
meaningless theology and unbelievable
dogmas; that 1t puts an unknown (and prob
ably unknowable) imaginary being in the
place of nature; that it gives a name and
a personality to civilian equally unknown
ana imaginary being; that it so works upon
the credulity of its adherents as to incite
In them fear of Chat most horrible of
uoctrlnesl eternal punishment say, be-
ieving all these, l, in all kindness and in
all earnestneSs, request that over my re-
man there be no religious services of any
KIND, nature, or description whatever. L
also request that my body be cremated at
Fresh Pond or other crematory, and that
my ashes be left there"
Mr.. Taber was a director in the Hope,
Sterling, Standard, Great Western Com
mercial, Mutual and Home Insurance COM
panies, trustee of the Manhattan Savings
Institution, director of the ST. Nichols and
Continental banks and the Continental
Trust Company. vice president of the Rich
mond County Gas Light Company, presi-
dent of the Northern Dispensary, a manager
and the recording secretary of the Presby-
terrain Hospital, president and treasurer of
the board of trustees of the First Presby-
terrain Church, president of the New York
Cremation Society," member of the Cotton
Exchange, the Chamber of Commerce, the
advisory committee of the United States
Lloyds, the Union League, Nineteenth
Century and Manhattan Liberal Club, the
Society for Ethical Culture and the Mer-
camille Library Association. He was a life
member of the Museum of Natural History,
the Charity Organization Society," the Clin-
ton Hall Association, the New England So
ciety, the New York Historical, the Ameri-
can Geographical Society, the Academy of
Design and the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.