New-York tribune., 1899-12-23
KENNEDY WILL Rejected
nocJ-,fENT CONSIDERED AS DESTROYED
BY THE TESTATOR
copy NOT ADMITTED TO PRoBATE-PREsBY
TERRAIN CHARITIES LOSE LARGE BE
QUESTS MADE BY HER TO THEM


eurrooote varnum late last evening handed
doyp a decision refusing to admit the VIII OF
Miss Rachel Lenox Kennedy, which the pro
! nononts alleged to have been either lost or he-
| s,roved 10 probate This decision wipes out
about S2JOOOO Of legacies 10 churches ana
charitable institutions and benefits Mary LehoN
Kennedy. the sister Of the testatrix ana H. van
! Rensselaer, Kennedy. by that sum
Miss Kennedy died at York cliffs, Me- on July
1898 She was seventy-two years old. ana lei,
as next Of kin and heirs at law her sister anu
rephew She was q member OF the LehoN la"'-
j ilv. which for generations waa noteworthy o'
account Of i:s liberal contributions 10 charitap'e'
, literary and religious institutions especia"'
| those I'm connection with tho PresOS terl"n
| Church She was buried on August :" 1850 anu
| Immediately afterward search was ihuue a.
her home No. Fl Ffth-avo. by her nephew auu
a Miss Platt her friend and companion ioI a
will which il was known she had executed. The
search proved fruitless
Tho nr1bate OF the will asked for chien|
/ nv the charitable and religious insu'utio"7
benefited by the will. These were the Presby-
tartan Rest ror Convalescents at White Plains
which received $4,000; the Presbyterian Home
Tor Aead Women which received S20NDo; the
New-York House and School OF Industry "hich
was 10 get $4,000: the Presbyterian Hospital
! and the Ncv-York Female Auxiliary Bible 70
| ciety each of which was to get $1,000 and the
Presbvterian Church ~ which Miss Kennedy
was a member. and for which she created
trust fund Of $4,000 She also. In codlcil 70
the will made provision for the Rev d. no"
ard Duftield pastor Of the First presbyterian
! Church: the Rev. DR.. Francis l.. Patton. pi
Princeton University. and Miss Platt her fr'end
ard companion.
The lost Will according to the proponents
bore date March 10, 1895. and the codicil NO
ven,ber :. 1897 Prior 10 her death the testatrlX
gave largely to New-York charities and church
work.
NEVER OUT OF HER POSSESSION
Surrogate varnum says that the evidence IN
the case is conclusive that the VIII was never
out Of Miss Kennedys possession, but was al
ways retained by her Miss Platt testlhed tha'
it was always kept In tin box in closet III
/ Miss Kennedys home, and that she saw IL there
| ten days before Miss Kennedy went 70 YORK
| Cliffs A few days before her departure MISS
! Kennedy's maid took the box to her mistress
Who removed some papers from it and placed
| them In her trunk, which she took WIN her 10
York Cliffs 1t does not appear, Surrogate Var
| nur, saws that the will was among these pa
pers.
the execution Of the will, under which Miss Ken
] nedv left 10 her grandniece and namesake
Rachel Lenox Kennedy, the daughter or H. van
| Rensselaer, Kennedy 100000; to Miss Platt
| 500 600 and a house and lot at White Plains
| and after the payment OF the various charltaple
bequests her resduary estate to her nephe"
! and TO her sister. Mary Lenox KENNEDY NO
claim he says has been made that the VIII was
fraudulently destroyed during Miss Kennedy's
| lifetime. He continues:
There only remains the question whether IL mas
been shown that the original Wn ~ MAS adsni III Inon
/ the decision OF this question hangs the success VI
failure OF this proceeding
Having cited several authorities on the sub
ject he says that he must absolutely hold the
will to have been destroyed by Miss Kennedy
unless positive and satisfactory proof 10 the
contrary could be produced sufficient TO over
come that presumption. The proponents sought
10 overcome that presumption by showing that
the decedent had nxed purpose not TO die in
testate. that the will and codcil were In ac-
cordance with her wishes. and that the Court
must be satisfied that she Internationally de-
stroyed the will.
They also made the direct charge that the Will
had been destroyed by some persons having ac-
cess to it, with the distinct intimation that the
persons were her nephew and Charles L. Du-
vale clerk in his employ, who had at one time
been an agent of the testatrix.
THE REQUESTS TO CHARITIES.
Surrogate Varnum deals at some length with
the contention OF the proponents OF the will that
Miss Kennedys generous aid TO charities and
her support OF the Presbyterian Church finan-
cially showed that she did not intend TO destroy
her will and did not destroy it. He says
II vyo entertain the consideration OF the specula-
tions OF the proponents counsel as 70 proba bites
| we must OF course. also consider such specuatons
suggested by the counse ror the tne sesPoha
named as beneGcares under her will. and 10 whom
claims upon her superior to those of her own blood
II is probable that in her last illness. and in the
the former 10 the latter, either through affection
or family pride. and that she finally determlneq 20
expend this large additional sum n charity ,esps,
cially her estate had diminished greatly III
amount
With reference to an assertion by the pro-
ponents that Miss Kennedy was not on friendly
terms with her sister. the Surrogate says that
the evidence introduced Is insufficient TO show
more than that their relations were not espe-
cally intimate, "as is not infrequently the case
between members Of the same family There
is nothing, however. he adds, to show that there
was any positive breach between them, and
that fact the decedent has emphasized by nam.
ing her sister as one of her residuary legatees.
Surrogate Narnum cites a number or autnor-
ities to show that missing Will cannot be
proved except on the clearest testimony or It's
existence at the time of the testators death,
and saws that the mere existence OF the Will
six or eight weeks before the death Of the de
cedent will not affect the presumption that 1t
was destroyed by her With the intent to re-
woke II.
Finally. the proponents have strongly. N not
specifically charged that the will Of the decedent
being in existence al her death. was suppressed.
purloned or fraudulently made away with after
her decease either by the decedent's nephew or by
his clerk. Duvale sinsy or In cooperation.
The charge is a very serious one No one outside
OF servants was with her at her own residence
before she left New-York. or at York cliffs, until
her death but Miss Platt. her friend and compau ion
"a beneficiary TO large amount under terms OF
the missing will. and therefore naturally interested
TO sustain 1t.