The morning news., 1899-11-11
DENIED THE WILLS EFFECT.
MRS. CRoTTY's CAVEAT TO THE
WILL OF MRS. ANDERSON.


Produced by "a Negroes Attempt to
Enter Her ROOm-Mrs. Smith,
NeighbOr, offered to Prove a Verbal
VIII Disposing of Her Property.
Judge FerriII Has Reserved His
Decision in the Fight over the
VIII.
Evidence and arguments for and against
the probate in solemn form of the nun
cupative will of Bridget Anderson, or Cul-
cane, were heard by Judge Ferrill in the
Court of Ordinary yesterday. A caveat TO
the probate had been filed by Agnes Crot-
ty. niece and heir at law of the decedent.
Judge FerriH reserved his decision.
The case has the elements of a romance.
Old Mrs. Anderson had lived for a great
many years in a tumble-down shanty on
Habersham street and by thrift and econ
omy and the small and large
sacrifices had accumulated about 49,
OCO worth of property, mainly money
on deposit in some of the savings
banks of the city. She was reputed to be
the possessor of large sums of money, even
larger than was actually the case. and it
was commonly thought that she kept It
concealed in some nook or crevice of the
old shanty in which she lived.
In August, at an early hour one morn
ing a negro attempted to effect an en-
trance into the house and nearly succeed
ed. He was frightened away by the cries
of the old woman, whom he awoke from
her dreams, and made his escape.
But in turn he had badly frightened Mrs.
Anderson, and threw her into condition
of terror from which she never emerged.
A few days afterwards she was dead.
After the DEATH what is known in the
law as a nuncupative WILL disposing of
her property, was filed in court Such
will is permitted when the person by whom
it is made is in extremis mortis, yet con-
scious and of sound and dlspOsing memory
The law prescrbes certain formalties of
execution, as TO the testimony of witnesses
and the like by which it must be sur
rounded and the viii filed, in which Mrs
Dora Smith was made the sole legatee of
all the possessions of Mrs. Anderson, made
out a good prima facie case of this char
ac&er. The will ignored Mrs. Crotty, who
is a niece of the dead woman, residing in
Pooler, and who was not by her side at
the time of her death.
A caveat to the probate of the will in
solemn form was filed by Mrs. Crotty. who
| charged ltldl LOT TWO or three QdyS plSCSA-
| ing her death, during which time 1t had
| been alleged that the nuncupative will had
| been made, Mrs. Anderson was in an al
most or quite moribund condition and not
| able to make an intelligent and reasonable
! disposition of the estate.
1t was this caveat that was heard by
! Judge Ferrill. A number of witnesses
were introduced on the part of both Mrs.
| Crotty and Mrs. Smith. From the testi-
mony of Mrs. Smith it appeared that she
/ had tended Mrs. Anderson in her last III
ness, and that 1t was a sense of gratitude
! that induced the Old woman to remember
/ her after her death She described now
the testatrix had called her to her death
bed and told her she wanted her TO have
/ the property. This was in the presence
Of witnesses, who were called and cor
roborated the story.
! Mr. Joseph Goette was called on the part
| of the caveator to dispute certain state
nents that had been made by Mrs. Smith
| relative to her conversations with him ar
| ter the death of Mrs. Anderson in regard
| to the preparation for burial and the act
ual burial of the body. Mr.. Goette de-
| MED in the most absolute terms that any
| such conversations as Mrs. Smith had de-
scribed had ever taken place, telling in
| turn what he said were the true facts,
that nut a very different light on the mat
| ter and tended to snow that Mrs. Smith
| had been most desirous that neither Mrs.
/ Crotty nor any other of the relatives
! should be permitted to know of the death
of Mrs. Anderson, in time to attend the
funeral. Placed on the stand in rebuttal,
these statements of Mr.. Goette's were in
turn denied by Mrs. Smith
So the trial of the case proceeded.
Though there were statements and coun-
| ter-statements charges and counter
charges. from the time the hearing began
| until it closed the witnesses for the two
| sides of the case could agree on scarcely
| a single point other than that Mrs. An
derson was dead and had left some money.
| There was hearty unanlmity about this
| that contrasted strongly with the dissen-
sions and disagreements that marked the
| witnesses recolections of the points in
| dispute. DIR. Dunn stated that he had
seen Mrs. Anderson on the night of her
| death and that he considered her then
| in moribund condition, from which IL
was very improbable that she could have
| recovered sufficiently TO make an intelli-
gent disposition of the property 1t was
after this time that she was said to have
given her property to Mrs. Smith.
The case was argued for Mrs. Crotty by
Col. p. w. Meldrim and for Mrs. Smith
by Mr.. w. H. Way. Col Meldrim urged
the impossibility of Mrs. Anderson ever
being in a condition to make a sensible
and intelligent disposition of the property
and emphasized the legal requirement that
wills of the character then submitted to
pIoDdtS bnOulu DI SNfictly pIONeu II was
hardly likely, Col. Meldrim argued, that
Mrs. Anderson should have given her
property to one who had done her but lit
tie service, to the dislnheriting or her own
kith and kin.
/ On the other hand Mr.. Way urged that
the will had been proved in strict terms of
the law, and that the probabilities, even
supported his contention that Mrs. Apder-
son would have liked to reward the devo-
ton of Mrs. Smith, in her attentions while
| the testatrix was on her death bed. Judge
| Ferrill reserved his decision.