Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-03-27
COUNTY COURT.


went to trial Friday morning, March
18th. 1t appeared from the evidence
that Alfred Brown had made his home
for about twenty years prior to his
decease with George L. Hermon OF
Coventry, the sole beneficiary under
Browns will The will was contested
by the daughters of the deceased
the ground of contention being that
undue influence had been exercised
over the deceased by Hermon in pro-
curing the will to be made solely in
his favor. The case had previously
been tried in the probate court and
the will was there sustained. The
evidence tended to show that since
the deceased had lived with Hermon
the contestants lad done scarce any
thing toward taking care of him and
had only visited him during his sick
ness; that the deceased had had con-
siderable sickness while making his
home at Hermon's. At one time he
had lost an eye while working in
Hermon's mill, and on another occa-
sion had been seriously injured by a
falling tree in the woods; that at all
times the expenses of his sickness
had been paid by Hermon, who had
also, as the contestants testified on
cross ssexamination, at all times given
the deceased the best Of care and at
his death had given him decent
burial, and had always cared for him
as a son would for father. The evil
dence also showed that Hermon had
always settled the store bills of the
deceased, and had besides paid him
$500 in money, and that Brown had
been a man of ordinary firmness of
mind and had acted voluntarily in
making his will although it had been
suggested to him by Hermon that he
make such disposition of his prop
erty as he did.
The claim on the part of the con-
testants was that Brown while stay
ing SO many years at Hermon's had
earned considerable more than had
ever been paid him and evidence was
introduced to show that Brown was
something of a mechanic and had
been employed by Hermon a greater
part of the time in the latter's mill.
The case went to the jury Tuesday
forenoon and in a short time a ver-
dict was returned sustaining the
will.
J. W. Redmond appeared as at
torney for the proponent, and E. A.
Cook for contestants.
The estate of the deceased was
small and the will was contested on
the part of the heirs of Brown for the
purpose of laying grounds for sub
sequent suit in which they proposed
to recover wages for the time which
Brown had spent in Hermon's en-
ploy.
Tuesday afternoon the case of W.
P. Holton VS.. Chas. J. Ufford was
taken up. This was an action of
trover and was brought for the
conversion of colt sold by the de-
fendant to the plaintiff.
The evidence in this case tended to
show that some time during the
spring of '95 the defendant sold the
plaintiff two year old colt, taking
a conditional sale note with stipula
tion that the colt should not be har-
messed or driven until fall. The
plaintiff took the colt to his home in
Charleston, and sometime during the
summer went away, leaving the colt
in the care of Mr.. Wrighter of Charles
ton and leaving money to pay Mr..
Wrighter for it's keeping.
Mr.. Ufford was notified by Mr..
Wrighter during the fall that the colt
was at his place and that as he had
received practically nothing for it's
keeping he should look to the de-
fendant for his pay.
As the conditions for payment in
the note had at this time been broken
Mr.. Ufford went to Charleston at
once and recovered his colt, which
on the way home became lame and
when within about mile of home
laid down and had to be drawn the
of the way on a sled. Mr.
Ufford said the colt was scarcely able
to stand for about two months there
after; that it remained lame for more
than year, and that it will never be
a sound horse. He said in his opinion
the colt was spoiled by over feeding
and lack of exercise. Mr.. Ufford also
testified that after keeping the horse
about two years he had it sold at
sheriff's sale and bid it off himself.
The claim on the part of the plain
tiff was that although the conditions