The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-04

Mrs. William a. Byers of Salt Lake
City, wife of a weIl-known attorney,
is an heiress this morning. worth in
the neighborhood of $3.000O00 more
than she was yesterday, as the result
of the death in Lemont, near Chicago,
of Nathaniel ]. Brown, one of the
historical characters of the great mid
die west, who died yesterday, possessed
of an estate worth, as near as can be
ascertained, $7,0oO000.
Mrs. Byers, who is a grandniece of
the deceased, and who for years was
his private secretary and favOrite rela-
tive, is entitled to two-ffths of the es-
tate. but as the old gentleman decided
much of his property in the months
just preceding his death she is unable
to determine at this time just what
proportion of the fortune is hers and
is anXiOusly waiting for letters from
her attorneys and relatives so that she
may know just where she stands. Nor
viii Mrs. Byers get all of her share Of
the property without a fight. The dis
patch from Chicago announcing Mr..
Browns death said:
Prepared Two Wills.
Mr.. Brown, before his death, had
ordered two wills prepared, and the de-
cision as 20 which TO sign was a dra-
matte feature Of the aged testatOr's last
days. The property is realty in and
around Lemont. Mr.. BrWOn had been
i'll from drOpsy and his death was not
unexpected. AS he was a bachelor
with over seventy-five relatives, the
disposition of his property at his death
has for some time been ali object Of
deep concern. Mr. Brown was opposed
10 making a will. He declared that
If he should sign a will he would feel
| that ne had given away all of his prop
erty, and would no longer have a right
TO live, as all he had would belong to
other people.
But finally. knowing death was not
far off, the aged man had ordered two
wills drawn up. The one was made by
his fayorite nephew, l. l. Brown, and
II appointed him executor and admins
traitor of the estate. The other was
drawn up by Attorney Weik. who for
many years had been Mr.. Browns con-
fidenti2l adviser and business agent.
This will made a somewhat different
disposition Of the property.
Favored the Nephew.
When notified by the doctors that
Mr.. Brown could live only few hours
longer, the nephew and Attorney Weik
Went to the bedside each with the will
he had made out. The old man knew
the provisions of each, as they had
/ been read to him many times. He Law
on MS bed, looking sometimes at his
attorney and again changing his eyes
TO his nephew. The other visitors Won
dered if the dying man would finally
make up his mind and sign one Of the
wills or If death would slip in quietly
and too soon for him. Suddenly the pi-
oneer opened his eyes. looked at his
nephew and beckOned with his finger
The Will was placed on the bed before
him, pen put in his trembling fin
gers and he slowly and feebIy scra wled
his name at the bottom of the paper
The will was signed. 4 few hours at
terward the OLD man passed quietly
away
Story Is False.
When shown this dispatch at their
home last evening, Mr.. and Mrs Byers
eVinced no surprise at all, as they had
been getting message from LemOnt all
through the day. but they did say that
the article was false in many particu-
lars. In the first place, they do not be
lieve that Mr.. Brown signed will
ticle as a favorite nephew is not a ia
vorite at all, they affirm. but a fellow
who has hung around the old man for
years, waiting for him TO die, and hop
ing TO get something out of him. They
even go so far as TO intimate that he
might have used improper means TO
secure the signature to the will.
Mrs Byers said that her uncle had
been in a comatose condition for the
past week, and was totally unfit for
business; he had asserted time and time
again that he would never make a will.
and she is firm in the opinion that he
never did sign such an instrument of
his own free will. Mr. Byers is of the
opinion that the young man caught
hold of the old mans hand when he
was dying ana traced his signature for
him. He is satisfied that some kind Of
Will will be produced at the proper
time, and result in no end of trouble.
Not His Attorney.
Mr.. and Mrs. Byers say. too. that
the man Welk mentioned was not Mr.
Browns attorney; that ne was simply
employed TO collect the rents in the
town of Lemont, and that Mr.. Browns
real attorney was J. r. Custer of Chi
cago, the leading attorney for Phil Ar
mour. and that if will was to be ex-
ecuted this is the man who would have
been called in. The dramatic part of
the story was also ruled out by Mr.
and Mrs. Byers.
In speaking of the deceased, Mrs. BY
ers said that she and her brother and
sister had for many years been the IA
vorites of Mr.. Brown; he had really
adopted them after the death of their
parents, taking them into his own home
and rearing them as his own children.
She lived with him for thirteen wears,
and for a good part of that time was
his private secretary. Twelve years ago