The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-12-15
ROOSEVELT REQUEST FALLS In
$4,000 SOON FOR THE PRESI-
DENT: $4,000 MORE LATER.
VIII of His Uncle. C.. v. 8. Roosevelt. Who
Died In 1857. Construed-President One
OF Ten Residuary Lesatees-Nothins
for Dorothy. n FavOrite C~randniece.


President Theodore Roosevelt will re-
ceive about 8 1000 as the result OF a pend
ing accounting Of the estate Of His uncle,
Cornelius Van Scbaick Roosevelt, and
upon the death Of annuitants provided
for by the will. he or his estate will get
about $4,000 more as nearly as can be es-
timated. He il one Of ten nephews
and nieces who, or whose estates. share
in the residuary state under the will. The
others are Alfred Roosevelt, deceased;
w. Emlen Roosevelt. Leila Roosevelt Schuy-
Ter. now Mrs. Edward Reeve Merritt; Anna
l.. Roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt, deceased.
and Corinn Robinson. the three latter
being Theodore Roosevelt's brothers and
sisters: John F.. Roosevelt, James West
Roosevelt, deceased, and Frank Roose-
welt, deceased.
Cornelius Van Schaick Roosevelt died
in 1887 at Maplewood, South Orange. n. j.,
leaving a widow. Laura H., and no children.
He left considerably more than a million.
The estate was tied up for the life Of the
widow. She died on March 20. 1900. Al
that time under the will annuities began
az follows: 81 900 to the testator's brother
in-law. Seth Groevenor Porter; $1,000 TO
the latter's son Grosvenor A. Porter; $500
each to Laura Gertrude Roosevelt and
iklAh W.T., WV vi III
Roosevelt: 5000 to the testator's sister
in-law, Maria Geddes Mensing, and IS 900
TO each Of her children, Laura r. and
Elfrieda g., any two survivors Of the three
to take 81 500 a year each and the last sur
vivor the whole SIS, 600 a year.
There were twelve nephews and nieces
Cthe nephew Cornelius being specifically
barred) who were 10 have taken the residue
and the remainder after the %annuities
should expire. But Mary Z. Roosevelt
n Hilborne l.. Roosevelt dice before
the testator died, The court having been
appealed to by the executors to construe
the will, Justice Lawrence holds that the
will treated the nephews and nieces as a
class, not as individuals and that the be-
quest to those who died before the testator
goes not TO their estate, but 10 the rest of
the class.
Dorothy Roosevelt, daughter of Hilborne
L.. is now 10 years old and was a ~favorite
of the testator. The interest he took in
her was shown at the trial 40 as to give the
impression that the testator thought she
would come in under the will. Her father,
as just said. was one of the residuary lega-
tees who died before the testator. II
was hoped that his daughter would be
brought in for a share of the estate by
virtue of a law passed in New Jersey regard
ing substituted legatees, but the court
| holds that the law cannot help her because
,her father had dice a year before the law
was passed.
Questions as TO whether alienation had
been unlawfully suspended the court de-
cides in favor of the will, saying that under
the common law prevailing in New Jersey
trusts of both real and personal property
may be created for any number of lives
in being at the time Of the death of the
testator and for twenty-one years there
after.
The courts may yet have 10 decide
whether or not the provision for the Men
sings by which the survivor gets the an
nuities of all three Is valid.