Waterbury Democrat., 1902-05-02
CHAPMAN WILLS.
Attorney Gillette Tells About
 Drawing Them Up.
TWO WILLS WERE EXECUTED.

Sons of His Brother-A Naighbor of the Dead Man Testified That He Considered Him Incompetent to
 Make q Will the Last Five Years of
 His Life.
 The fourth days battle for the $114,- GOO left by the late Daniel l.. Chipman to his young widow Sarah, began i'll the superior court to-day, after Judge Robinson had adjourned his court 10 next Tuesday. Judge Huntington of Woodbury presided at the hearing. There were not as many present as at the last hearing.
 The first witness was Attorney c. w. Gillette. He testified that i.e drew two wills for MT Chipman before his last marriage. In these wills he pro- yided well for his wife, his church and l his brothers sons. There was also an ante-nuptial agreement with his first wife by which she was well provided for in case of accident. What the par ticular provision was witness did not recall. MT Williams objected, but MT O'Neill claimed the question to show that in his younger days AIr Chipman's ideas were far different from what they were in his declining years. How ever. witness could not recall what par l tlcular provision was made for the first 1 Mrs Chlpman. He denied that the will III dispute was drawn up or signed by the witnesses ill a dark room. in ,'9S, when witness had his last business re- latlons with testatOr, the latter was not as strong physically as he had been. put he seemed mentally as strong as ever, though he complained of his mem- ory and having forgotten some things which he seemed necessary to the busi- ness referred to. He could not say if
 Mr Chipman could be easily influenced
 then or at the time he made his will.
 Witness remembered very well l,roy-
 ing the will in the presence of the three
 witnesses in the rear room in lis office.
 but he did not remember proving the
 codicil which cut off the nephews. He
 could not recall having any conyersa-
 ton with MT Chipman regarding the
 codlcil. Explaining MT Chinman's
 physical weakness, witness said that
 he frequently had to help him down
 the stairs to witness's office His hear
 Ing also was very defective Asked if
 ne was as feeble as the average rian
 or ms age, witness said that he seemed
 70 nm weaker. Going into details in
 this respect he said his hands and his head trembled more than the ayera ge
 man of 80 years of age.
 James E. Smith, of the T. E Smith Go, was the next witness MT Smith had a number of the books of his concern. He was called 10 show what T. Fl. Hayes expended in buildine material with his concern for use in the property he has leased from MT Chipman. His books. however. had
 not the information, and he was ex.
 cused.
 George E. Adams, Town Plot, fol. lowed MT Smith on the stand He said , he was neighbor of MT Chipman fol } over twenty years. The last transac- l ton he had with Mir Chipman was about the time of his last maria ge : Then he traded hay tether with him TOT COW. He thought then Mir Chip man was a little off. for a short time before he offered him $40 for the COW Witness wanted S5 to boot and gor it The value of the tether was sos. Be
 fore trading MT Chipman asked FranL
 Prichard what he thought of the propo : sition and Prichard said he did no1 l care to say. as it was none of his busi 2 ness. During the last five ,ears. il s witness's opinion, Mir Chipman's min( e was not the best. and he was not strons : i'll his memory. and during the last five v years of his life he was not competen h to make a will. Witness considered e Mir Chipman very childish. He coult
 be easily influenced by anyone who dit
 a kindness or by one whom he liked
 illustrating Mir Chipman's "childish :, ness witness said he heard d noise il h 1Tsl 2 T door witness saw Mir Chipman in = light buggy a cow hitched behind ant t a lot of dogs barking at the cow Th, ' latter got frightened and upset til, a buggy. The hitching of the cow t, = the buggy witness considered childish 7 for anyone, he said, who knew any
 thing, would know that the cow woult
 upset such a light buggy
 MT Adams named other incidents O
 what he called Mir Chipman's childish
 ness. One was to purchase or tall ? of purchasing "a nice new wagon fo nice young wife, The other wa e less definite It was a trade of Q stanchion MT Chipman alway 'l tTembled and shook as long as wit 2 ness knew him. The first time wit ,- ness borrowed of him the sum wa 1T about $1,200. He shook and he use, " to shake every time witness went t
 pay him the interest MT William
 wanted to know if MT Chipma
 trembled more at the borrowing tha le at the paying of the interest, but vii g ness could not tell him. Adams di le not mean when he said that MT Chip is man was "a little easy'' that he coul d. easily be cheated He did not COT d sider the trade of the tether for tn L., cow and S5 cheating. MT Chipma
 had had the tether on trial, wherea
 witness had not had the cow on tria
 He did not think then whether or nc le Mir Chipman was competent to trans ts act business. In some matters. fro1 O. what he had seen of him, he did nc le think him competent and now Il 's would say that when MT Chipma le traded the COW and S5 for the ha
 tether he was incompetent. NIr Wi
 Hams got witness to admit that
 considered himself harshly dealt wit if by Mir Chipman i'll coming down o le him. in '93 for his note, when it wa s. impossible almost to borrow none as He did not say that he would g i'd square with him for this, but an vowed that he would get square vii
 Mrs Chipman by helping to bury \