The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-02
DISPUTE OVER A WILL
SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE IN HEAR
ING OF CAVEAT PROCEEDINGS.
CHILDREN ARE DIVIDED.
ONE DAUGHTER BELIEVED EXEC
UTOR ENERTED HYPNOTIC
INFLUENCE.

INFLUENCE.
Much Feeling Aroused I'm the Hear
ing of Testimony in Caveat to the |
Probate in Solemn Form of the |
Will of Mrs. Mary Barrett-HOuse |
Divided Against One Another.
Charges of Fraud Were Made, and
All of the Evidence Was Conflict
ing-Case of Fact Hinges on Cues
tiOn of whether or Not Mrs. Bar
rett Believed She Burned Her Last
VIII.
Strenuous objections were offered by
the plaintiffs in the caveat proceed
ings against the probate of the will
of Mrs. Mary Barrett, to the attend
ance of newspaper representatives on
| the rebuttal testimony yesterday after
noon, which was the final act in one
of the most sensational cases that has
yet come to the attention of Judge Nc
Alpin in the Ordinary's Court. Judge
! McAlpin, however, was supported in
his position that there was no law
under which outsiders could be barred
from hearing the proceedings by plain
tiffs' counsel.
The case at issue, which has been oc-
cupying the attention of the Ordinary
for the last two days, brings out the
history of family troubles that existed
in the Barrett family for several
months previous to the death of Mrs.
Mary Barrett, mother of Mrs. Ella V.
Sutcliffe, Mrs. Deborah Cunningham,
Mrs. F. X. Courtenay and Edward
Barrett.
Mrs. Mary Barrett died June %, last,
and when her will, disposing of real
and personal property, was offered for
probate, a caveat was filed by Mrs.
Sutcliffe, Mrs. Cunningham and Ed
ward Barrett, they being left out of
the will in which Mr.. and Mrs. Courte-
nay were made the beneficiaries.
The rebuttal testimony, concluding
the taking of evidence in the case, was
offered before Judge McAlpin. Mrs.
COurtenay was the first witness.
Claimed She Was HypnOtized.
1t appeared that the contentious of
| the bringers of the caVeat had been
that Mrs. Barrel had made a will
previous to her death, which only pro-
|
| husband. An effort was made to prove
that Mr.. Courtenay had exercised what
Mrs. Sutcliffe termed hypnotic power
over the deceased i'll getting her TO
| make this last will, and that Mrs.
| Barrett had, just before her death, be-
come so incensed at her daughter, Mrs.
! Courtenay, who was the main bene-
ficiary, that she decided to destroy
her will, and so told Mr.. Courtenay,
| and dramatic description of the de-
| struction of the last instrument dis
posing of her property was given by
the bringers of the caveat. 1t was
| alleged, however, that the paper which
Mrs. Barrett destroyed, thinking it
was her will, was a worthless piece of
paper, palmed off on her by Mr.. Cour-
tenay at the last moment as the paper
which she wished to destroy. This was
denied in toto by the defendants to
the caveat proceedings, and it was
| positively asserted that no such scene
ever took place.
The Baltimore "Incident."
The evidence of Mrs. Courtenay was
to show that there had been ill feel
ing between Mrs. Barrett and her
daughter, Mrs. Cunningham. This, she
stated, grew primarily out of troubles
some time previous in Baltimore in
which Mrs. Cunningham figured. She
further stated that Mrs. Cunningham
ana Mrs. Sutcllffe declared to her that
they would swear that the last will
had been burned. Mrs. Courtenay
made straightforward statement and
though closely cross-questioned did not
allow herself to be trapped.
Mrs. Rosa A. Horton of SAT Taylor
street, east, who was a neighbor of
Mrs. Barrett before her death, stated
that both she and Mrs. Barrett had
sons in the Philippines, which brought
fI1.,R,1 IL -
fled that two days before Mrs. Bar
rett was confined to her bed in her
final illness that Mrs. Barrett was at
her house, and said that she had made
her last will, giving all of her proper
ty to her dear children, Nona," mean
ing Mrs. Courtenay, and Tom,"
meaning Tom Barrett. Mrs. Norton
asked if nothing was to be left to the
other children, and Mrs. Barrett re-
piled in the negative, stating that
they all had plenty"
Ill Feeling at the Funeral.
Mrs. Edward Barrett testified to a
conversation that took place in the
Barrett home on the day the mother
of the children was to be buried She
said that while the coffin was lying
in the room with Mrs. Barrett's re-
mains in it that some one made the
statement that Tom Barrett was to
which was in the bank, and that Mrs.
Courtenay then said she would have
none of the property then, if Tom was
to share it with her.
Mrs. Cunningham also testified to
the effect that there was ill feeling
between Mrs. Barrett and her daughter
Mrs. Courtenay and that the will had
been burned, as stated by Mrs. Ed
ward Barrett, at least that Mrs. Bar
rett, the mother, had thought she was
burning the will.
There was much testimony of bitter
feelings between members of the fam
lily and of family rows, all of which
was conflicting, and when the testi-
mony was finally concluded, Judge
McAlpin stated that all that he saw in
the case was questions of fact. Ar
gument will be heard this afternoon.
JudiciOus Advertising.