The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-07
HOUSEKEEPER COMMITS HEIR
SHE PREVENTED HIS BRAIN CO.
ING TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY.
His Body Cremated At Once Despite Pro-
tests by the Doctors Reiatives-He
Had Left II to q Medical SchOol-An.
cry Relatives Want an Explanation.

ttSts Dy INC DOCtOTb ncintiNeo-"o
Had Left II to . Medical SchOol-An-
cry Relatives Want an Explanation.
1t is practically certain that relatives
of DR.. George S. Conant, who died on Sept. %
In his apartment at las East Eighteenth
street, after willing his brain to the Cornell
Medical College for experimental purposes,
will call on Mrs. Louise Ruebsamen, DR..
Conants housekeeper and the eIecutrix
Of his will as well as the sole beneficiary
under it, to explain why his body was hur-
riedly cremated without his requests being
carried into effect.
Announcement that such action would
probably be taken was made yesterday
by George H. Benjamin, a lawyer, Of As
Broadway, whose daughters. Mrs H. H.
Rogers, Jr., and Mrs. Frances Page, are
cousins of the dead man and among the
nearest kin This announcement was made
after the will had been filed for probate.
The will is brief. 1t says:
I.George S. Conant, of the city Of New York.
in consider alton that Mrs, Louise Ruebsameni
and myself have agreed to make mutual
will of all our property and estate. one to the
SON. john P, Ruebssmen. and being Of sound
disposng mind and memory and considering
the uneertainlty of NE 40 make publish ana
as follows, hereby revolving all other and for
mer wills by me at any time made.
| give and devise and bequeath to the said
Mrs. Louise Ruebsamen all my property
and estate. both real and personal, and o.
whatsoever nature the same may be Of which
shall die possessed or in any manner be en-
titled to.
request my, executri! to carry out the
laboratory of Cornell University. / request
them also to offer my body to any one Of the
Heal hoo ct thA ,tt Nf Nnn nj
for the purposes of dissection, and in case
all of them refuse to accept desire that my
body be cremated.
The dead man. relatives including several
cousins, besides Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Page,
declare that not only was the provision in
his will regarding the bequest Of his brain
to Cornell disregarded by Mrs. Ruebeamen.
but she made no effort to carry out his ex-
pressed desire to have the body turned
over to the medical school. II DIR. Conant
wished his body to go to the cause OF science
in the study Of this disease, his desire, they
say, ought to have been respected.
- At least two men interested in DR.. Conant,
Ralph Seymour. a cousin, and Edwin Sey-
mour. whose wife was a cousin, assert that
Mrs. Ruebsamen, Of whom they had never
heard before DR.. Commits death. she being
no relative. had the body cremated against
their protests.
Messrs. Seymour and Wildman say that
they called at DIR. Conant's apartment on
the morning of Sept. "a ~ soon as they
heard Of his death. They we're met at the
door by servant, who told them that Mrs.
Ruebeamen was taking charge Of the body.
Mrs. Ruebsamcn, they learned. had been
for five or ak years Or. Commits house,
keeper occupying the apartment on the
floor above. They were also informed
at the apartment that the doctor had willed
his brain to Cornell. but Mrs. Ruebsamen
did not propose to allow the bequcet to be
carried out.
Later they called on d. Walter Brown,
lawyer friend OF DR.. Conant, who repre-
scented Mrs Ruebsamen, and learned from
him that the body was TO be cremated the
next morning. They protested, demand
ing that an autopsy be held and threaten
the cremation. The lawyer told them then
that the body had been embalmed at Mrs.
Ruebsamen's order and that an autopsy
would be useless.
To avoid bringing DR.. Conant's memory
into unpleasant notoriety they did nothing
A few days later relatives found DR.. Co.
nants apartment disma ntled. Since then
they have been unable to get any salts
factory statement as to what has become
Mrs. Ruebsamen. il is said, has offered
several valuable herlooms which he left
Mrs. Ruebsamen comes Of good family,
her father being Louis Neuman. owner of
large lithographing plant at 130th street
and Park avenue. Her brother Louis f.
Neuman now owns it. II is said that she
separated from her husband several years
ago.
DR.. Commits will was executed last June.
1t was witnessed by the superintendent
and the janitor Of the building in which
his apart ments were. Mrs. Ruebsamen
values the estate at 900 in real and $500
in personal property.