Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-29
.SPINSTER SCORNS
MAN; LOVES DOGS
ALSO KEEPS CATS, cows AND
HORSES
Estate Worth S125,ooo Explicitly
Willed Away from Her by Only
Notwithstanding Inci=
dents Related

| Special to The Herald
! NEW YORK, March 2S.-Miss Ia
nctte Suffern of Sumern. N. Y. Is IN
years old, six feet tall, careless as to
dress but highly educated. She has
entirely turned her back on humankind
and lives instead with collection Of
domestic animals that she says are
cleaner than men and women and in
finitely more honest.
Her immediate family consists OF
twenty-eght dogs, seventeen cats.
thirty head of cattle, twenty sheep,
eleven swine. seventeen horses and a
pony stallion. An eighteenth horse
gained her displeasure last week by
stealing corn from a stablemate, so she
| turned him out.
Miss Suffern is a person of wealth
and social circumstances in Suffern.
being the only surviving issue of
| George Suffern, after whom Suffern
is named. AS a girl she went to the
best schools, and an accredited young
ladies' seminary" and finished it all off
with two years in Paris at q conserva-
tory Of music. She could sing once
gorgeously Suffern folk say, but that
was years ago. After her fathers
death she quarreled with Edward E
Suffern, her brother. After his death
she contested his will.
The will was made in 1904 while Ed
ward Suffern was resident of New
York, and opens as follows:
"I. Edward Suffern, wish 1t distinctly
understood, in the event of anyone at
| tempting to contest this will, that 7
herein state my desire after mature de-
| liberation, that 1 know them and NV
| intentions better than any other per
son, judge, jury or court, or all com
| bined, and that they cannot honestly
! construe or interpret them otherwise
than as I herein direct; and finally I
positively direct and order that no con-
testant, should one or any appear, have
anything whatever from my estate.
either real or personal"
Cuts Off His Sister
Then it bequeaths most of his estate
to the Catherine Henriette Suffern
fund of Christ church, Episcopal. in
Suffern, and closes with this clause
"To the person known as my sister.
Janette Suffern, give absolutely moth
ing whatever, as we have been dead to
each other, except as far as business
relations compelled recognition, most
of our lives, and it is my wish, desire
and firm intention that this condition
shall continue at and after my decease.
"Note-I mention this merely to
avoid question, because since we be-
came of age we have separated, and
there has been no particular affection
existing between us that 1 am aware
Of"
Miss Suffern was on hand when the
will was filed for probate in Newburg.
Her brothers estate was worth S125,0OO
being half as much as her father left
when he died. She still has the other
half with increments. In describing
Christ church he called it "of Suffern,"
when it really was organized in 1860 as
Christ's OF "Ramapo." So Miss Suf-
fern started a contest of which the
end is not vet.
If the clause in the will enriching
Christ church be proven invalid about
100000 in farm lands will revert to
Miss Suffern, who was so expressly ex-
| cluded.
She has farm at Garnerville, one at
| Tallman's, one at Ramsay and one at
| Suffern. Her residence is any one of
them when she chooses and a little box
of home in Suffern village when she
chooses neither.
Wears Cowhide Boots
Her goings and comings, which are in
cowhide boots on foot, malgre the
seventeen horses and the pony stallion,
are invariable heralded and attended
by most of the twenty eight dogs
After the last fall of snow a boy one
day threw a SNOWFALL at one of her
dogs. The howl that it howled was a
sad affair. The next day all the school,
boys in Suffern were on the streets
prepared to have some more of it.
But Miss Suffern is something of
strategist. She came up the street
about in the afternoon bound for her
village farm, where the stork had just
| brought calf to the roam COW. Her
dogs were at her skirts in close order
and she resembled Diana in that she
carried a double-barreled, hammerless
gun. The street boys dived for cover
| like rabbits. Janette marched on to the
door of her barn, turned and looked
at what was left of the crowd, and
then "broke" the gun in their faces
blew through the empty barrels and
| laughed out loud.
There are four churches in the viii
lage-Christ's Episcopal Catholic, a
Methodist and a Presbyterian.
She eschewed Christ church because
her brother had a pew there and be-
gan with the Catholic church. 1t was
| built by Thomas f. Ryan. whose coun-
| try place is a mile away from one Oh
her farms.
One Sunday she came to high mass,
! dogs and all. She marcheu GOWN tne
middle aisle with the collection pad
ding after her and installed herself in
n front new that was not hers. or
course there was objection TO the dogs.
Miss Suffern laughed and said lit
tie gospel might do them good. The
sexton took issue with her by ejecting
the nearest dog, using the dogs tail
for n handle. Miss Suffern went away
! In an exultant frame of mind. Her cows
cot out of her barn that night and in
| the morning there were the depreda-
tions Of her cattle where the day be-
fore had been the flower beds that
We're the glory of the church grass
|
pomnd master rounded the herd up and
| =, nes..,, bo n m nt1rnbaSa their fraa-