The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-02-23
HINTS OF SUICIDE
 IN WOMAN'S DEATH Mrs. Burdens Sad Fate Is
 Causing Much Sorrow TALE OF DISINHERIT TANCE Grandfather of Mrs. Burden Left Her Out of the WiII-PecuIiarity of Death Is Cause of Doubt
 As To Accident.
TALE OF DISAPPEARANCE
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New York. February 22.-(Specia1.)- Mrs Natica Rives Burden, the beautiful society, matron who was killed by gas in the home of her mother-in-law at Fifth avenue and Seventy y-second street, was dislnherited, it was learned today, by her grandfather the late August Bel mont.
 The father of Perry August and Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, inserted the dis inheriting clause in his will when Natica Rives, daughter of O. II. P. Belmont, by his first wife, and now Mrs. Geo. L. Rives, was years old.
 This clause, declaring that no issue of o. II. P. Belmonts first wife should share in the estate reads:
 No issue of my son Oliver Hazard Belmont shall share in any part of my property except such issue as shall be born to him from wife to be chosen by him at some future time"
 The will was made in 1889, after o. H. P Belmont's wife, the mother of Nat ica, obtained her divorce and married MT. Rives. Mrs. Burden will be buried on Monday in the Burden family vault in Oakwood cemetery outside their native city of Troy.
 In view of the distressing circumstances of the beautiful young matrons death her funeral will be quiet and private. 1t will be attended only by Ahe nearest rel atives of the Rives and Burden fami- lies Brief services will be held in the Woodlawn Presbyterian church, which was built by the Burdens and stands on their estate Oliver H. F. Belmont, fath- CT of the former Natica Rives, Will be present at the funeral 1t was said today. There had been doubt about tins, owing to the strange relationship between the young woman and her parents
 Mr Belmont was divorced by her moth or before the girl was born. Marrying MT. Rives three years later, Mrs. Belmont be- slowed the name of her new husband upon the child, though her name really should have been Belmont. MT. Belmont called at the Fifth avenue house today and saw the body of his daughter
 Hundreds of friends and relatives Vis- tied the Burden home today. The sorrow of Mrs Rl,rden's immediate friends was intensified when they learned for the nrst time that a Burden heir was expected Ill the spring.
 Though Coroner Shrady and the police repeated today their declarations that 'lls young woman's death was entirely an ae- cident the belief that it may not nave been such was still held by the outside world There were several discrepancies in the stories told by officials. physicians and inmates of the house.
 It was said Friday, after the discovery of the body that the cause Of the acct dent was an old rubber tube conhectlng d gas reading lamp with the wall bracket. Recause of the age and poor quality or this 1t had slipped from the pipe at the foot of the lamp when Mrs. Burden turned the cock and pushed the lamp away from her bed, it was reasoned.
 Experiments with a gas lamp, however. showed that pushing lamp merely dragged up the slack of the nose, anu that if reouired a sudden jerk to detach the hose from the lamp.