The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1910-07-21

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. posed after they
have dissppsarsA forever from the
Q few days aGo In CAieago vhsa . man
ef means simply placed IN estate
valued At 5000 ~ IN the care oe .
trust company Tor ~ bensnt q hls
four children. Thus With one stroke
he sstisAsA himself that his property
would reach the hands oe those Tor
whom 1t was intended. and no doubt
this was . gratifying achievement.
For, after all, the viii that every sen
sibls man u supposed to make does
rot always fulnl it, obpsct and thus
the world sses . contest OF claimants
which Il often less desirable to view
thaa . church quarrel.
The will. - an instrument of The
law. owes it, development to the
Romans. India did not know Of It b.
tore the conquest. and 1t was but .
euAimentary affair In Mosaic law and
h ancient Athens. The early Roman
vii was e3ectual during the lifetime
q the psfsoa Who made 1t, and It was
srrsvooabis. IT. object being to secure
he perpstsatjon Of the family. Thus
he hsreditas vas vested In . person
Who could b relied upon to carry On
The family name and traditions. Often
such Wills were made on the eve Of
battle. aad they were publisAsd in 20
eordanos With the law.
When Constantine the Great caused
Christianity to b recognised BY the
stats, this aet had it, effect upon WILL
making, inasmuch - the duty Of CIV
ing bsqussts to the church was en-
oouragsd- MONKS and heretics. how
ever. were not allowed to make wills
q 70 take bsqussts. Then again. Wills
vsrs deposited In churches: indeed.
IN Engand the church exercised juris-
aietioa In tsstamentary matters for
centuries. Up to 1855 the probate and
custody Of wills lay with the English
ecclssiastlcal courts. but the careless
Hass to which the documents were *
posed at the hands Of lazy and incom-
pstent onlcials led to vigorous crit
icism Of the system BY Charles Dick
ems and other writer's. and, ~ . con-
sequence. the church lost its ancient
privilege.
In modern days. BY reason of the
prosaic Language Of legal craftsmen.
Wills have lost much Of their inter
ct - purely human documents: but
u oas wers to ct himself to the task
Of writing the social history Of great
city like New York. from its begin
ming. he could do NO better than delve
into the records Of the surrogatsS
courts. All Wills are probated there:
children are adopted under the direc-
tion Of the surrogates: they appoint
guardians and discharge them again.
when minors reach the age Of legal
discretion: they settle and distribute
The estates Of the poor and rich. Thus
there IL to b found in the probate
records the details Of social life by
generations. and 1t IL possible to trace
the evolution Of families, old and new.
and their rise and fall on the tide Of
fortune.
The skeleton in the closet IL often
revealed by legal procedure. and.
though 1t cannot be avoided, the fam
fly quarrel Is bound to be aired when
will contests are tried before surro-
gate. Many elements enter into these
contests-dissatisfied heirs. forgery.
undue influence on the part Of per
sons who have been associated with
the property owner; the existence Of
more than one will: vague and indefi.
mite language in a mans last tesla
ment, for all things which are so writ.
ten In a will as to be unintelligible
are to be on that account regarded as
though they were not written"
Russell Sage. who disposed of a
vast estate without INDUCING In su.
perfuous words. adopted simple
method to prevent litigation over his
property. A clause of his will read:
should any of the beneficiaries un
uSi thiS, lily Will, OlAcI ludH NY sdlu
wife. object to the probate thereof. or
in any wise directly or indirectly con
test or aid in contesting the same OF
any provision thereof, or the distribu
ton Of my estate hereunder. then and
in that event ! annul any bequest
herein made to such beneficiary, ant
1t is my will that such beneficiar,
shall be absolutely barred and cut of
from any share in my estate" There
was no contest. although 1t was said
that the beneflciaries grumbled a lit
tie bit.
One OF the most dramatic will case,
In the history Of Massachusetts wa,
tried few weeks ago in the probate
court Of East Cambridge, where two
claimants appeared to fight for {
share Of Senator Daniel Russell's es
tate, valued at 3750.0O0. BY his will
the elder son. william c. Russell. wa,