Norwich bulletin., 1911-12-13
AFTER So YEARS
EccIesia sticai Society and.
School District Hope to Get YeomanS
6equest-TangIed Affairs Being In
vestigated by COMMITTEES.

/ port of the committee, James p Little
chairman, directed at the annual meet
ciety to investigate matters relative to
a bequest made by William A Yeo-
mans more than IS years ago, as MOTTO
| ed In last Saturdays Bulletin, brought
out some interesting facts.
! In 1874 William Austin Yeomanx
/ then a citizen of Columbia, made a
| will. in the first clause of which he
gave to his wife. Harriet r. Yeomans.
the entire use and benefit "of all his
real estate. except so much as my ex-
ecutor nay find ii necessary to sell to
comply with the provisions and condi- /
/ tons hereinafter made, TO be and re-
main to her in fee simple so long s
/ she remains my widow The next two
| clauses. or hereinafter provisions"
read. Then / give and demise to the
Ecclesiastical society of Columbia, my
native place, $500 upon the following
conditions: That it remain with said
society a permanent fund, the interest
only to be applied annually for the pros
motion of the objects and interests of
| said society, to wit
| Then follow a list of the special uses
| to which the interest may be applied.
/ The next, or third clause, reads: y
also give and demise to Pine street
school district yin Columbia $500, the
interest only TO be applied annually for
the promotion of education in said dis
| trict-'
! In the fourth clause he gave to his
brother, John s. Yeomans. and to his
SiStCIs SNHLnIa clarke, Wl1e OF Lyman
! Clarke, their heirs and assigns forever,
each and equal portion of all the re-
| mainder of my real estate" Then fol-
! low nurpber of minor requests to his
nephew and nieces, wife. and brother
and sister, and Lyman Clarke.
Probated in 1886.
| About two years later the testator
died. The will was probated January
| 90 1876. at court of probate held at
Hebron, within and for the district of
Hebron, present Abner Hendee. Esq.
judge" John 5. Yeomans appeared as
executor, and executed a bond in the
court, as principal, with Harriet r.
feomans, as surety in the sum of ST.
| 600. conditioned that he faithfully dis
charge the trust of executor. The en-
| tire estate amounted to $2,950.5O, OF
which the real estate, consisting of "a
acres of land and buildings. was valued
at $3.50.
Two Years in Settling.
The estate was more than two years
| being settled, the executor presenting
his accounts to the court for final set
Element March %. 1S4S. At that time
the executor presented receipts from
each and every legatee mentioned in
the wfll(exc@pt the Columbia Ecclesi-
asticai Society and Pine street school
district. These requests had not been
paid in the settlement of the estate,
and are still unpaid. During the past
6S years it has been the common re-
port that the requests to the Ecclesi-
astical society and School district were
to be paid whenever the widow of the
testator should marry die. AS events
proved. she never married and lived
until the fall of 1911.
Investigation Started.
At the annual meeting of the Eccle-
s1astical society held November 4.
1911, the chairman of he society COM
mittee was directed to Investigate mat
ters concerning the William Austin
Yeomans bequest. and report at q flu
ture meeting. The report of the chair
man showed that matters were very
In the first place every person gho
had any part in the original transact
tons concerning this matter had ceas-
ed to exist. Every legatee named in
the will had also ceased to exist with
the exception of the Fec lesiasticaI So
ciety and School district. The probate
records had to be searched for facts
concerning the VIII and the settlement
of the estate, and the town records for
facts concerning the transactions in re-
gard to the real estate which secured
the payment of these requests. for the
past So years
Unwarranted Delay.
This investigation brought to light
some interesting facts. In the first
place, as can be seen by the quotations
given from the will. there is mem
ton that these requests We're to be
paid at some time in the future They
SDOu1u nave Deen PAID as all the OIner
bequests were paid. when the estate
was settled.
Loss of $1,000 Each.
Because they We're not paid, the So
ciety and school district have been de- |
prived of more than $1,000, which they
would have received as principal and
interest during these past years.
Another TangIe.
But the tangIe does not end here.
After the estate was supposed to be
settled. the interested parties met No
vember 81, 1913, and. made arrange
ments with the widow, Harriet r.
Yeomans, regarding her rights in the
real estate as mentioned in the. will.
They also made a division of the real
estate by quit-claiming to each other
rights and interests in the same. On |
the same date, November 21, 1S4S, Ly-
man c. and Cynthia Clarke executed q |
mortgage deed to John s. Yeomans, as |
security for a bond executed by them |
on the same day, conditioned that Ly- |
man c. Clarke should pay to the Ec- |
clesiastical society of Columbia s500i |
to Pine street school district 500, and |
to John S. Yeomans 5000.
Whenever the right of Harriet r. |
Yeomans in and to the said premises |
shall case. according to the will of her |
late husband, William A. Yeomans."
Contrary to Will.
This was the first intimation that |
these requests were to be paid at some |
time in the distant future. They should /
have been paid by the executor as the |
will provided; but different arrange
ment was made by these residuary lega-
tees.
Even here the matter does not end. |
On May IS, 1889, Lyman c. and Gym |
thia Clarke gave a warranty deed of |
this real estate formerly owned by |
William A Yeomans to George B. ana |
Jane E Fuller. This deed was given |
in consideration of a bond and agree
ment this day executed by George b. /
and Jane E. Fuller" This land is de-
scribed as being that formerly owned /
by William A. Yeomans and subject TO
annuity Of $35 a year and other |
conditions under the will of William A. /
Yeomans. which the grantees assume
and agree TO pay as part of the condf- |
tior OF this conveyance"
The principal facts regarding this |
matter are outlined as above, but there
are also numerous other minor trans
actions concerning the real estate in
volved, which would add greatly to the
solution of the puzzle were legal steps
to be taken to secure these beQuests