Putnam patriot., 1914-11-13
NO 46
SUPERIOR COURT
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friuay With Judge Joel II. keeu on the bench.
 In the case of Hugh Rice against the Town of Pomfret a demurrer was ar eued by Attorney N. A. King for the town and Attorney ]. F. Carpenter for the plaintiff. Rice was badly injured in an accident on state trunk .line road and his team went over an em. bankment. iAttorney Kings argu- ment was that the town was not liable as the road is state highway and the state makes the repairs and the town therefore has no jurisdiction over the road and therefore the town is not lia- ble. MT. Carpenter argued that the Seleetmen of the town removed the railing from this highway and thus assumed responsibility and further that the towns pay part of the cost of construction of the roads. Decision was reserved.
 In the uneontested divorce case of Annie White of PlainAed against AL
  fred k. White of Patnam, Attorney Babcoek appeared for the plaintiff, The ground for the divorce was desertion. Mrs. White testified she lived in Plain field, and was married May IT, 1902, when she was IT yearc old. Her hus- band never supported her and he left her about SIX years ago for good. She said she had four children, the oldest F and the youngest years of age. She said that she told ihim he had bet ter go away if he could not support her and therefore he had not deserted her and the court said he sould not grant divorce on the ground of desertion but Judge Reed said he would continue the case that 1t might be claimed on another ground.
 The appeal of O. Louise Harmon of Plymouth, Mass, from the probate of the will of sher grandmother, Mrs. Ce- linda Corttis, who died in Oxford, Mass ,,in February, 1914, was begun before Judge Reed and jury in the Superior court in Putnam, Thursday morning. The will was drawn by Ed ward k. Thompson of North Grosven- ordale and was executed in that village September Bd, 1912, while the testatrix was living there. She was nearly E. years old at the time Of her death. The benehciaries under the will were the town of Thompson S2o0, Laura Barrett of Worcester Sl0u0, General Conference of Free Baptists $500, North Grosven- ofdale Methodist church 'sfo0, Baptist church of Vernon, Me-, 400, and resi- due If any, to the Society of Free Bap- tists. Trusts were created in ali cases except the personal bequest to Laura Barrett.
 0. Louise Harmon, who has appealed from the probate court, claims to be the granddaughter and only natural heir of the deceased. She alleges that Mrs. Corttis was not of sound mind and disposing memory, that she did not appreciate who her relatives were at the time she made the will ,and that she was unduly influenced by Edward f. Thompson and others.
 The witnesses to the will were Rev. William J. Smith of the Methodist church, George A. Elliott and Edward f. Thompson. The will Was proved and an affidavit taken before Dyer s. Elliott, notary public. Ailfthree of che witnesses testified to the execution of the will and stated that in their opinion Mrs. Corttis was of sound mind when 1t was executed. They re- membered little of the conversation that took place when the will was ex- ecuted except that 1t was remarked that the testatrix was a good penman and she replied that she used to be. After proving the will the appellee rested.
 Mrs. Harmon took the stand in her own behalf, but during her cross ex-s animation suffered from nervous breakdown ana had to be helped from the witness chair to the old bar libra- " room where Dr. Russell, who was in the court room, prescribed for her. The testimony of witnesses for the ap~ pellee was to the effect that Mrs. Cort- tis' mind had begun to fail her before she made the will, that shei was suspi- cious of everyone, constantly repeated the same things over and over and over and made contradictory state- ments Dr..Russel who treated her in 1908 said that senile dementia had set in at that time.
 The case of Barron vs Nindham County ct al has, been postponed until next Tuesday. Charles Barron, the plaintiff, was .prisoner in Brooklyn jail and was one of A gang of men from that institution engaged in laying pipes in the borough of Danielson when he was hurt by cave-in of the trench. Lawyer Dwyer of Hartford represents Barron, and Tofrey < Geis- Ter of this city are looking after the Gounty's interests. Some interesting legal questions are anticipated in the case.