The sun., 1919-10-19

tn HE SurrO6aueS Office 10 sHoWHB
some strange last wills and testa-
Il ments. Some have aroused curl
osity because of their brevity, such as
the ten word will of the late Hiram
Sarles of Mount Kisco, N. Y, who dis
posed of his estate, estimated to be
worth $4,000, in a brief will stating
that he left everything he owned to
his wife.
In fact, the will was so brief that
apparently its legality was questioned.
for his relatives began a contest be-
fore Surrogate Sawyer of Westchester
county asking for a construction Of
the brief document. The Surrogate
ruled on October %, 1917, that the
will was perfectly legal and Mrs.
Sarles was entitled to all her husbands
estate.
Prior to the filing of the ten word
will of Mr.. Sarles the shortest will on
record in Westminster county was that
of the late Seth Hart of Sherwood
Park, near Mount Vernon. 1t was filed
on October %, 1916, and disposed of
SIS 900 estate. 1t was written by Mr..
Hart on a sheet of paper four by six
inches and contained only forty-two
words, as follows:s
II hereby bequeath all my property,
both real and personal, that may
die possessed of to my wife, Elvena
l.. Hart, and If it is necessary to con-
form to the law l hereby appoint her
executor without bond absolutely"
Mr.. Harris writing of his will on
a small piece Of paper brings up the.
point that 1t sometimes makes a diff
ference, on what kind of paper a will
is written. At least one would be led
to this conclusion by reading of the
case of the late Carl S. Wagner, who
wrote his will on q physicians small
prescription blank when he was i'll at
his home in Sanford, N. Y, almost
two years ago.
A Prescription Blank VIII.
Knowing that he probably would not
recover, Mr.. Wagner asked for a pen
Gil and pad of paper. and on the pre-
scription blank he wrote that In the
event Of his death $4,000 was to be
paid to his ever faithful nurse" Mrs.
Scoville, and the rest of his estate to
his nephew. Benjamin w. Strang Of
Whaley Lake.
The will was referred to the Sur
rogate at Sanford. who considered II
for some time before making his de-
cision, but ffrnl::s che Surrogate ruled
that the will was valid and Mrs. NH
dred Scoville was entitled to the
$4,000.
Westchester county apparently holds
the palm in the natter of brief
wills. Besides those mentioned above
there is also the six line will of the
late Public Service Commissioner.
William Temple Emmett. who drew up
his will on a sheet of note paper on
January Ia. 1918; and who died the
following month. The will was offered
for probate on February IL before
Surrogate William A. Sawyer at White
Plains. The body contained just six
lines, in which Mr.. Emmett bequeathed
his entire estate to his wife. Mrs. Cor
nelia Zabriskie Emmett. 1t was esu-
mated that Mr.. Emmett left at least
5000, 900.
Although II is no uncommon thing
for men to leave all their real and
personal property to their wives. not
all Of them take the trouble when
drawing up their last testaments to
pay tribute to their helpmates such
as the late James H. Stebbins of this
city did a little more than year ago.
Mr. Steobins was a retired stock
broker, whose wife died in 1911. In
the preamble of his will, filed on jan
uary s, 1918, he wrote:
ITO her I am indebted for sixty-two
years of happy married life
Acme of Perfect Love.
Then there is the will of the late
Major Charles Gamble Baird. who was
killed in France in April, 1918, while
in command of a battalion of engin-
GERS. In his will, filed at Jamaica, l..
l., besides leaving an estate OF $4,000
to his widow, Gerezmenyhart Baird,
Major Baird paid her the following
tribute:
AT this time I want to say TO the
world that my wife in my estimation
is the most perfect woman I ever saw,
heard or knew Of She is endowed
with, marvellous courage, very
strong will and an intensely high ideal
of honor. Her love has never at any
time diminished, but had grown al
WAYS, until l feel that 1t has reached
a point that can reasonably be con-
sidered the acme of perfect love. l
am the richest of men in that I am
blest with the truest, most honorable
and loving wifi, in the world"
George f. Thompson, who escaped
from the Camden Jail on July IS, 1916