Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1920-02-13

on this cover except "The Last VIII
and Testament of GenT George Wash
ington."
Washington began his viii thus:
"Ht the name of God, Amen! 1,
George Washington of Mount Vernon,
citizen of the United States and
lately president of the same, do make,
ordain and declare this Instrument
which is written with my own hand
and every page thereof subscribed
with my name to be my last Win &
Testament, reyeaing all others"
Just the same, he omitted his sig
nature from the bottom of page %,
Which goes TO show that even the
model Of all the ages was human.
Martha Washington's will is dated
March 4, 1902, and was admitted to
probate by the county court at Fair
fax June 81, 1902 1t remained in the
old courthouse until the Civil war.
Union forces occupied Fairfax in 1862
and the will disappeared. For more
than 80 years the Fairfax county au-
thorities could find no trace of it.
Upon the death of j. Pierpont Nor
gan in 1913 it became known that
the missing will was one of the most
priced articles of his great collection
of historic documents. Fairfax county
thereupon undertook to regain posses
sion of it.
J. Pierpont Morgan, Jr.. declined to
give up the WILL He offered, however,
to let Fairfax have Photographic
reproduction, provided Fairfax would
let him have similar reproduction
of George Washington's will.
This offer was declined. The Vir-
ginia legislature was then appealed to,
with the result that an act was passed
directing the attorney general of the
state to bring suit to recover the orig
lnal document. The bill was filed in
the Supreme court
In the meantime, in correspondence
with the Virginia state authorities, Mr..
Morgan first objected to the manner
in which he had been approached then
offered TO return the will provided It
was placed at Mount Vernon instead
and in a vault to be constructed by
him. This and all other conditions
were refused. Finally, in 1915, when
the case was about to come to trial
Mr.. Morgan capitulated and handed
over the will to the Fairfax county
authorities.
Thereupon the secret of the disap-
pearance and whereabouts of the win
was cleared up. For, pasted on the
fly-leaf of the handsome folder which
the elder Morgan had used to protect
the will, was found the following sign
ed statement by the woman from
whom he had purchased the document
in 1903:
Lieut.. Col. David Thomson, COM
handing the Eighty-second regiment,
Ohio Volunteer infantry, was. during
the spring or autumn of 1862, sta
toned at Fairfax courthouse. Va. His
headquarters were in the courthouse
building The safes had previous to
this been broken open by the Blenk-
ers command of men noted for their
reckless vandalism. The papers were
on the floor and had been destroyed
in large quantities tand) used to kim
die fires. Ny father. going into the
office, found his men shoveling the
material from the floor for this use
called them to stop, and, looking over
them, found the document in question.
Just preceding his death. in 1892, he
gave the document TO me to be done
with as / thought proper.
"(Signed) MARY ESPY THOMSON.
"2655 Irving avenue, South, Minneapo-
lis, aIinn."
Martha Washington's win is long
one. is written on pages of foolscap
and is remarkably well preserved
Any one who doubts that Martha
washington was a good business wom-
an should read the will.
Also, the viii has a postscript,
which shows that the wife of the
"Father" Of this country was also
human.