Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-04-22
MRS. SYKES ATTITUDE
GR|EvEO MRS. WELLS
Letters Introduced in Contested
Will Case intimate That Ef-
forts to Compel H. l.. Ward
to Resign as Trustee Would
Be Remembered

Direct examination of Henry L.
Ward, one of the proponents in the
Wells will case now being tried in
county court, continued all day Tues
day, with the introduction of nu-
merous papers in reference to the rela-
tion between Mr. Ward and members OF
the Wells family.
Among the letters read to the jury
was one from II. A. Cushing. acting
as attorney for Mrs. Anna Wells Sykes,
to Henry l. Ward, claiming that Mr..
Ward had not properly performed his
duties as trustee of the fund Neft by
Edward Wells in trust for his daugh-
ter. Anna. This letter accused Mr..
Ward of having failed to properly in
vest the funds of the estate. of keep
ing parts of the fund in the Burl'ng-
ton Trust company. without pay
ing interest upon 1t. charging to
Annals account certain bills which
should have been charged to the prin-
cipal of the fund rather than to the
interest, and of other mismanagement
of the fund. The letter finally re-
quests that Mr.. Ward resign as one
of the trustees of the fund. suggest
ing that the matter would be taken
further IL his resignation is not re-
ceived soon.
II was shown that Mrs. Effie Wells
had knowledge of this letter to Mr.
Ward, AMI her attitude in the matter
was disclosed by several letters which
she wrote to Anna, and which were
produced by the contestants on the
demand of the proponents, and were
read to the jury.
In these letters, Mrs. Wells says
that she is more grieved than she can
express at the attitude which Anna
has taken in regard to the property
which her father left her. and at her
treatment of Mr. Ward. Mrs. Wells fur
Their asks Anna to revere the memory
of her father ami to refrain from con-
tinuing a course Of action which would
make him very unhappy, II he knew
about It, In closing. Mrs. Wells says:
| The money your father left me Is
mine, and you will never receive any
of 1t, II this keeps up"
1t was in February. 1915. that this
first letter was written. About the
first of March, Mrs. Wells again
wrote to Anna in reply to letter
which Anna had written to her. At that
time. Mrs. Wells wrote. among other
things. the following:
when you say your father. IL he
were alive, would take your part. you
are nightly mistaken. for I know
what your father thought about 1t. He
worried over your case more than
was good for him"
In a letter to Anna Of still later
date. about March I. Mrs. Wells says
that she has been waiting to hear from
Anna in answer to her last letter. in
order to find out what she (Anna)
proposes to do in the matter. In this
letter. Mrs. Wells tells Anna, Gin sub
stance. that a girl who came from a
family as good as hers ought to be
ashamed Of herself to act the way she
was acting Mrs. Wells declared that
/ Anna must have deteriorated since
she first knew her, in order to reach
a point where she coull take such a
course. Again calling on Anna to re-
member the good name of her father
and not dishonor it. Mrs. Wells de-
clares that she meant what she said
at the close of her first letter. namely
that Anna would not get any of hel
money II she pursued the course which
she had been following
That Mrs. Wells was a far -sightec
woman was brought out when copies
Of these letters which she had sent Il
Anna were produced by the proponents
these copies having been found In TIT
safe deposit vault which Mrs. Welli
had at the Burlington Trust company
These copies were admitted as evi
lence and shown to the jury. follow
ing an unsuccessful attempt to hav'
them admitted only for the purpose o
showing Mrs. Wells testamentar.
capacity. Judge Fish ruled that the!
would be evidence, also, of the i'm
portance which MRS. Wells placed upol
this correspondence. thus showing ne
, mental attitude In the matter.
a will made by Mrs Wells in March
1915. more than a year before he
final will was made, was introduce,
and real to tho jury. The date. Marcl
f19l6. brings to mind the above cor
respondence between Anna and Mrs
Wells. and the contents of this earle
? will shows that Mrs. Wells had tn
matter In mind, also. for in that vii
Anna is given $1,000. while the tw
granddaughter. Martha ana Elizabeth
, are each to have the same amount Il
4 trust. As in the last will. the stocl
| in the Burlington Trust company an
! tho bulk of the estate Is left to H. I
, Ward.
The first that Mr.. Ward knew tina
ne was beneficiary under the vii
of Mrs. Wells according to his testi
) mony. was few days prior to tn
making of this will In 1915, when h
/. was in the office Of Judge Mower a
the time Mrs. Wells was giving tn
ed in her will.
Several letters which passed betwee
Mrs. Wells and Mr.. Ward. when the for
mer was in Washington. relative to tn
= trouble between Mr.. Ward and the Syke
family. were introduced and read In al