The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-07-06
STRANGE CLEMENT CASE
nv WEST CORIVTH
Will Of Aged Man Siashed in Two and
Allowed BY Probate Court Is
the Bone Of Contention.


Whether the large property Of Orson
C. Clement, late of West Corinth, VIII
40 to Dartmouth college after requests
oil $1,000 each to his housekeeper, Mrs
Alice Bradbury tdeceased), and her
daughter. Mrs. Don McAllister Of Chel
sea. have been made, or whether it will
90 To two elderly cousins, Mrs. julia
Converse Of 81 Hammond street,
Bridgewater. Mass. and, Lucy j Dear
born Of Santa Monica, Cal. remains to
be decided in the courts Of Vermont.
The amount Of the estate IL variously
estimated from $4,000 to Sl50,000.
Settlement Of the question depends
on the validity Of will The viii be-
queathing the residue Of the estate to
Dartmouth college after the two above
mentioned personal requests was found
by the administrator, DR.. f. II Bal
ley of Graniteville, TO have been cut in
two; but he filed the viii with Judge
II, r. Baldwin Of the Orange county
probate court feast district and tine
will was allowed. Now comes an ap
peal from that decision, entered through
Attorneys Il. r. Davis and John W.
Gordon of Barre in behalf Of the two
elderly cousins ON the ground of revo-
cation by the testator by the act of
cutting the will in two. The alleged
Of the will is said to have
followed wrangle between the aged
Clement and his equally aged house
keeper and her daughter over trans
fer of some of the erstwhile Clement
real estate.
Clement died March 10, 1922, at the
age of S4 after curious career, in
which by his boarding and some good
fortune he had amassed large prop
erty. He was native Of Corinth. His
father, well to-do farmer, died 35 |
years ago, leaving considerable prop
erty. One son died in 1868, SO that |
the property went to Orson Clement.
who lived on the home farm in West |
Corinth and for whom Alice Brad
bury kept house, as she had kept house
Tor the elder Clements Orson never
married
II is said that the couple disagreed
,ften and as often became reconciled,
ind they are now buried side by side
n the village cemetery, the woman
laving outliyed the man only about
month.
Among the eccentricities of the aged
nan were his miserliness and his die
'osition to let his property run down.
Buildings became tumbledown; for-
SITS invaded his pastures and mead
WIS; great sheep fields became inhab-
ted by nothing but wild life. Earlier
n life Clement had been a pliable Gus
onaer for stocks, now become value
ass if they ever were of much valiae.
low and then he was fortunate enough
0 realize on these investments in lands
nd stocks.
cement bought for few dollars an
ere an Iowa farm and he paid dear
I that, it was thought; when, unex
ectedly, a railroad came past the Z
arm and the farm increased in value
, $4,000 Again he bought some oil
sock which seemed to be Of little val
E, until one day a telegram came TO
he old man that oil had been struck
i the property and that oil by the
OF gallons was running TO
aste.
Clement came into windfall dur
< the World war when the United
tates government seized wool stor-
e Of half q century after Clement :.
ID refused to sell 1T the governments
yure just as he had refused to sell
lose fifty years back because he could Z
It get his price. II il said that the /
agents found barns, sheds
I'd even rooms in the house bursting
it'll wool, some of it spoiled by the
Gather and some ruined by squirrels
I'd other animals. Yet the govern
ent took it and paid the old man $780,
10 or $4,000, the exact amount not
ing made public. That money went
to the bank, so IL is said, and 1t
rms part of the large estate, over
hieh the great battle before the courts
expected to be fought.
Meanwhile, Clements farm property
Corinth---four farms--await the hand
practical farmer and the buildings
and awaiting the carpenters hand to
event them from falling into com
etc decay