New Britain herald., 1926-08-06
300 MILLIONS AT
 STAKE IN ACTION Long Lost Will Of Mark Hopkins
 Reported Found KEPT HIDDEN SINCE 1878

Railroad Builder and California
 Pioneer Wrote Document in 1874, According 10 New Contestants for Share in Fortune.
 San Francisco, Aug, 6P = The Examiner says that the purported Host will' of the late Mark Hop kins, multi millionaire railroad builder and California pioneer. was brought to this city Wednesday night and today will become the foundation for a legal attack upon the Hopkins fortune, now esti- mated as in excess of S300,0O0, ,000.
 Alleged Will Found
 Allegedly the will was found re- gently in a deserted house near Hillsborough, N. c. It is to be filed for probate in superior court here. If upheld as the genuine will of the famous member of the "big four" who built the Central Pacific rail- road, it will divert the Hopkins fortune to 137 heirs, and upset all recognized genealogies of the Hop kins family.
 The central figure in the litiga- tion is P. B. McCandless, d San Jose lathing contractor. McCandless claims 10 be the grandson of Martin Hopkins, mentioned in the alleged document as one of Marks broth CTS.
 Died in 1878 T
 Hopkins died October 29, 1878, No will was found and his estates. then appraised at about $eO.O0O,- 900, was distributed among various relatives. The new contestants for a share of the fortune claim on December 25, 1874, Hopkins wrote will in San Francisco and mailed 1t to North Carolina to Mrs. Moore" said to have been a for mer sweetheart. Because she was not named as one of the bene- ficiaries, Mrs, Moore was said to have never revealed the will, and its existence was not disclosed un- til found in her former home by her grandson, David S. Moore. The document was illiterally written on a single piece of paper.
 Doubt Is Expressed
 Doubt as 10 the authenticity of the will already has been express ed, Boutwel Dunlap. an authority on California history, affirming Hopkins was bookkeeper fr.S the "big four" and was a well educated man.
 Also, Dunlap said, the Hopkins family of which Mark was a mem Der, has one of the best known and best established genealogies of New England families. The family is descended from Stephen Hopkins of the Mayfower.
 Widow Died In 1891
 Lawrence. Mass, Aug. P-Mrs Mark Hopkins widow of the railroad builder and pioneer in California whose Host will' IS reported to have 'een found, married the late Ed ! yard F. Searles, multimillionaire of . lethuen suburb of Lawrence. Mrs. T 'earles inherited her fortune and at lis death in 1920 major part of his ., ortune went to Arthur T. Walker, 1. f New York city. The late Methuen millionaire in SSl travelled to California for his ealth and as an interior decorator | id some work for the rail kings widow. Later she had him design nd supervise the building of Kel- ogg Terrace, her summer home in treat Harrington, Mass. Although he was 20 years hfs senior, they 'ere married before the building -as completed, the services taking lace in Trinity chapel, New York, ,ovember'S, 1887.
 Mrs. Searles died on July q, 1891 nd her will was contested by her dopted son, Timothy Hopkins. The ispute was compromised, however nd Searles received large share in ne estate. A part ot nership in the outhern Pacific railway was includ- d and the estate was administered g y the law firm of Stlllman and ? New York attorneys and t c