SOME STRANGE WILLS

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 21 September 1917, Page 1

SOME STRANGE WILLS

(From, the Philadelphia ' North American.') Someone took the old saw that when there was a will, there was a way, and turned it into " When there's a will, there's a lawsuit," which seems better to fit present-day conditions than the older form. At least this is borne out by the fact that no one seems to know just what the " way" is, unless it is a -way to break that will. "we are told that the greater number of wills'probated are practically unbreakable, though not always because of their strictly legal form. People are uncommonly careless about such an important thing as a will; they seem to think it satisfactory to string together, a few sentences, conveying then - property, then affix a signature. Yet some of these have been found to -be as tight as if drawn by the best legal talent of the land. The author .adds: Wills that alight be described as being legally safe and sane have been written on scraps of paper, in verse, and in letter form. Then, too, will have been written in charcoal, pencil, ink, and in blood. But the .bequests—the provisions of the wills—how odd and curious were the conditions found to be imposed on the bene-factors-to-be. And what freakish bequests have been made to what have 'been equally freakish recipients. "Freak" wills there are galore. Of' wills venting the writer's spite ou the expectant heirs there are an equally large number. And there is a surprisingly large number of wills showing the writer's gratitude for some kindness performed by an utter stranger. But the old reliable standby of the recently deceased seems to have been taking care of Lucille, Garibaldi, or Fannie—the same being a pet oat, cow, or horse, not to mention a Madison square garden full of dogs. Thus, some horse which should be piloting a waggon belonging to Otto of the corner grocery is to be found in a state of solitaiy grandeur in Farmer Jones's best meadow —air free. Likewise with Garibaldi. But Lucille, lucky cuss, is given a maid, a chaperon, a chauffeur, and a footman, and carte blanche in the "show place of the town." ' Oh, yes, that has happened. And how amiable the next of kin . must feel when they discover that it is • the family (?) pet that has received the l greater part or all of the legacy. ' One of the largest bequests left to ■ a > pet was that of Miss Susan L. Munro, oi t Fall River, Mass. Daisy, her horse, was 5 the beneficiary. Says the will: "In ease - my horse, Daisy, survives me I give hei - and all her belongings, carriages, harness r etc., to my niece, Annie B. W. Munro - And I leave in trust my money in the Fal - River Savings Bank, also my stocks, th< s income of all to be used for the care aiK support of said Daisy. In case Daisy be Y comes disabled and suffers from some in e curable and painful aftliction so that in th« d judgment of a good veterinarian it seem; u humane to kill her, I direct said Annie t< n see that this is mercifully done and tha 1 said Daisy be properly buried, the neces

sary expense to be paid hem this income. Daisy is 31 years old and apparently has many more years of life ahead of. her." The will concludes: "After the death of said Daisy, the income of this fund being no longer required for her support, this fund or the proceeds thereof is to be divided equally among the children of my brothers, Josiah and John H., the descendants of any deceased child to take the parent's share by right of representation." Comes now the blow—Daisy was left £20,000. Then there was a Dr Zudzense, of Grand Rapids, Mich., who bequeathed his farm, valued at 3,000 dollars, to be maintained as a home for his 'two pet monkeys. His old housekeeper was permitted to remain on the farm as long as she took care, of the pets. There is no account of the innocent pleasure taken by the Simians m their newly-won estate, but it is to be inir

aglned that they had the best of treatment from the housekeeper whose hearth and home depended upon it. And, again, among those who • left legacies to pets there was, according to the account: George U. Watts, contractor and Board of Trade operator, of Chicago, bequeathed £6,000 to provide a 'home for his fox terrier, Bill, and £6O to care for his riding horse, King. Also, while Mrs Corinne Snodgrass, of Lower ChaAceford, near York, Pa., left a £2,300 estate, of which £2,000 of that sum was to be spent in keeping her favorite horse, Beauty, as long as he could eat food, in a state of greatest possible comfort. And when Beauty is dying he is to be chloroformed and afterwaid given a decent burial, v The last testament of Mme Isabelle M, E. Thiss, a Spanish woman who resided in Paris, but who possessed considerable property in Great Britain, was most unusual. Said she: " This day, Wednesday, at 8 o'clock in the morning, I am alone, as usual, so there is no one who could influence me, and, although I am in ! bed with' a swollen leg, my head is of sound judgment, so that what I write here is done with my Ml kuowledge." After making divers bequests of small import, she continued -. " Ten thousand francs' to the Society for the Protection of' Animals—in particular, dogs—on condition that there is placed in' the meeting-hall a picture with my. name and title. ' Protecting Friend of Dogs,' and that all the three dogs—that is to say, Miraa and her two little ones, the cat and her little kittens, shall be received and well cared for by the society until they die of all age. Mine Thiss, by the way! dealt rather 'harshly with her relatives. " As' to my sisters, _ nieces,, nephew, brother-in-law, and cousin, nothing shall come to them from me but a baa; of sand to rub themselves with. .." When Mrs Mary B. Snow died during the winter of 1909 she left over £6.000 for the oare of her horsesj £2OO. for each of her 10 dogs, and little else but sympathy for her husband. Of course,-as the slogan goes, there must have been a reason. \ But why Mrs Ellen 'Jj Kneweare, a wealthy and eccentric widow, who died at Lasallc, jSF.Y... in 1905, should have preferred to bequea.th £BOO to her cats and dogs, and but £I.OOO to her child, was a source of mystery to all who heard it. And small wonder that her daughter contested tlie will, alleging that her mother was of unsound mind. Judging from outward appearances, , people >vho cut oft* their relatives in favor of one or more' pets do so solely because i of an unquenchable fear that, otherwise, ; harm will come to them. That they wish to make sure of the future welfare of the • pets npon whom they lavished their love . and affection is without doubt the chief i reason for what are, apparently, bequests of 3 a most foolish nature. However, ia little ; investigation apprises us of the fact that, after all, the cat or dog may be more det serving of lifelong ease than their human f brothers and sisters. s Wills often fail to maintain their legality a on the signature alone, for there is always r a. question whether a mark, even though , witnessed, is as binding 'as a signature ~ written out, alter the customary fashion. 1 But there have been times when, not a e signature, but qualifying phrase, lias 1 been taken as legal. For -instance: Not many people are so careless as was [. a Mr Breiinau, of Carbondale, Pa., who e left real estate to the value of £3,000, s and signed the will, "Your miserable 0 . father," thus creating a bone of conten--1 tion as to just what constitutes a legal j. signature to, a "will.

When Mme Desmarets, of Marseilles, France, died., on August 8. her will was found to read in this fashion: "If I die before the end of hostilities, I ask that my body be laid provisionally in the family vault, arid that it shall eventually be interred in the field where the final decisive victory is gained. I leave the whole of my fortune to the town which bears the name of this victory." When Yves Bosch died, in Spain, of a broken heainV, in spite of the fact that he had beeii expelled from his "native Biarritz, France, for having expressed sentiments having a Germanic flavor, he willed his entire fortune, some 30.000,000 francs (£1,200,000). to the city of' Paris. The last will -of Joseph Hillstrom was written in verse, after this fashion : :

.My will is easy to decide. For there is nothing to divide. My- kin doirt need to fuss- and moan—"Moss does not cling to a rolling stone." My body? o<b, if I could choose,., I would' to ashes it reduce, * And let the merry breezes blow My dust to. whei'e some flowers grow. Perhaps some fading flower then Would come to life and bloohi again—- - This is my. last and final will; Good luck to all of you.—Joe Hill. By the terms of the will of Frederick D. Parker, who died iu Los Angeles, Orrel A. Parker, a brother and a lawyer living in New York, is put up against it.' The brother leaves him £6 a month for each child- that is born to him. What is perhaps one of the. shortest wills on record is that left by Eliza Ivunz, of Philadelphia. On a- small, crumpled, unevenly torn' piece of paper she -wrote : "All belongs to. baby.—Eliza Kunz.". How hard it is for one to conceive of a man with millions leaving no will; yet Frederick H. Range, of Los Angeles, did that very thing. What did he leave? Oh, a mere bagatelle—a paltry 4£ million sterling. . As a fitting climax to this stoi'3', it might be well to mention a will that stands in a class by itself. Adolph Metzer, a retired soap manufacturer, of Evansvilie, Ind., has made a.will which is not to be opened until the year 2163—that is, 247 years from now. It is placed in airtight metal tubes to withstand-the ravages of time, and homeless dogs and cats are the beneficiaries-to-be. Mr Metzer has invested £2,200, which at the end of tho specified time is expected to amount to a grand total of 40 millions sterling! Apparently, waiting as a- virtue will have its own reward.