Mann of a will and codicils thereto. The will bore date 15th May, 1854, and was as follows: "First I nominate and appoint W. Seppings and A. Carter, both of King's Lynn, gentlemen, executors and trustees of this my will, and give to each of them, the said W. Seppings and A. Carter, the sum of 1007. for the trouble they may have in the execution of this my will over and above their necessary costs, charges and expences. And I direct that all my just debts, funeral and testamentary expences shall be fully paid and satisfied, as soon as conveniently can be after my decease, out of my personal estate and effects. And it is my urgent request, and I hereby desire, to be buried in the chapel of Tilney Saint Lawrence, in the county of Norfolk, in which parish my dear deceased parents and relatives are buried. And I give and bequeath unto my two servants, Jane Burton and Sarah Burton, all my household furniture of every description (save and except as hereinafter mentioned), for their use absolutely, to be divided between them; and I hereby request that the said J. Burton and S. Burton shall reside in my dwellinghouse for three months next after my decease free of every expense; and that my executors will, during that time, pay for their maintenance and support and all rates and taxes and other outgoings on account of my said dwelling-house out of my personal estate. And I give and bequeath all my linen and wearing apparel of every description unto M. Hemington, of King's Lynn aforesaid, spinster. And I give unto the Rev. W. Coulcher my watch, plate and trinkets. And I give and bequeath unto the said W. Seppings an engraving, framed and glazed, of 'The Deluge.' And I give and bequeath unto my young friend F. A. Jarvis two engravings, framed [1860.] WRIGHT V. WILKIN. [1860.] WRIGHT V. WILKIN. And and glazed, one being 'Belshazzar's Feast' and the other the sum of 197. 19s. And I give, devise and bequeath unto Thomas Martin Wilkin, of Furnival's Inn, in the city of London, gentleman, all my real estates, both freehold and copyhold, in Tilney St. Lawrence, Tilney All Saints, and elsewhere in Great Britain, and all the residue of my personal estate and effects, to hold to him the said T. M. Wilkin, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, for ever, upon this express condition, that if my personal estate should be insufficient for the purpose, that he or they do and shall, within twelve months after my decease, pay and discharge all and every the legacies hereinbefore bequeathed. And I feel confident that he will comply with my wish, it being my particular desire that all the above legacies shall be paid. And I do hereby charge and make chargeable all my said real and personal estate with the payment of the aforesaid several legacies and bequests. And all estates vested in me as trustee or mortgagee I give and devise unto and to the use of the said T. M. Wilkin, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, for all my estate and interest therein. And I declare it to be my will that my said trustees, or the survivor of them, or the executors or administrators of such survivor, shall be answerable and accountable for such money only as they respectively shall actually receive by virtue of this my will; and that one of them shall not be answerable or accountable for the other of them, but each for his own acts only: and also that it shall and may be lawful for them, or either of them, by and out of the moneys which shall come to their hands, to retain to and reimburse themselves respectively all such reasonable and necessary costs and charges which they or either of them shall or may sustain, expend, be at, or be put unto, in or about the exe [1860.] WRIGHT V. WILKIN. [1860.] WRIGHT V. WILKIN. cution of this my will. And, hereby revoking all former wills by me made, I do declare this writing to be and contain my last will and testament." The first codicil bore date 1st November, 1854, and was as follows: "Whereas I, Mary Mann, of South Lynn, All Saints, in the borough of King's Lynn, in the county of Norfolk, spinster, having made and duly executed my will, bearing date the 15th day of May, 1854: now I declare this present writing to be a codicil to my said will, and I direct the same to be annexed thereto and taken as part thereof. And whereas I have by my said will given and bequeathed to L. W. Jarvis, the son of the said L. W. Jarvis, the sum of 4007.: now also I revoke the said legacy so given to the said L. W. Jarvis. And whereas I have by my said will given and bequeathed unto my servant, Jane Burton, the sum of 500%, and to my other servant, Sarah Burton, the sum of 2001.: now I hereby ratify and confirm the said several legacies; and in addition thereto I give and bequeath to my said servant, the said J. Burton, the further sum of 500l., and to my said servant, S. Burton, the further sum of 3007. And I ratify and confirm my said will in every respect, except where the same is hereby revoked and altered as aforesaid." The second codicil was as follows: "Whereas I, Mary Mann, of South Lynn, All Saints, in the borough of King's Lynn, in the county of Norfolk, spinster, having duly made and executed my will, bearing date the 15th day of May, 1854; and whereas, I also duly made and executed a codicil to my said will bearing date the 1st of November, 1854: now, I declare this present writing to be a second codicil to my said will, and I direct the same to be annexed to my said will and taken as part thereof. And whereas, I have by my said will and codicil respectively given and bequeathed to my servants J. Burton and S. Burton, certain pecuniary legacies: now it is my will, and I hereby expressly direct, that the said legacies so given to the said J. Burton and S. Burton shall be paid to them respectively free of all legacy duty, and without any other deduction, within three months next after my decease. And whereas, since the date and execution of my said will, I have purchased a freehold estate situate in Marshland Smeeth, in the said county of Norfolk, and which is now in the occupation of one Mr. Mason, as my tenant: now I give and devise the said freehold estate, so purchased by me as aforesaid, unto T. M. Wilkin, of King's Lynn aforesaid, gentleman, his heirs and assigns for ever. And I ratify and confirm my said will in every respect, except where the same is revoked or altered by my said codicil of the 1st day of November, 1854, and I also ratify and confirm the said codicil in every respect." The defendant was called as a witness, and deposed that, on the 20th of September, the testatrix told him she had resolved on altering her will; she produced the will in a sealed envelope; he opened and read it. And she also produced a paper which expressed a desire to Jarvis, junior, to convey 17 acres of land to the vicar and chapelwardens of Tilney St. Lawrence, to support a chapel. She said she had lost all confidence in Mr. Jarvis: that when she signed the paper Mr. Jarvis wished it not to be kept with the will: and she was now determined, instead of giving land to be conveyed, to give a specific sum of money, that the world might know what her intentions were respecting the chapel: he told her that the bequest to the chapel would be absolutely void: she said "Never mind, the world will know what my intention was, [1860.] WRIGHT V. WILKIN. |