YANCEY COUNTY, NC - WILLS - E. St. Clair Thompson, 1 Jan 1918 --------------¤¤¤¤¤¤-------------- Last Will & Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson Yancey County, North Carolina Book of Wills Pages 495-499 Transcribed by: Sandra Allen Fender Washington DC Jan. 1, 1918 Know all men by these presents, that being of sound and disposing mind, I, hereby make this my last will and testament, hereby revoking and cancelling all other wills by me heretofore made. First, I hereby _____ give and bequeath unto my wife Ella Clapp Thompson, all the property, real, personal and mixed of which I shall die possessed and seized, except that one tract of eighty odd acres in Anderson County, Texas heretofore set aside and held for my brother Frank T. Thompson and his children to be deeded to him or them. I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint Ella Clapp Thompson my sole executrix, without bond. In testimony whereof witness my hand and signature the day and date above written. E. St. Clair Thompson North Carolina Yancey County (marked through and Mitchell County written over) In the Superior Court Before Clerk of said Court In re: Probating the Last Will and Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson Clerk Superior Court Certificate and Adjudication of the Last Will and Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson Mrs. Ella C. Thompson, former wife and now the widow of E. St. Clair Thompson, Deceased, having this day produced in open court before me in my office of Clerk of Superior Court of Mitchell County, NC at the courthouse in Bakersville, NC, the paper writing hereto attached, purporting to be the Last Will and Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson, deceased and filed an application before me as required by law, and asking that the said paper writing so produced and ___ before me, be probated and recorded as the Last Will and Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson, deceased, And it appearing from said application and an inspection of the paper writing that Mrs. Ella C. Thompson is the Executrix named in said paper writing and is the sole Beneficiary under the same, I therefore proceeded with he evidence relating to the probate and recording of said paper writing as the Last Will and Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson, deceased. I examined in writing as witnesses to the execution of said paper writing Mrs. Ella C. Thompson, former wife and now widow of E. St. Clair Thompson, whose address is 109 West 45th Street, New York, NY. , F. R. Shaffer, J. D. Parnell and Edward Fortner. The substance of Mrs. Ella C. Thompson evidence is that she married Mr. E. St. Clair Thompson in Washington City DC, October 25, 1908 and after then they lived together as man and wife up to the time of his death which occurred in their living room at St. James Hotel, 109 West 45th St. New York, NY. That after her marriage she and her husband lived in Washington DC until they moved or changed to New York about the year 1918. That while living in Washington DC, as stated, her husband who was a lawyer maintained an office for his ____ work at 306 Mutual Fire Insurance Building in said city and that she frequently visited said office, and that she was there on the 1st day of Jan. 1918 and that on this occasion she saw her said husband with the paper writing that she produced in open court to have probated as his last will and testament and every part therein including his signature, at the end of the paper and that at the time she also read the contents of the paper and knew its contents, and, that the said paper and every part thereof including the signature thereto she verily believes is in the handwriting of her deceased husband. That after her husbands death in New York City, as stated, that she made a search for any last will and testament he had made during his life time and as a result found the paper writing now propounded in a trunk kept in the living room of her husband, at the St. James Hotel among some of his valuable papers listed in her evidence on file in this office, as the law requires. That she searched at other places, towit, in his law office in Woolworth Building and his bank box at S____ Bank for any last will and testament her said husband might have executed during his life, but she was unable to find any other paper writing purporting to be his last will and testament or other paper making disposition of his property than the one she propounded and asked to be probated by the court. Reference is made to her written evidence filed in this court as the law requires. F. R. Shaffer testifies that he is a resident of Spruce Pine, NC. That he has lived in this state for 14 years, that he knew E. St. Clair Thompson, deceased for about (blank space) years prior to his death. That during his acquaintance with Mr. Thompson in his lifetime he became well acquainted with his handwriting, and knows the same. That he has examined the paper writing propounded as the last will and testament of E. St. Clair Thompson and that he verily believes that the same and every part thereof including the signature is in his handwriting. J. D. Parnell testified that he is a citizen of Bakersville, NC, that he has lived in this state for 60 years, that he knew E. St. Clair Thompson, deceased for about 21 years prior to his death. That being acquainted with Mr. Thompson in his lifetime he became well acquainted with his handwriting and knows the same, that he has examined the paper writing propounded as the last will and testament of E. St. Clair Thompson and that he verily believes that the same and every part thereof including the signature at the end of the paper writing is in his handwriting. Edward Fortner testified that he is a resident of Spruce Pine, NC, that he has lived in the state for (blank space) years; that he knew E. St. Clair Thompson, deceased, for about (blank space) years prior to his death; that during his acquaintance with Mr. Thompson during his lifetime he became well acquainted with his handwriting, and knows the same, that he has examined the paper writing propounded in this court and asked to be probated as the last will and testament of E. St. Clair Thompson, and that he verily believes the same and every part thereof including the signature at the end of the paper is in his handwriting. Therefor the court (being the Clerk of Superior Court of Mitchell County, North Carolina) upon the application filed in this proceeding and upon the evidence produced before it, the substance of which is embraced herein, adjudges that the paper writing propounded by Mrs. Ella C. Thompson with it, as the last will and Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson and which is here attached, has been duly proven under the laws of the state and the same duly probated, and it is ordered and adjudged that said paper writing together with certificate be so recorded in the Book of Wills of Mitchell County, NC as the Last Will and Testament of E. St. Clair Thompson, as the law requires. In Witness whereof I have herewith set my name, as Clerk of the Superior Court of Mitchell County, North Carolina, this 29th day of July 1933. C. A. Ramsey Clerk of Superior Court of Mitchell County, North Carolina North Carolina Mitchell County In the Superior Court before the Clerk In Re: Will of E. St. Clair Thompson, Certificate I , C. A. Ramsey, Clerk Superior Court of Mitchell County, NC, do hereby testify that the attached and forgoing papers, purporting to be the last will and testament of E. St. Clair Thompson and the probate of the same by the Clerk of this Court are true, correct and perfect copies of said will and the probate of the same, as appears in the Book of Wills No. 2, page 40 and 41 kept on file in this office. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal of office, this 29th day of July 1933 C. A. Ramsey, Clerk Superior Court North Carolina Yancey County In Superior Court before the Clerk The certificate of the Clerk of the Superior Court Mitchell County, North Carolina to the foregoing copy of the last will and testament of E. St. Clair Thompson, and the probate of the same is adjudged to be correct in all respects.Therefore let the same be recorded in the Book of Wills of Yancey County and the same filed in this office, this 29th day of July, 1933 Fred Proffitt Clerk Superior Court ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Sandra Fender fender@hci.net ___________________________________________________________________