62O
THE GREEN BAG
eleven persons whom she knew socially and professionally, four of whom were her lawyers, this woman declared positively that "her name was Fannie Minerva Sey mour, and that she was born in London, England. She was married the last time in a Cath olic church, August 9, 1879, signing the marriage certificate "Fannie Minerva Sey mour, widow of A. M. Hinckley." She lived with that husband until his death in 1891. In his will he left one half his property to his beloved wife, Fannie Minerva Seymour, widow of Hinckley. In a deed to her before his death, this man describes her as his wife, Fannie M. Seymour, widow of A. M. Hinck ley. In 1860 she purchased four pieces of property at different dates; in 1862, 1866, and 1868, three pieces of property, at differ ent dates, in all of which her name is stated to be "Fannie Minerva Seymour, widow of A. M. Hinckley, from whom she was di vorced." In 1870 she made a will before a notary public in which she declared, "My name is Fannie Minerva Seymour, the divorced wife of Abraham Miller Hinckley. I have neither ascendants nor descendants." In July, 1895, she made another will be fore another notary public, in which she declared, "My name is Fannie Minerva Seymour, widow by first marriage of Abra ham Miller Hinckley, deceased, and by second marriage of William Reed Mills, deceased. I am a native of London, England. I was born on the 9th day of January, 1826. I have no forced heirs." In August, 1895, she made another will before another notary, in which she declared, "My name is Fannie Minerva Seymour, widow by first marriage of Abraham Miller Hinckley, and widow by second marriage of William Reed Mills. I am a native of London, England. I was born on the gth day of January, 1826. I have no living relatives, and consequently no heirs of any kind"
In November, 1895, by an act of revoca tion before still another notary, in which her name is stated to be "Fannie Minerva Seymour, widow by first marriage of Abra ham Miller Hinckley, and widow by second marriage of William R. Mills," she revoked all previous wills. Before the day of this revocation, she declared to that notary that she was born in England, and had no rela tives. During the last days of December, 1895, she sent for this notary, who told her she ought to make another will, because if anything happened to her in her present condition, what she left would go to the state. She replied to him, that "under the circumstances, she did not know but that was the best disposition to make." About 1892, her health began to fail. She then became addicted to the opium habit. In 1893 she became blind, miserly, suspicious, living in constant fear that some one would rob her, and finally died really of starvation, two days before the eighty-fifth anniversary of the great battle of New Or leans, in which the English met such disas trous defeat. Her estate was inventoried at about $55,000; the greater part of which was derived by her from the estate of her last husband, and which had accrued' to his estate from that of Myra Clark Gaines, for attorney's fees in her actions prosecuted against the city of New Orleans. On the first hearing, one of the chief points contended for the attorney -general was, that it rested with the claimants to show a motive upon the part of the decedent to studiously conceal her identity as Fanny Brown. Was that attempted concealment more consistent than to thus treasure to the last evidences of her more secret perfidies and impositions upon the ignorance and credu lity of the unsuspecting persons with whom she legitimately came in contact? The identity of the decedent as Fanny Rachel Brown was further evidenced by the direct testimony of many witnesses still
