Danbury, Conn., April 4. --- When Miss Sarah L. Clason died in this city in May, 1898,  she left a large estate consisting of many pieces of valuable real estate in this city. No will was found and no one recollected that she had ever made one. More than a year ago a great deal of the property was sold at auction, so as to facilitate the settlement of the state among the heirs, who were all distant relatives. Mrs. Tamor L. Bailey, a cousin of Miss Clason, attended the auction and bought an old desk, a family heirloom. While examining the desk yesterday Mrs. Bailey discovered for the first time a compartment, the existence of which she had not known, and found there a will bearing the signature of Miss Clason and the date of March 8, 1879. The will bequeaths the entire estate to Mrs. Bailey. All those whose names appear as witness are dead. The will has been filed for probate and will probably be contested. The estate is estimated as worth $50,000.

Danbury, Conn., April 6.—A piece paper which Mrs. Tamor L. Bailey, of Southeast, N.Y., found yesterday in a secret compartment of an old desk, which she purchased at an auction, proved to be a will bequeathing her an estate valued at nearly $50,000.

Miss Sarah Clason died in her home in this city two years ago. She was the only sister of Doctor A. T. Clason, whose death occurred a few months before hers, and to whose extensive properties in this city she was the sole heir. She was a cousin of Mrs. Bailey. Search was made for Miss Clason’s will, but none could be found. It was concluded that she died intestate, and proceedings to distribute her property were begun.

At the auction of Miss Clason’s personal effects Mrs. Bailey bought an old desk, which she intended to preserve as an heirloom. While examining the desk yesterday Mrs. Bailey discovered a secret drawer and the will which makes her the only heir.

The will was presented to the Probate Court today. A contest will probably result. The will was drawn in 1879, and the lawyer who drew
it and the witnesses to the signature are all dead. 

Sarah L. Clason. of Danbury, died on May 21, 1898, apparently intestate. Although a thorough search was made, no sign of a will could be found.

The petition for the administration of the estate was filed on May 30, 1898. An inventory of the estate showed the real estate to be appraised at $26,020 and personal property to the value of $2,620.20. On July 6, 1898, an auction was held and this property, with the exception of the house on Deerhill avenue, was sold. The Deerhill property is still owned by the estate. The amount the property sold for was $3,322.50.

At this auction Mrs. Tamar L. Bailey, wife of Festus C. Bailey, of Southeast, N.Y., a cousin of the deceased, bought an old desk formerly used by Miss Clason. It was bought more as a memento than for practical use and was stored away immediately after it came into possession of Mrs. Bailey. On Monday, Halcyon Bailey, a brother of Mrs. Bailey’s husband, chanced to run across the old desk and, out of curiosity, he started to rummage through it. In doing so, he discovered a secret drawer, which opened readily at his touch. A document was found in this drawer and, on opening it, Mr. Bailey discovered it to be a will made by Miss Clason, leaving all her property, with the exception of $400, to Mrs. Tamar L. Bailey.

The will was dated the 22d of March, 1879. The witnesses, all now deceased, were George F. Bailey, Samuel Ryder, and Daniel F Bailey. Mrs Bailey presented this will for probate to Judge L. L. Hopkins Tuesday. The time for a hearing on the probate of the will has not yet been fixed. A copy of the will found in the old desk follows:

I, Sarah L. Clason, of Danbury, in the County of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, being of sound mind and memory, do make and declare this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me at any time made.
First, After all my debts are paid, I give, devise and bequeath unto my brothers, John Addison Clason and Abraham T. Clason, and their heirs, all of my property, personal and real, they to share and share alike.
Second, It is my will and desire, should my life be spared longer than my brothers, and they should die leaving no heirs, that the sum of one hundred dollars be paid to each of my cousins here named—–Mrs. Frances A. Moulton, Mrs. Cornelia E. Studwell, Miss Sallie B. Miller and Mrs. Lavinia M. Hooper.
Third, I give and bequeath the remainder of my property, personal and real, to my cousin, Mrs. Tamar L. Bailey and her heirs.
In witness hereof I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-
nine.
Sarah L. Clason.

Signed by the testatrix as and for her last will and testament in presence of us, who, in her presence and at her request, and in the presence of each other, have hereunto signed our names as witnesses.
George F. Bailey,
Samuel Ryder,
D’l F. Bailey

The finding of this will, if it is proven to be genuine, will make a decided change in the disposal of the estate. The nearest relatives of Miss Clason were cousins, of whom there was a large number. Several of these live in this vicinity, but the whereabouts of a number of others are not known to the administrator of the estate. Consequently all the property is still in the bands of the administrator, Henry M. Robinson.

Mount Kisco, N.Y., April 24—A piece of paper which Mrs. Tamor L. Bailey found last week in a secret compartment of an old desk which she purchased at an auction proved to be a will bequeathing her an estate valued at nearly $50,000. Miss Sarah Clason died in Danbury two years ago. She was the only sister of Dr. A. T. Clason, who died a few months before her, and to whose property in that city she was sole heir. She was a cousin of Mrs. Bailey. Miss Clason’s will was not found and it was concluded that she had died intestate. At the auction of Miss Clason’s personal effects Mrs. Bailey bought the old desk. The will was drawn in 1879, and the lawyer who drew it and the witnesses are all dead.

[From the Danbury News]
Is the document found recently in an old desk belonging to the late Sarah L. Clason the bonafide will of Miss Clason? is the question that Judge Hopkins of the probate court must answer. The illeged will, it will be recalled, was discovered on the 2d Inst, by members of the family of Festus Bailey, of Southeast, N. Y. Mrs. Bailey is a relative of Miss Clason. Under the provisions of the alleged will she becomes heir to a large part of the Clason estate .

The hearing upon the admission of the will to probate was begun Saturday morning before Judge Hopkins. Attorneys Brewster and Davis appeared for Mrs. Bailey and Attorneys Scott and Taylor for those who are heirs to the estate as it stood before the discovery of the document.

The court room was filled to the doors with witnesses and interested persons. The first witness called was Henry M. Robinson, administrator of the estate of Miss Clason. He was examined in regard to his recollection of the old desk, or table as Mr. Robinson testified it was, in which the will was discovered. Mr. Robinson said that he, as administrator, sold the table to Mrs. Bailey last June. He described It as an old fashioned piece of furniture which had been newly polished and put into condition for use in a modern house. He said that Mrs. Bailey bought it for $2.50. He recalled that he that he looked into the drawers before the day of the sale. He was searching carefully for a receipt for a remedy which the late Dr. Clason was thought to possess. He did not discover anything in the drawers of the table at that time which resembled the will or the envelope in which it was enclosed when found by Mrs Bailey.

The will was exhibited to the witness. It was inclosed in a narrow, old-fashioned envelope, tinged with the yellow of age.

Miss May Bailey, daughter of Mrs. Festus Bailey, was called to the witness chair. She testified that she was present when the will was discovered. She concluded to search through the drawers of the old table for a photograph of the late Dr. Clason. The drawer which she took from the table and carried into an adjoining room, where its contents might more easily be examined, contained some dried flowers, pieces of newspaper and valentines, besides other small articles which were considered of no particular value. Miss Bailey’s cousin assisted her, and her uncle. Halcyon Bailey, who discovered the will, came into the room soon afterwards. Mrs. Bailey was called in to see the contents of the drawer.

Halcyon Bailey drew an old newspaper from among other things in the drawer and opened it to scan its columns when something dropped to the floor. Miss Bailey noticed that the newspaper contained something between its folds and heard the envelope drop to the floor. Judge Scott cross examined her at length upon the point as to whether she actually saw the envelope drop from the paper and whether it was not possible that it might have been dropped to the floor from somewhere else and not have been in the drawer at all. Miss Bailey said that while she did not actually see the envelope leave the paper the circumstances were such that it could not have come from any other place. She was upon the witness stand for more than an hour.

Howard F. Bailey, of Mt. Kisco, N. Y., was called to identify the signature of his father, George F Bailey, late of Brewster, one of the witnesses to the document. Mr. Bailey identified the signature without hesitation. He said that his father was a resident of Brewster for many years and was at one time engaged in business in Wall street, New York, in company with Oliver D. Taylor, of Balls Pond. Mr. Bailey said that he had seen his father’s signature frequently and he had no doubt that the handwriting upon the will was his. He was unable to state positively, however, without more careful examination and comparison, whether the body of the document was in his father’s handwriting.

At 12:45 a recess was taken, the hearing being resumed at 2 o’clock.

Halcyon G. Ryder, Henry Ryder, Starr GaNun, Frank Wells and Mrs Festus Bailey were the witnesses examined during the afternoon session. Several documents bearing signatures of the persons whose names appear upon the alleged will as witnesses to Miss Clason’s signature were placed in evidence and Mr. Wells and others testified in regard to their recollections of the signatures of the deceased witnesses.

The opposition to the admission of the document has not offered any evidence as yet but it is probable that witnesses for the opposition will be heard at the next session. The testimony of handwriting experts may figure in the case.

The hearing was adjourned, to be resumed Monday, May 7th.

The hearing on the Clason will will be resumed in a probate court at Danbury Monday morning. The case for the Bailey side has developed strongly and all signs point to the admission of the will to probate.

[From the Danbury News.]
The hearing upon the admission of the will of Sarah L. Clason, discovered in an old desk belonging to Miss Clason, was resumed Monday morning in the probate court. A large number of witnesses were in court. The most important development of the morning was in the testimony of Mrs. Festus Bailey, to whom the greater part of Miss Clason’s estate is left by the terms of the will. Mrs. Bailey said that Miss Clason had told her that she intended to leave her a least a part of her property.

The first witness this morning was Halcyon Bailey, who was present when the will was discovered. He went over the circumstances of finding the will.

During the progress of the case the drawer in which the will was found and the newspaper in which the will was wrapped were offered in evidence. The paper is a copy of the Peekskill Republican of 1851.

Oliver D. Taylor, of Balls Pond, identified the signature of George F. Bailey, one of the witnesses to the will. Mr. Taylor said that Mr, Bailey was his business partner in New York many years ago. He swore that to the best of his knowledge and belief the signature upon the document was that of Mr. Bailey.

Mrs. Festus Bailey testified in regard to the circumstances of the discovery of the will. She was asked by Judge Brewster, her counsel, if Miss Clason had ever spoken to her in regard to the disposition of her property.

Mrs Bailey said that Miss Clason lived at her home near Brewster about the time that the will was drawn. She usually referred to the Bailey home as her “other home.” Once, after the death of Dr. A. T. Clason, Mrs. Bailey was visiting Miss Clason and the latter took her into the garden to show her a shrub which was growing there. It had been brought from the Bailey farm. Miss Clason remarked that she thought that her visitor would take an interest in it. At the same time she told Mrs. Bailey that the property where they were would some time be her’s (Mrs. Bailey’s), remarking, also, that she should leave her property to those who had been good and kind to her and that others need expect no share in it.

George Hine, of Brewster, testified that he had long been a neighbor of George F. Bailey, and had been associated with him in the management of public affairs in Brewster and the town of Southeast. He produced a copy of the records of the supervisors of Southeast, containing Mr. Baliey’s signature. Mr. Hine testified that he believed the signature of Mr. Bailey on the will to be genuine.

It was apparent from what transpired during the proceedings in the Clason will hearing in court Tuesday Morning that those who are opposing the admission of the will to probate expected to show that at the time the will is alleged to have been drawn Miss Clason was not possessed of the money, $400, that she bequeathed by the terms of the will to her four cousins.

The other side, however, gave the opponents of the will a surprise yesterday afternoon when they placed Mrs. Francis Moulton, of Stamford, upon the witness stand. Mrs. Moulton testified that Miss Clason inherited, prior to time that she made the will, of two different legacies, one of $500 and another of $400. Mrs. Moulton said that she saw and read a copy of one of the wills in which Miss Clason bequeathed a part of this money.

Attorney Taylor asked to-day for an adjournment until Saturday that his clients might have time to investigate the statement made by Mrs. Moulton. He said that her testimony came as a surprise to his client and if on investigation the facts proved as she stated them to the court it would be possible that he would submit not testimony in opposition to the will. What steps might be taken after the decision of the lower court should be received he did not care to say. Judge Hopkins granted the adjournment.

Mrs. Festus Bailey, who inherits the greater part of Miss Clason’s estate by the terms of the will, was upon the witness stand the greater part of yesterday afternoon. She testified to the remarks made at different times by Miss Clason which indicated that Miss Clason expected to leave the greater portion of her estate to the witness. Mrs. Bailey testified that on the day that the will was drawn there was a family gathering at her home on Dingle Ridge, near Brewster, and that the men whose names appear upon the will as witnesses were there. Some of them were relatives and some neighbors. They are all dead now.

This morning Jordan Bailey, of Dingle Ridge, was examined. Mr. Bailey was present at the time the will was found. He told of the cir-
cumstances as far as he saw them. Mr. Bailey and Attorney Taylor had difficulty in getting along smoothly in the cross-examination, and there were many points where the spectators were convulsed with laughter. Mr. Bailey said that Miss Clason had frequently spoken in his presence of having made provisions for the Bailey family. On one occasion, a few days before before Miss Clason died, the witness and Festus Bailey called upon Miss Clason. Festus Bailey remarked that he was in a hurry to get Brewster, as he expected to take the six o’clock train for New York. He remarked that might never return from his trip. Miss Clason replied that if such a thing should occur his family would be well provided for. The inference was that she cared for them in her will.

The witness was questioned in regard to other remarks of a similar nature made by Miss Clason. He told of a visit which Miss Clason made to the Baileys home at Dingle Ridge several years ago. The witness said that he was alone on the farm and received and entertained them.

Mr. Taylor asked him some questions about the visit “I received them and as no one else was home I cooked the dinner for them. It was good dinner, too. Do you want to know what we had to eat?”

Mr. Taylor said that he did not care for that information.

Such incidents were frequent.

At half past eleven the court adjourned until next Saturday.

The Clason will case was brought to a close last Saturday morning at ten o’clock, when Judge Hopkins admitted the will to probate. The witnesses for the Bailey side of the case were on hand at the opening of the court but no further testimony was introduced, nor were there any arguments on that already beard, the case resting upon the testimony which concluded a session of the court held Monday and Tuesday previous. The case has been one of absorbing interest to the friends of the Bailey family, beginning with the finding of the document under such peculiar circumstances, and the following spirited contest in the probate court, which has extended over several weeks. F. C. Bailey and family have the congratulations of their many friends on the successful issue of their case. Judge Hopkins said that “in his opinion the will had been proved and should be admitted, and he therefore admitted it.” It is expected that there will be an appeal to the Superior court by those who contend that the will is not a genuine document 

An appeal was filed Thursday in the Clason will case, which at the time of the hearing upon its admission to probate a few weeks ago attracted considerable attention. The will in question is that of Miss Sarah L. Clason. It was supposed that she died intestate until the alleged will was discovered in an old desk which had been Miss Clason’s property. By the terms of the document the greater part of the property of Miss Clason is left to Mrs. Festus C. Bailey of Dingle Ridge, near Brewster. Those who were heirs to the property before the discovery of the will questioned the genuineness of the document and protested against its admission to probate. The will was admitted. The appeal will take the case to the Superior Court—–Danbury News

The Bailey heirs feel satisfied with their case in the matter of the Clason will, appeal in which was carried to the Superior Court, a few weeks ago, by those who are trying to disprove the validity of the will found in the old desk under peculiar circumstances. Only three times, in the past twenty years, has the decision of the probate court been reversed.

The Clason will case, of Danbury has been settled out of court. Sarah Clason was a sister of the late Dr. Clason, of Danbury, from whom she inherited property valued at $40,000. After her death no will was found, and an administrator was appointed on the estate. At an auction sale of Miss Clason’s household furniture, Mrs. Festus Bailey, of Southeast, bought a desk, as a keepsake. Sometime after the purchase of the desk a will was found in it, bequeathing the bulk of the property to Mrs. Bailey, who is an aunt. The case was tried before the probate court and the will was admitted. An appeal was taken but before the case came to trial a settlement was effected. Under the terms of the settlement Mrs. Bailey will receive property valued at a number of thousands of dollars.

The famous Clason will case is closed. The real estate belonging to the Sarah L. Clason estate was transferred last Friday to Mrs. Tamar Bailey, of Southeast, the legatee named in the will drawn and placed in a secret drawer of a desk and so opportunely found two years after the death of the testator. The property reverting to Mrs. Bailey is situate within the city limits of Danbury and includes the Clason place on Deerhill Avenue, the finest resident section of the city, three houses on Comstock Street and one house on White Street.