“In relation to the organization of the College and its appendages, I leave, necessarily, many details to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of Philadelphia, and their successors; and I do so with the more confidence, as, from the nature of my bequests, and the benefits to result from them, I trust that my fellow-citizens of Philadelphia will observe and evince especial care and anxiety in selecting members for their City Councils, and other agents.
“There are, however, some restrictions, which I consider it my duty to prescribe, and to be, amongst others, conditions on which my bequest for said College is made, and to be enjoyed, namely; first, I enjoin and require, that if at the close of any year, the income of the fund devoted to the purposes of the said College shall be more than sufficient for the maintenance of the Institution during that year, then the balance of the said income, after defraying such maintenance, shall be forthwith invested in good securities, thereafter to be and remain a part of the capital; but in no event, shall any part of the said capital be sold, disposed of, or pledged, to meet the current expenses of the said Institution, to which I devote the interest, income and dividends thereof, exclusively: Secondly, I enjoin and require that no ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold or exercise any station or duty whatever in the said College; nor shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a visitor, within the premises appropriated to the purposes of the said college:—In making this restriction, I do not mean to cast any reflection upon any sect or person whatsoever; but as there is such a multitude of sects, and such a diversity of opinion amongst them, I desire to keep the tender minds of the orphans, who are to derive advantage from this bequest, free from the excitement which clashing doctrines and sectarian controversy are so apt to produce; my desire is, that all the instructors and teachers in the College, shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars, the purest principles of morality, so that, on their entrance into active life, they may from inclination and habit, evince benevolence toward their fellow creatures, and a love of truth, sobriety, and industry, adopting at the same time, such religious tenets as their matured reason may enable them to prefer. If the income, arising from that part of the said sum of two millions of dollars, remaining after the construction and furnishing of the College and out-buildings, shall, owing to the increase of the number of orphans applying for admission, or other cause, be inadequate to the construction of new buildings, or the maintenance and education of as many orphans as may apply for admission, then such further sum as may be necessary for the construction of new buildings and the maintenance and education of such further number of orphans, as can be maintained and instructed within such buildings as the said square of ground shall be adequate to, shall be taken from the final residuary fund hereinafter expressly referred to for the purpose, comprehending the income of my real estate in the city and county of Philadelphia, and the dividends of my stock in the Schuylkill Navigation Company—my design and desire being, that the benefits of said institution shall be extended to as great a number of orphans, as the limits of the said square and buildings therein can accommodate.”
Will of Jay Gould
Jay Gould died December 2, 1892. By his will, he transferred, as is well known, an immense fortune. After giving certain legacies to his children, relatives and friends, including one to a son for services rendered, and establishing a trust for the benefit of a grandson, he gives his residuary estate to trustees for the benefit of his children for life in equal separate trusts with gifts over to their issue as appointed by the beneficiaries, and in default thereof “in the proportions provided in and by the statutes of this State in the case of intestacy,” and if no issue then “to my surviving children and to the issue of any deceased child share and share alike per stirpes and not per capita.”
The testator directs that the securities of each trust be separately invested, and that the accounts thereof shall be separately kept.
A son and daughter are appointed guardians of his minor children.
The seventh item in his will reads as follows:
“Seventh. I hereby declare and provide that if any of my children shall marry without my consent during my lifetime, or thereafter without the consent of a majority of the then executors and trustees under this will, then and in that event the share allotted to the child so marrying in and by said will and codicil, shall be reduced one-half, and the principal of the other half of the said share shall be paid, assigned, transferred or set over to such persons as under the laws of the State of New York would take the same if I had died intestate.”
There is a marked similarity in many of the provisions of this will to those of the late William H. Vanderbilt.
Will of Horace Greeley