This is the last Will and Testament of me Elizabeth Everard Lee of Ivy Cottage Hoylake in the County of Chester. Widow I hereby revoke all former Wills and declare this only to be my last Will and Testament Whereas on the twenty second day of August one thousand eight hundred and ninety nine my son James Lee commenced an action in the Liverpool District Registry of the Queens Bench Division of the High Court of Justice against my son John Smith Lee which action was numbered 1899 L 1872 against my said son John Smith Lee for recovery of the sum of Two hundred and eighty two pounds and Alice Lee the wife of my said son James Lee on the same day and in the same Registry commenced an action numbered 1899 L 1872 against my said son John Smith Lee for recovery of the sum of One hundred and fifty six pounds and on the twenty ninth day of August one thousand eight hundred and ninety nine Elizabeth Lee the daughter of the said James Lee commenced an action in the said Registry numbered 1899 L 1923 against my said son John Smith Lee for recovery of the sum of One hundred and twenty four pounds sixteen shillings the whole of the said three actions being brought to recover wages alleged to be due by my said son John Smith Lee to the said three plaintiffs respectively And whereas the said action brought by the said James Lee resulted in a verdict in favour of my said son John Smith Lee but the said Alice Lee and Elizabeth Lee have not yet proceeded to trial with the said actions brought by them as aforesaid And whereas I am fully convinced from my own knowledge of matters in issue in the said actions that the said actions brought by the said Alice Lee and Elizabeth Lee have been commenced and prosecuted at the instigation of my said son James Lee and that the whole of the said actions should not have been brought and I am satisfied that my said son John Smith Lee has more than repaid any services which the said James Lee or his said Wife or daughter have rendered to him and I have therefore determined to make the provisions for the benefit and protection of my said son John Smith Lee as are hereafter contained And whereas my said son John Smith Lee has paid off a Mortgage which was effected upon my cottages land and property at Market Street Hoylake aforesaid and he has had the said Mortgage transferred to himself but I have not paid the interest due to my said son John Smith Lee upon the said Mortgage since the date of the same being transferred to him And whereas the said John Smith Lee has from time to time advanced various sums to me towards my maintenance and I desire that the said Mortgage money interest and payments shall in the first place be paid or refunded to my said son John Smith Lee out of my estate I appoint my said son John Smith Lee and Walter Hope Reinhardt of Birkenhead in the County of Chester Solicitor (who are hereinafter referred to as my trustees) to be the Executors and Trustees of this my Will I bequeath all my household furniture and effects to be equally divided between and amongst my four children John Smith Lee James Lee Cecil the wife of George Holmes and Isabella the wife of John Shaw in as nearly equal shares in point of value as may be possible the decision of my Trustees upon any question arising as to such division to be absolutely final And I give devise and bequeath to my Trustees all my real estate and the residue of my personal estate whatsoever and wheresoever Upon trust to sell and convert the same into money and thereout in the first place to pay my just debts (including the sums payable to my said son John Smith Lee as aforesaid) funeral and testamentary expenses and to stand possessed of the residue thereof Upon trust to divide such residue into four equal parts or shares and I direct my said Trustees to pay one of such fourth parts or shares to my said son John Smith Lee for his own absolute use and benefit another of such one fourth shares to my said daughter Cecil the wife of George Holmes another of such one fourth shares to my said daughter Isabella the wife of John Shaw and as to the remaining one fourth share direct my said Trustees to hold the same for the period of six years from the date of my death or for such other period as my said Trustees in their absolute discretion shall think fit for the protection of my said son John Smith Lee And out of the last mentioned one fourth share my Trustees shall in the first place pay to my said son John Smith Lee a sum equal to all the moneys which my said son John Smith Lee shall have paid or may hereafter be called upon to pay for his own costs in the said actions brought against him by my said son James Lee or for any sums recovered by the said Alice Lee and Elizabeth Lee against him in the said actions brought by them as aforesaid or for any costs of theirs or of his own costs in connection with such actions which my said son John Smith Lee has paid or may hereafter be called upon to pay in the said actions or in any other actions to be brought by the said Alice Lee or Elizabeth Lee in respect of the same or similar claims by the said Alice Lee and Elizabeth Lee or either of them against my said son John Smith Lee and after payment of the said moneys to the said John Smith Lee I direct my Trustees to pay the remainder of such one fourth share in my estate (if any) to my said son James Lee for his own absolute use and benefit I declare that t the said Walter Hope Reinhardt shall be entitled to make all proper charges for all work done as a Solicitor in the proving of this my Will and of any proceedings relative thereto and in the Executorship and in carrying out the trusts relating thereto (whether such charges are for work done in a strictly professional character or not) in the same manner as if the said Walter Hope Reinhardt had not been himself a Trustee hereof but had been employed by my Trustees to do such work In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this Fourteenth day of November one thousand nine hundred     E E Lee

R N Moore Solicitor Birkenhead

J Bird Ivy Cottage Hoylake Spinster

On the 25th February 1907 Probate of this Will was granted at Chester to John Smith Lee and Walter Hope Reinhardt the Executors

Original Will at Cheshire Record Office

This Will was kindly  transcribed and sent in by Ros.

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